Dr. Andrew Cheairs & the Songbirds – Makeover

Dr. Andrew Cheairs & the Songbirds

Emmanuel Records (2011)

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

On his new CD Makeover, Dr. Andrew Cheairs sings with the gut-wrenching intensity of a man given a second chance.

And he was.

Shortly before Christmas 2010, Rev. Cheairs was involved in an automobile accident and suffered a punctured lung and broken bones. Recovery was slow but sure, and although I am not certain whether the new album was recorded before or after the accident, some of the song titles, such as “1 More Day,” “God Will,” and “Grateful,” seem to bear witness to his grateful attitude anyhow.

Cheairs and the Songbirds are known for their church-wrecking traditional quartet performances, but on Makeover, they go above and beyond their usual power, making this one of the best quartet recordings this year. The album even deserves a nod for having one of the more notable covers of 2011: a sepia-toned photo of an old-fashioned river baptism.

After the vocal thunder and lightning, the group cools it down for “Journey,” the concluding cut. Here they muse on how “this is not an easy journey; sometimes things get a little rough.” They “have been singing for fifty-two long years/Sometimes shedding sweat and crying many tears” (remember the group’s 1971 single for Style Wooten’s Designer imprint?).  They conclude, “We’ve come a long way, but we’ve got a long way to go….we’ve got to keep on singing.” Their fans sure hope so.

Four of Five Stars

Picks: “Makeover,” “Let’s Praise the Lord.”