SPOTLIGHT CD REVIEW: ONCE AGAIN- TRIBUTE QUARTET
SOUTHERN GOSPEL SPOTLIGHT PRESENTS:
ONCE AGAIN
TRIBUTE QUARTET
LABEL: DAYWIND RECORDS
RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 17, 2021
GROUP MEMBERS: GARY CASTO (LEAD), JOSH SINGLETARY (BARITONE/PIANIST), GUS GACHES (TENOR), AND IAN OWENS (BASS)
SONG LIST:
Makes Me Wanna Go
Homesick Angel
That’s Why I Love Him So
Calvary Wins Again
Good News From Jerusalem
Homecoming Day
I’ve Been Blessed
I Am Healed
He’s Leading The Way
Outside The Gate
THOUGHTS:
I always enjoy when groups revisit their own popular songs. Whether it’s giving them a fresh new arrangement or just simply re-recording the track with new vocals, these projects are always fun. Tribute Quartet delivers one of the best examples of this concept with the incredible: Once Again. This stellar recording features ten of the group’s standards and hits with the current lineup. This project is also the first to feature new bass singer Ian Owens (though his vocals were added to their previous release Quartet Tribute Vol. 2). Owens brings his smooth, resonant bass voice and fits with the group perfectly.
The album opens with the energetic quartet tune “Makes Me Wanna Go” first featured on The Waiting Is Over (2011). The group’s stellar harmonies are front in center on this great song that looks forward to Heaven. Ian Owens’s bass adds a fantastic fullness to this new version. Gus Gaches takes the lead on the hit “Homesick Angel” which first appeared on Our Anthem (2012). Gaches does an incredible job on this incredible song which is one of the group’s best. Their harmonies are once again featured on the mid-tempo track “That’s Why I Love Him So” which features Gary Casto’s warm, inviting lead. This worshipful song first appeared on For This Time (2009). “Calvary Wins Again,” also from that same album, is one of my favorite songs by Tribute. Ian Owens and Gus Gaches elevate the already incredible original with their powerful vocals. Josh Singletary is featured on the hit “Good News From Jerusalem” originally featured on Our Anthem (2012). Gus Gaches delivers an incredible vocal performance on “Homecoming Day” originally featured on The Waiting Is Over (2011). The group also revists the groovy “ I Am Blessed” (For This Time), the powerful anthem “I Am Healed” (For This Time), the driving “He’s Leading The Way” (The Waiting Is Over), and the moving ballad “Outside The Gate” (2010’s Hit Replay).
FINAL THOUGHTS:
THIS IS ONE OF TRIBUTE QUARTET’S FINEST ALBUMS TO DATE. THE NEW LINEUP FEATURING IAN OWENS, GUS GACHES, GARY CASTO, AND JOSH SINGLETARY IS SIMPLY STELLAR. EXCELLENT SONG SELECTION AND INCREDIBLE VOCALS.
A MUST BUY FOR FANS OF TRIBUTE AND CLASSIC SOUTHERN GOSPEL MUSIC!
5 OUT OF 5 STARS!
FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.tributequartet.com