Album Review
hi res
Gold City - 2011 Somebody's Coming (New Haven Records/8091-2): Peter James And John; I Get Down; Footprints On The Water; It Won't Be Long; Showers Of Blessing; Lord Of Life; Somebody's Coming; Leave That Burden; I Have An Anchor; Never Too Broken To Belong. (Dan Keeton, Jerry Pelfrey, Daniel Riley, Tim Riley, Bryan Elliot) (This CD was started with the Cobb/Taliaferro line-up and continued with the Mitchell/West line-up before being completed by the Keeton/Pelfrey line-up. Sharp-eared listeners should be able to pick out some of the previous vocalists on the 2011 release.)
David Bruce Murray
November 2, 2011
RATING: 4 1/2 Stars
Since 2003, I have measured every Gold City project against Walk The Talk. Somebody’s Coming returns Gold City to a similar standard of production quality and consistency from the beginning of the CD to the end. This group has been hammered with personnel changes for the past few years. To turn out a collection of songs this good with not one, but two singers performing vocals that were initially selected for others is note-worthy.
I purchased the album as a download from Amazon.com rather than getting a physical CD, so I’m writing this review at a disadvantage when it comes to credits, musicians, producers, etc. Typically, I would wait until I had that information in hand, but this CD has been delayed so much that I felt it was more important to go ahead and get the review done.
“Peter, James And John” has been getting exposure at Gold City’s concerts for several weeks. This track is in a vein similar to “I Cast My Bread Upon The Water.” “I Get Down” is a slow paced, Tim Riley swagger song. He drops down to the G below low C with authority again and again. Bass singers will love this song and try to sing it as well as Tim in the same key…and they will fail. “Footprints On The Water” showcases Daniel Riley over a driving rhythm. “It Won’t Be Long” is a sped-up remake of a soulful Dixie Hummingbirds song. “Showers Of Blessing” features new lead singer, Jerry Pelfrey. Some have compared him to Ivan Parker. I can hear some similarities in his delivery on this song, but I wouldn’t call him an Ivan clone. Steve Ladd was a closer match to Brian Free than Pelfrey is to Parker.
“Lord Of Life” is a big ballad that follows the typical formula, growing bigger and bigger as the arrangement progresses. “Somebody’s Coming” is a remake of a song that originally appeared on a 1999 Russ Taff CD (Right Here, Right Now). I like Taff’s version quite a lot, but I do love the four part harmonies on Gold City’s version too. Call it a tie. “Leave That Burden” features some light vocal tones I didn’t expect to hear on a Gold City CD. The verses feature tenor Dan Keeton. “I Have An Anchor” is a hard-charging feature for Jerry Pelfrey. “Never Too Broken To Belong” slows down the pace for a reflective invitation lyric sung by Daniel Riley.
Somebody’s Coming gets high marks for song selection, production quality and execution. I’m hesitant to use the phrase “worth the wait,” but it’s certainly no let-down. I know I’ll be hitting the repeat button on “Peter, James And John,” “I Get Down,” “Somebody’s Coming,” and “I Have An Anchor” quite often. I may skip “Lord Of Life,” but that’s just because I’m not a huge fan of formulaic ballads. Everything else ranges from very good to great.
