The Kingsmen – Beyond the Clouds (1996)
After almost 3 years without any personnel changes, the winds of change blew through the Kingsmen bus once again as Tim Surrett and Randy Matthews both departed the Kingsmen. In June 1996, Tim left to join the Isaacs, where he remained until 2002, after which he re-joined the Kingsmen until 2005. After his second stint with the Kingsmen, Tim traveled for a bit as a soloist, but by 2007, he helped form the popular bluegrass group, Balsam Range, where he remains today. Randy Matthews, who left a few months before Tim, joined Gold City as pianist, where he remained for a couple of years before eventually coming off the road full-time. Replacing Randy, the Kingsmen hired Tim Lovelace, who brought tons of experience in musicianship, songwriting, and comedic timing from his nearly 10 years with the Florida Boys and was a tremendous asset to the Kingsmen during his brief time with them. The Kingsmen had already hired a young man named Rory Rigdon to play acoustic guitar, and after Tim Surrett left, he began playing bass guitar. Rory already had history with the Kingsmen, as he assisted with engineering several recordings for the group, going as far back as their 1992 recording, “Singin’ in the Sun”, and previous to that, he worked at Dawn Recording Studios in Asheville. Replacing Tim on vocals, the Kingsmen hired a fantastic singer named Bryan Hutson, who joined in July 1996. Bryan and Rory traveled together in an amazing group called the Heartland Quartet just prior to joining the Kingsmen. The group recorded for Horizon Music Group, and enjoyed great success with a song called, “It’s Time to Wake Up the Master”, which is where I first became familiar with Bryan as a singer. After joining the Kingsmen, Bryan was immediately rushed into the studio to add his vocals to “Beyond the Clouds” as the tracks were already done and the Kingsmen had already completed vocals. Some of the songs were keyed a little low for Bryan (as the songs were arranged with Tim Surrett as the lead singer) and a couple of songs ended up being keyed a half step higher when sung in concert.
“Beyond the Clouds” was released just in time for the 1996 National Quartet Convention, which is where I bought my copy, and was produced by Eldridge Fox, with Tim Surrett and Tim Lovelace handling all the music arrangements. Around this time, professional artists within Southern Gospel Music began moving away from using live strings and brass on their recordings, and the Kingsmen followed suit and enlisted the help of Milton Smith, who was an outstanding musician and orchestrator. Milton had traveled professionally for a time in the late 70’s with JD Sumner & the Stamps, and later with the Singing Americans during the mid-80’s, and eventually opened his own successful recording studio in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Milton was a highly sought after orchestrator for both live strings and brass, as well as synthesized orchestrations, and was the best at trying to give artists that full orchestral sound without the cost of using real strings and brass. Despite his tremendous work (which I greatly admire, as I have actually utilized his services for myself), it just wasn’t the same as live orchestrations, but the Kingsmen weren’t a group that used a lot of it, so for the most part, it wasn’t a huge distraction for me. The rest of the music was handled by the normal studio players (Jeff Collins, Tony Creaseman, Roger Fortner, and David Johnson), along with the Kingsmen players at the time, Tim Surrett and Randy Miller.
The recording kicks off with the classic title song, “Beyond the Clouds”, which was written by Conrad Cook. With Foxie and Chris swapping the lead throughout the song, this was a great re-make of a classic Kingsmen tune, as they originally recorded it 20 years earlier on their 1976 album, “Just in Time”. Even though there are 20 years between both versions, I appreciated the fact they maintained the original feel of the song.
Picking up the tempo, the Kingsmen tear into another classic tune, “I Stand Upon the Rock of Ages”, which was written by Squire Parsons, and features some nice guitar work and a lilting piano track. The song was a popular concert favorite for the Inspirations during the late 70’s, who recorded it on their 1977 album, “When I Get Home”. The Kingsmen also recorded it on a 4-album set in 1978, and this new recording follows a very similar arrangement when they originally recorded it, which had a bit of an acoustic feel to it. When they started staging the song after this newest recording came out, it took on a more straight ahead, Southern Gospel feel, and it went over exceptionally well in concert. The song was a popular one for the Kingsmen, topping out at #5 in the Singing News chart for March and April of 1997.
Slowing the pace down, “If There’s a Crown for Me”, is another song written by Squire that was originally on that same 4-album set the Kingsmen recorded in 1978. Squire took the lead on the original version, but for this newest recording, Chris Collins is featured, and does a really great job on the song. I love the humbling message of the song and it’s a highlight of the recording, before we come to the bluesy feel of the Bob Prather penned classic, “Headin’ Home”, which highlights Randy Miller’s prowess at the harmonica. Originally recorded back in the 50’s by Hovie Lister & the Statesmen, this song was quite controversial back in the day due to the bluesy nature of the song, along with the blaring horns. In fact, some DJ’s felt the song was pure heresy, and took to the air to actually break the album live on the air! Fast-forward 40 years, and the Kingsmen pull off a flawless performance on the song and it’s a highlight of the recording. I remember seeing them perform the song during their stand at the 1996 National Quartet Convention, and thought it was one of the best songs on their set that night!
