Reviewed by Peter Dilley

I must admit to being confused at seeing five men on this quartet's sleeve, but it turns out one of the chaps is the pianist. Two of the Triumphant Quartet are father and son Clayton Inman (lead) and Scott (baritone), an arrangement which seems almost as cheesy as the smiles on the cover shot. Four-part close harmony singing might still be quite a big thing in the States, but notwithstanding those numerous Gaither imports, I've never really been convinced that Southern gospel in any form is a genre with widespread appeal here in the UK. The "Achy Breaky Heart"-like backing on "Giver, Creator, Savior" sounded bizarre with the close harmony treatment, and things didn't get very much better with the heavily-orchestrated ballads "He Will Be" and "The Great I Am Still Is", or even with the bluesy "Let It Be Me". Perhaps the track that works best is "The Old White Flag", which has a more acoustic-style backing. Ironically, even though it was a real challenge not to regard the album title as anything but tongue-in-cheek, the vocals and accompaniment on the song "You Gotta Love It" seemed much better matched than most other tracks here. These guys perhaps need to think a bit harder about what material actually suits their style of delivery.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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