Roy and RevelationThank You
4 Winds Records
By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog
While listening to the contagious title track of Roy and Revelation’s latest album, Thank You, I couldn’t help but think that if Philly singer Dee Dee Sharp was in the audience, she would have thought the group just gospelized her mashed potato. Or the twist, because towards the end of the song, the quartet bursts into the Beatles’ cascading harmonies from “Twist and Shout.”
“Thank You” is one of two songs on the album with a distinctly ‘60s pop sensibility. A rollicking folk melody drives “My God Knows It All,” a song that wags its finger at those who “throw rocks and hide your hands” because “God sees and knows all you do.” On the other hand, the group gives the classic “Stand By Me” a modern funky reading.
Not all live albums sound or feel live, but Thank You does. Recorded at a program in Columbia, South Carolina, the CD finds Roy and Revelation, a young quartet from Hopkins, South Carolina, relaxed but spirited as they eke as much conviction out of the songs as possible.
The album title is fitting, because the general mood and theme is of thanksgiving. Sometimes the gratitude is expressed directly, as on “I Thank You Jesus,” and sometimes it is indirect, as on “One More Time,” an appreciation for having been given one more day and a second chance.
The album and the quartet benefit greatly from Roy Ladson’s intensely urgent lead vocal. His churchy tone contrasts with the quartet’s smooth harmonies, but producer Ray Braswell Jr. brings it all together and puts the listener on the front row of the Columbia program.
Three of Five Stars
Picks: “Thank You,” “My God Knows It All.”
Written by : Bob Marovich
Bob Marovich is a gospel music historian, author, and radio host. Founder of Journal of Gospel Music blog (formally The Black Gospel Blog) and producer of the Gospel Memories Radio Show.
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