Reviewed by Alan Smith An album that could have been a smash, sadly misses a golden opportunity. Pastiche in the noble General Booth tradition, taking established hits of the 50s and 60s on this occasion and changing the lyrics to glorify God. The lyric changing is very well done and each song has a scriptural reference. Great. The songs are wonderful to an old rocker R&B soul man like me -"At The Hop", "Some Kind Of Wonderful", "I Feel Good", "Soul Man", "Stand By Me" - but 'Hallelujah Hop' sounds pretty much like a demo. It was painful to hear good musicians like Larry Hall, Gary Burnette and David Huff being wasted by Huff's own production and falling so short of the mark. I played the album between takes to Bruce B Good while he was in the studio and we just added plate reverb to the snare frequency. Suddenly "To Know Him Is To Love Him" sprang to life. This elementary omission by Davie Huff is unexplainable. he should and does know better. The Kids themselves sing beautifully and it is an irony that they could be better produced in Brentwood, England than Brentwood, USA. A ha'porth of tar and someone who really understands this powerful era of pop music could and must take such a great concept and make it work. I extend the offer herein to The Kids. A follow-up would include "You Don't Have To Wait Till The Midnight Hour", "Ready, Willing And Able", "Got Love If You Want It", "Great Balls Of Fire", "Father's City (Kansas City)", "You Don't Have To Knock On Wood", "Everybody Needs Somebody", "Take Me To The River"... the list could go on and on.
The opinions expressed in this article are
not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed
views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may
not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a
later date. Interested in reviewing music? Find out
more here.
|
Same comment as above..purchased CD with expectations that I would also have the lyrics to all the songs..all my cd had wNas a short scripture verse for each song..very disappointed