Next, we come to the power ballad, “Master I See”, which features an exceptional performance by Parker. The song was one of Parker’s favorite songs to sing while with the Kingsmen, and it was written by Chris Campbell, who had written a few songs the Kingsmen recorded during the latter part of the 80’s. This was the second single from this recording, which peaked at #11 in November and December of 1997 in the Singing News chart.
It’s been 11 years since the Kingsmen recorded a new Conrad Cook tune (“Jesus is Sweet” from their 1985 album, “Better in Person”, was the last one they had recorded), and “I’ll Leave it All”, with its lively campmeeting feel, was a perfect Kingsmen song. Featuring Ray on the second verse, the chorus allowed everyone to be featured and it was a fantastic concert favorite for the Kingsmen, before slowing the tempo back down as newest member, Bryan Hutson, does an amazing job on the Jack Toney penned, “Come and See the Rising Son”. I love the black gospel feel of the song and it still remains my favorite Hutson feature, as he literally sings the fire out of it. Again, I remember seeing them sing this song from the NQC stage in 1996 and I was absolutely blown away by Bryan’s performance of the song.
With fun fiddle and piano accents, the enjoyable little ditty, “I Feel the Touch of God”, is a highlight of the recording and one of my favorite songs. Written by Terry Franklin and Joel Lindsey, this was such a delightful tune highlighting some outstanding harmony, before Randy Miller takes the lead on the soulful, “No Room for Doubt”, which was written by Tim Lovelace and Paul Lancaster. A wonderful play on words (something I can see Ronny Hinson or Kenny Hinson writing), this song was tailor made for Randy, before the mood transitions to a more traditional feel with the LeeRoy Abernathy penned classic, “Take a Moment and Live”. This was one of the songs that was keyed a little too low for Bryan, and when they staged this song live, they moved it up a half step.
Featuring a wonderfully warm steel guitar intro, Ray takes the lead on the Tim Lovelace penned tune, “He Laid Down His Golden Crown”. Bryan takes the second verse, but Ray maintains the lead on the chorus and it’s one of my all-time favorite Ray Reese features, before the recording closes out with Jim Hamill’s only feature, “Will the Lord Be With Me”. Though I love this classic quartet tune, I would have loved to have heard Hamill tackle one more ballad, as I always felt those were his best features. Nonetheless, this was a perfect swansong, as the Kingsmen usher in a new era without Hamill.
I thoroughly enjoyed this recording and while I was a huge fan of Tim Surrett and loved the blend with him singing lead, I was excited about the new sound with Bryan Hutson, as I was already a fan prior to him joining the group. I remember when I initially discovered Tim was leaving, I was extremely disappointed but when I later found out who was taking his place, all my fears were put to rest. Bryan brought such a unique dynamic to the Kingsmen sound and was perfect for their blood and guts type of singing!
As I had alluded to earlier, “Beyond the Clouds” was the ending of a remarkable era for the Kingsmen, as this would be Jim Hamill’s final recording with the group, as he would officially retire by the end of 1996. After retiring from the Kingsmen, Hamill recorded several solo albums, and he also made a few special appearances here and there, and he would still periodically make an appearance at special events with the Kingsmen as well. After an extended illness, Jim Hamill passed away on November 29, 2007, but he left an indelible mark on not just the Kingsmen, but on gospel music. There was no one who commanded a stage like Hamill, who always gave his best and expected nothing but the best out of those he sang with. There was no one like Hamill, and those who were privileged to know him and enjoy his singing and stage work, deeply miss his presence.
Though Hamill’s retirement was the end of an incredible era for the Kingsmen, the way it was handled made for a very soft landing for the Kingsmen. Hamill’s retirement was probably 8-10 years in the making, as he started letting Arthur Rice handle more and more lead duties during the latter part of the 80’s, and as time went on, he was taking less of an active role on stage, but he left the Kingsmen in the capable hands of Parker Jonathan, who became the Kingsmen’s official emcee and stage manager. Despite this being the end of an era, it wasn’t the end of the Kingsmen, as they were still one of the most exciting stage groups in our industry, as evidenced on their live video for this recording that was recorded in Columbus, Ohio. Hamill was not part of that video, and Parker and the Kingsmen proved they were just as fun and entertaining as ever! Also proven on that video, the band was still the best in the business, as evidenced when they snagged the “Favorite Band” award once again during the 1996 Singing News Fan Awards. I saw the Kingsmen many times during this era, and they were still bringing it and stealing the show every single time with their exciting and dynamic delivery. Though it was a process, they had successfully re-invented themselves, and they continued to live up to their legacy as the “Mighty” Kingsmen!
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