Album Review: "I'll Take Jesus" - Good Shepherd's Quartet

Welcome back.  After my hiatus from my year in college, I bought a record at St. Vinnie's here in Albany, Oregon.  When I was at Heartland Baptist Bible College back in Oklahoma City, people were surprised I even knew what Southern Gospel was, being from Oregon and all.  Anyway, I had never heard of the Good Shepherd's Quartet.  They looked pretty God-honoring, and I liked the song selection, so I thought, "Why not?"  While I was walking to the counter with my bounty ("I'll Take Jesus", The Good Shepherd's family album, and a mixed trio from the Midwest), I noticed the addresses were from Shedd, Oregon, a small community about fifteen miles south of Albany.  Delighted, I could not wait to listen to it.  So without further ado, The Good Shepherds Quartet - "I'll Take Jesus":
The album starts off with the title song, "I'll Take Jesus".  The song has a strong biblical truth, and the message is amazing.
The next song is the old Speer Family tune, "It Had to Be Love".  You can practically hear Harold Lane's authorship all over this song.  Fun little tune.
Things slow down on "Learning to Lean".  Once I convert the album to CD, I'll probably skip over this song.  I'm not much for slower songs.
After this, comes "A Song Holy Angels Cannot Sing".  A slow, swinging tune, it's still a great, exciting song anticipating the singing in Heaven.
The excitement grows as the first side of the album closes out with the classic Gold City, song, "What a Happy Time".  This song is given a more "hick" country sound with a banjo.
Side B opens with "Who Saved My Soul".  While it's not a really slow song, I'm just not a fan of the song.  Yet another song I'll be skipping over.
Moving on to the next song is the old Statesmen classic, "The Fourth Man".  While it is a fun song, they bring in one of the child musicians.  While to the casual listener, this bother me as a music major, who has received ear training.  You can hear the scooping on it, but then again, this is not a "professional" quartet.
The next song is "The Scars in the Hands of Jesus".  This is another slow song, but for some reason, I have always loved the song.
After this is another Statesmen song "Something I Can Feel".  Not only is this song fun, but I absolutely love the message.  While the song is a more country song, it is still a powerful number.
The album closes with "What a Time".  The song perfectly ends the album.  What a time we'll have up there!
I enjoyed this album very much.  Apparently the Knox Brothers, a Southern Gospel group from nearby Halsey, still sell the Good Shepherd's music.  If you can, I'd encourage you to find a copy of one of their albums somewhere.  It'd be worth it.

Album rating:  4.55/5

Songs:
Side One:
1. I'll Take Jesus (Shelnut/Centerpoint) BMI
2. It Had to Be Love (Lane/Ben Speer) SESAC
3. Learning to Lean (Stalls/Heartwarming) BMI
4. A Song the Holy Angels Cannot Sing (Jensen/Jensen) ASCAP
5. What a Happy Time (Beck/Stamps) SESAC

Side Two:
1. Who Saved My Soul
2. The Fourth Man (Smith) BMI
3. The Scars in the Hands of Jesus (Wilkin/Buckhorn) BMI
4. Something I Can Feel
5. What a Time (Reid/Silverline) BMI

Musicians:
Lead Guitar: Joe Knight
Rhythm Guitar: Mark Smucker
Bass Guitar: Lonnie Smucker
Steel Guitar: Gene Breeden
Banjo: Joe Knight, Ellis Miller
Piano: Denise Knight
Drums: Danny Breeden

Engineer: Ellis Miller
Remix Engineer: Ellis Miller

Cover Photo: Photography Emporium - Lebanon, Oregon