Everywhere I Go – The Voices of Clouds

The Voices of Clouds
Everywhere I Go
VOC Records 2009
www.thevoicesofclouds.com

While the Voices of Clouds have been around for more than fifty years, waxing their first singles in the late Sixties for the Song Bird label, Seventies soul gospel enthusiasts will remember Charlie Wells and the quartet from their successful recordings on Hoyt Sullivan’s HSE imprint. Truthfully, and thankfully, their sound hasn’t changed much since then.

Proof positive: on their new, self-produced release, Everywhere I Go, the hard-singing quartet originally from Panama City, Florida demonstrates their commitment to the traditional sound that has carried them up and down the gospel highway. Sure, some of the instrumentation and harmonies have been adjusted to meet today’s contemporary standards, but the repertory is out-and-out traditional. For example, the title track is also known as “You Must Come In at the Door.” “Pilgrim and a Stranger,” “I’m a Soldier,” and the upbeat “Yes, My Jesus Cares” are quartet favorites.

“All I Had is Gone” is a story song in the Pilgrim Jubilees tradition: a mother gone on home, the loved one who grapples with the loss, and the wise quartetter who works extra hard to help the bereaved, his old schoolmate, get through his pain.

The album contains more mid- and up-tempo tracks than you find on most quartet projects. True to its theme, “Old Revival Going On” is a driving number on which the group exudes the excitement and fun of quartet singing. Ditto for “I Want My Crown,” one of the set’s best selections, which contains a superb hard-sung vamp. “Who” chugs along at mid-stride, but it ends suddenly, as if the producer halted the performance to set up another take.

Everywhere I Go is a delightful listen from a group that has held fast to the old time way.

Four of Five Stars

gPod Picks: “Old Revival Going On,” “Yes My Jesus Cares,” “I Want My Crown.”

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.