Standing on the Rock – LoveTones

LoveTones

TBGB met Walter Cooper and the LoveTones in October 2010 when it reviewed the New England-based vocal group’s album, Jubilee.

Standing on the Rock, the LoveTones’ latest full-length CD, continues the ensemble’s commitment to seasoning traditional gospels and spirituals with rich vocal harmonies. To this end, the LoveTones sound somewhere in between a quartet and a male chorus.

Standing on the Rock demonstrates dramatically improved production and vocal arrangements, and stronger harmonies, than Jubilee. An acappella introduction to the opening selection, “Joy Everlasting,” captures the listener’s attention from the outset, and the closer, “We’ve Come This Far By Faith,” comes as close as any track on the CD in evoking the muscular might of Atlanta’s Majestic Male Chorus.

The album’s nine tracks are a step back in time. “Old Ship of Zion” opens with a strong harmonic arrangement and continues with bluesy flourishes, while “Born Again” taps into the group’s quartet side with a driving verve appropriate to the subject matter.

The musicians, anchored by engineer/mixer and guitarist Joe Laquidara, provide solid support to the LoveTones, though the vocal ensemble could just as easily have sung everything acappella.

Standing on the Rock is a much finer example of the LoveTones musical “lay ministry of hope and comfort” than their previous recorded examples. One can only hope the ensemble continues to hone its craft because traditional gospel classics and vocal group harmony are worth preserving.

Three of Five Stars

Picks: “We’ve Come This Far by Faith.”