Forever Jones – Get Ready (Deluxe Edition)

Forever Jones

Get Ready – Deluxe Edition
EMI Gospel (2011)
http://www.emigospel.com/

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

They sing! They play! They write songs! They have fantastic stage presence!

The “family band” of Forever Jones – originally from Washington State and now living in Shreveport, Louisiana – is a polished, well-disciplined group that bristles with energy, smiles, and talent to spare. The group would be gospel’s Partridge Family, except they are real. Still, the clean-cut, all-for-one Forever Jones evokes Shirley Jones’s (no pun intended) television family.

To maintain public momentum for the Stellar Award-winning ensemble in lieu of a new album, EMI Gospel released a deluxe edition of Forever Jones’ debut album Get Ready, which includes the original CD plus a 45-minute DVD performance recorded at TBN.

Those who know Forever Jones only from its willowy radio hit “He Wants It All” will be surprised at how downright funky the group can get on Get Ready. Further, their pop inflections evoke early Winans, while family matriarch Kim Jones’ vocal work on “Bless the Lord” brims with the blue notes of traditional gospel. This reintroduction reacquainted me with the delicate, tuneful “Time to Believe,” another strong candidate for single status on Get Ready.

On the well-produced DVD, essentially a television special, Forever Jones sings every song on the album (in a different order) and demonstrates how band-box neat they look and how professionally they come across in performance. Dominique’ is the family’s go-to soloist; she’s the lead voice and pianist on “He Wants It All.” The ladies are up front for most of the program, though the male Joneses, who are among the musicians, contribute a lead vocal line or two.

Not histrionic but musically focused in performance, Forever Jones exudes the contentment of straight-up, no frills ministry. One hopes that the group continues to offer their brand of honest musicality for a long time.

Picks: “He Wants It All,” “Time to Believe.”

Five of Five Stars