I'd like to feature an album I just acquired last month, It's titled for the name of the group, Mountan Blue. I stumbled onto Mountain Blue purely by chance one Sunday as I was driving home from an interview with a presthood leader. I had the FM100 Sound of Sunday program playing on the radio, something I rarely do, when a version of Down to the River to Pray came on that was new to me. It was still playing as I pulled into the garage. I was so mesmerised I left the radio on after shutting off the car so it could play out. I loved it even more than the Alison Krauss, O Brother Where Art Thou, version which is saying something. Luckily the dj announced that it was performed by the group Mountain Blue. I looked them up on the internet and a few days later ordered the album of the same name because it had Down to the River to Pray, the song that I first identified with them. I ordered the cd from Todd Horne, one of the founding members of the group. He was offering a free copy of the group's first album Gospel Train with an order of one of their current albums, so I took him up on the offer. The group was known as Blue Cheese on that album and had a different line up. The group on Mountain Blue consists of: Todd Horne - baritone, Spencer Whitham - bass, Adam Monteith - tenor and either Kristine Perry Monteith or Kindra Clemence - alto, depending on track. I've been really enjoying this newer album. The harmonies are amazing and the mix of 3 guy singers with one girl is really cool. That gives them a higher range than you could normally attain with an all male quartet. Having been brought up on barbershop harmony and having sung it myself, I really enjoy 4 part harmony. These guys (and gal) take it to another level. They are an LDS group but are singing in a genre less known around these parts, namely bluegrass/Southern gospel. I like this format much better than the typical pop a-pella stuff that's so prevalent now. Did I fail to mention they sing a-capella? Interestingly, the first album (freebie) was a bit of a bust for me. They seemed to be sorting out their sound at that point. The Mountain Blue cd is a quantum leap above Gospel Train, at least to my non-professional ears. After receiving the cd, Todd emailed me that his favorite album by the group is the one I didn't purchase (hint, hint) called Roll Back the Stone. I've listened to the samples and can see why he'd say that. It has what could be argued as their best number, Jesus Love is Like a River. Many of the tracks are shared by the 2 newer albums, so it's hard to justify another purchase. If only Jesus Love were available on Itunes! Anyway, I like all the tracks on Mountain Blue with the possible exception of Man of Constant Sorrow. That's one where the O Brother (Dan Tyminski) version is clearly superior. They've made a coupla' more changes to their line up with the departure of the Montieths. Tenor is now being sung by Drew Norton and alto is carried by Julia Sanders. I haven't heard the current incarnation, but hope to catch a performance sometime soon. In the mean time I'm highly recommending their 2 latest albums. Rating for Mountain Blue: 4.5 stars
Here's Jesus Love is Like a River from Youtube:
