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Artist: The Isaacs
Title of album: Pieces of Our Past
Record label: Horizon Records HR07682 (CD)
Artist's website: http://www.theisaacs.com/
How to purchase this record: Order from record shop, but it can also be ordered/purchased directly on the website listed above ($15 per CD)
Review:
A Heavenly Masterpiece
 Imagine that you find a CD containing songs with wonderful music and wonderful lyrics, sung by a skilled vocal group with beautiful voices in perfect harmonies, accompanied by instruments played in bluegrass style by people with skills that are world class. In addition, 12 out of the 13 songs are no standards that you have heard one hundred times before but are new and exciting to you.
Sounds like a dream? Well, to me the dream came true when I finally got a CD that I have been looking for ever since I heard two tracks from it on a radio station some years ago. This album contains a number of songs that are incredibly beautiful in terms of melody, lyrics and the way they are performed. Currently, this is the southern gospel album that I regard as the best that I have heard.
A couple of years ago, while visiting Washington, I heard on the public radio station WAMU their Sunday morning "Stained Glass Bluegrass" program in which particularly two of the songs fascinated me. These were sung and played by a group called The Isaacs. The name was new to me but I have ever since tried to find the CD. Finally I managed to order it from a shop in Washington. This record is a compilation of older songs that the Isaacs has sung over the years and that have often been requested at their concerts, but sung in the way the group sings currently.
The Isaacs is a family group from Tennessee specialized in singing and playing southern gospel or perhaps I should say mountain gospel. Their discography does not reveal any significant secular material. The group, which has traveled for over 30 years, performs frequently at the Grand Ole Opry. One of the ladies has a soprano voice, second to none, that is carried all above the others and which blends with the harmonies of the band members into a full-bodied and solid sound. That leads me to remember some of the early recordings of The Chuck Wagon Gang where there is a similar female voice that sort of wails on top of the others. Even Alison Krauss would have the right to envy this voice. One of the men also has a voice with a rich harmonic contents that fascinates me; somewhat resembling that of Ricky Skaggs. The harmonies are exact and with the perfect timing that often characterizes an experienced family group.
The vocal harmonies constitute the strength of The Isaacs, and the instruments generally play a second role. However, several passages reveal that the instrumental skills are also impressive and complement the vocals in a very pleasant way. The instruments include acoustic bass, fiddle, banjo, rhythm guitar, guitar, dobro, mandolin. The purist bluegrass fan would hardly miss anything. Some of the Isaacs members have played with well-known bluegrass groups and artists and currently assist in recording sessions with renowned artists.
This type of gospel music is very different from black gospel. However, there is one thing that the Isaacs on this album has in common with many black gospel quartets: it is obvious that they deeply believe in what they are singing. Although their voices may not be specifically soulful, their way of singing is soulful in some sense.
Why is this group relatively obscure? Well, they are certainly not obscure in their part of the United States, having performed several times at the Grand Ole Opry, but one cannot say that they are neither internationally nor nationally renown. Yet, their qualities are magnificent. Is it because Southern gospel is something rather local, limited in popularity to the Appalachian Mountains and some of the southern and south-eastern states?
As mentioned, the vocal harmonies are incredibly beautiful on this album. But not only this; the lyrics of the songs are of very high quality. Some of the songs are written by Joe Isaacs "our father, one of the greatest songwriters ever" as cited from the album cover. This is a strong statement, but it is not totally unjustified since his songs on this album, four out of the 13 tracks, are really beautiful melodies as well as fine lyrics.
The insert consists of 3 panels (6 pages) which include the basics of the recording and the lyrics of all songs.
The lyrics not only praise the Lord, as one would expect; they do it in an unusually poetic way. My favorites in this respect are "Is This Not The Land of Beulah", describing the vision of the Eternal Land:
I am dwelling on the mountain
where the golden sunlight gleams
O'er a land whose wondrous beauty
far exceeds my fondest dreams
Another favorite of mine is "Paul's Ministry" that in the words of Jesus describe what Paul was expected to do in spreading the gospel:
Go down to Damascus, the street that's called straight,
My servant will tell you the road you must take
Finally, I was deeply moved by the simple beauty of the song "In His Arms I'm Not Afraid", a song about the last journey home:
When I close my eyes in death
Fold my hands upon my chest
Sing for me a pretty song
While I take my journey home
The Isaacs make me feel that it would be a pleasure to go home accompanied by their songs.
This review by
Ulf Sandberg
13 December 2003
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