Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

It seems these days that over half of the albums distributed by Alliance Music are Gaither products. Certainly each issue of this esteemed publication contains at least three or four reviews of new releases by Bill and Gloria's organisation, and there seem to be as many differing opinions as to the quality or otherwise of all this stuff as there are reviewers. If you've read my reviews, you may surmise that I don't like Southern gospel music. Not strictly true: I don't like cheaply produced, indifferent quality Southern gospel music, but then I don't like cheaply produced, indifferent quality music of any sort, be it Southern gospel, rock, pop or whatever. The basic ingredients are pretty much the same on this Homecoming Friends album as they were for all the others. Thus we have a massive running time of nearly 73 minutes, a mix of songs new, old and ancient, a pseudo-live studio recording with an audience that hoots, hollers and claps along nearly all the way through, and the presence of some well known names who get roped in for cameo appearances, notably Jessy Dixon, Babbie Mason, Jeff and Sheri Easter and The Oak Ridge Boys. Whilst Southern gospel has its adherents in Europe, some of whom verge on the fanatical, I find it well nigh impossible to get all worked up about an album containing material that is in some cases over 50 years old. Time for the Homecoming Friends to get up to date, methinks.

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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