Customer Reviews

The Journey

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I come from a different genre - 80's rock, to 80's country to finally wanting to go to the bluegrass/acoustic side.. I own 3 mandolins, a banjo and a Bouzouki.. Anyway, this CD is probably the best I've heard lately. I can't seem to put it down and always want to hear it.. The Oak Ridge boys have definitely been around 30+ Years and it shows. The harmonies are incredible. From "Train, Train" to "The Journey" there are some songs that needed to be heard by everyone. My favorites are "Old Familiar Love" and "Bad Case Of Missing You" also "Saving Grace" is just an incredible song. Joe Bonsall helps out on the Banjo - In credit's Ban-Joey plays "ore Banjer" and is also on a Deering advertisement. Richard gooes deeper than I've heard on "Bad Case of Missing You" and lead on "Old Familiar Love" . The whole thing is well worth your money - if you spend money on ONE cd this year.. make it this one!

I have been an oak ridge boy fan since 1975, and I have all of the albums they have put out. this is one of the best country bluegrass albums I have ever heard. every song is great!!! my favorites are "Bad case of missing you" in which Richard sings the lowest he has ever sung! "My girl Friday" Duane takes the lead and tells the story of a devorced father getting weekend visits from his daugter. "I love you so much it hurts" is one of William Lee Golden's best songs he has ever sung!! The real prize on the album is "Saving Grace" where Joe sings about an elderly man who has to take care of his wife with Alsheimer disease. I cried the first time I heard it. for anyone who likes great contry bluegrass, acoustic music, and if you like the oaks, you must buy this album! it is their best album yet! 5 stars is what I give it, I would give it 10 stars if I could, and please get better William Lee.

Train and other tracks on this CD are strong testimony to the continued strength of this quartet. Their harmonies are dynamic, and if Duane Allen's lead sounds a little aged from time to time, the overall quality of the Oaks' performance is still very satisfying.

Overall I'm happy with this album..I initially heard the song Journey on a Feed The Children commercial..and I caught the video..for my part, I can't put the song down..the cadence, banjo and violin, and the voicing on it are all terrific. If you like acoustic, and a mix of string instruments, this one won't disappoint you.

Prime Cuts: Saving Grace, Bad Case of Missing You, My Girl Friday

Not since 1999's "Voices," has the Oak Ridge Boys released a country album. This does not mean that they had been in hiatus. Rather, in the last five years they have made forays into other musical genres with the release of a gospel album, a Christmas CD and a flag waving collection of patriotic tunes. In the assembling of this CD, the Oaks, according to the CD inlay notes, listened to over 1,000 songs before narrowing down to these lucky eleven. Such meticulousness certainly bears its fruition in the superior caliber of these songs.

This is truly a sturdy piece of work paired by songs that deftly engages in life's labyrinth and the Oaks' trademark four-part harmony delivered with a sense of dynamics and nuance. Case in point is "My Girl Friday" a melodically superior ballad and coming from the pens of Curtis Wright and Carl Jackson. Formerly cut by the underrated Daron Norwood, "My Girl Friday" details the lugubrious feelings of a divorced dad having to share custody of their child. With lines like "Thursday takes forever and Monday comes too soon; but at least she's my girl Friday, `til Sunday afternoon," the Oaks certainly know how to strike an emotional cord.

Love doesn't get truer than on the lilting "Saving Grace," a superbly written story ballad narrating the struggles of a husband taking care of Grace his Alzheimer stricken wife. Not since Reba's "Moving Oleta," has a song dealt with this issue with such depth, warmth and poignancy. Pat Terry's "Somewhere Green," where the rustic life is the protagonist's preference is benefited by the befitting sparse backing.

The Oaks' acumen for the current trends of modern country music shows on this album's debut single "Bad Case of Missing You." Coming from the pens of Nashville's most sort after trio of writers Al Anderson, Jeffrey Steele and Bob DiPero, "Bad Case of Missing You" brims with freshness. This midtempo single is tightly produced and irresistibly catchy; a surefire hit if they had the support of a major label. "Against the Grain," an anthem about standing up for what's right, was a former Garth Brooks track. Whereas Garth's version was frosted by some popish state of the art gloss; the Oaks' has a more stripped down bluegrassy feel boasting some addictive firey sounding fiddling. The oft covered "Train, Train" is also elegantly performed; while Pearl River's "That Ole Gravel Road Was Easy Street" has a youthful rock edge to it.

The only track that didn't quite work for me is Joe Bonsall's "The Journey" (the only track written by one of the Oaks). A modern day prodigal son type of song "The Journey" is commendable for its spiritual message. But I find the song lyrically far too loquacious and melodically inferior. But this is minor quibble to this otherwise superb album. After abandoning their over the top production that had had earmarked so many of their late 80s albums, this acoustic based CD is a welcoming return. "The Journey," the album, is rejuvenating, acerbic and it's a journey well worth treading.