The Rediscoveries; Or, How Dean Hopper Found His Voice

Consider the difference between this:

And this:

I’m actually not sure I prefer the big symphonic too-muchness of the latter version (though that wood-wind descant in the first verse is pretty neat and the brass section is a classy touch), but I don’t think anyone can listen to that earlier clip and think that the Hoppers would […]

Rediscovered: an occasional aria on some forgotten favorite

“Much Too High a Price,” Larnelle Harris, From a Servant’s Heart. I began my short lived career as a gospel pianist pretty typically as a teenager: no training, no real applicable sense of the stylistic […]

Rediscovered: an occasional aria on some forgotten favorite

“What You Say is What you Get.” Christ Tabernacle Choir. Back in the day, Reba Rambo (Dottie’s daughter) wrote a song called “What You Say Is What You […]

Rediscovered: an ocassional aria on some forgotten favorite

This is more of an ambling free-association but hey .. it’s my site. Anyway, I had to spend some time in the car this evening and I took the Perrys, This is the Day album, along with. […]

Rediscovered: I Rest My Case at the Cross

The Perrys. “I Rest My Case At the Cross” (Changed Forever, Daywind, 2002).
Songs become lodged our lives and memories often because of serendipity. Sometimes by fortuitous happenstance, […]

Rediscovered: an occasional aria on some forgotten favorite

The Kingsmen. “Leave Your Sorrows and Come Along” (Stand Up at Opryland USA, 1985; also available Riversong’s Kingsmen Collection, Vol. I). Oh my. Here we go. The Kingsmen at Opryland, 1985. […]

Rediscovered (an occasional aria on some forgotten favorite) (I of II):

When regular correspondent JG pressed me for a list of top 5 groups, the Ruppes ended up on my list without too much hesitation, and I was happy to find JG at least notionally agreeing with me: […]

The Case for the Cathedrals Greatness

(I of III)
I’ve been thinking a lot these past few days about a song the Cathedrals recorded fifteen or so years ago for their 25th-anniversary celebration album. The project as a whole is by no means the […]