The Talleys – Work of Heart (1985)
After the immense success of their first major album, “Wherever I Am”, would the Talleys be able to top it? Many sophomore recordings have fallen flat, as artists feverishly try to exceed the success of their first hit recording, rather than just enjoy the ride and let the creative process flow naturally…which is what it appears that the Talleys did. While enjoying their newfound success, they (along with producers Bill Gaither and Gary McSpadden) just allowed their sound to evolve naturally, and they created a work of “art”, with their sophomore recording, “Work of Heart”.
As I already mentioned, “Work of Heart” was produced once again by Bill Gaither and Gary McSpadden, and it didn’t sound forced, but a gentle progression of the evolution of their sound, as the Talleys found success in both the Southern Gospel and Inspirational markets. This album was a great reflection of their musical direction, successfully balancing the fine line between multiple Christian music styles. For this album, string and horn arrangements were handled by Bergen White, who was a highly sought after arranger, producer, conductor, musician and composer, whose work crossed musical boundaries between Christian and Country music including such artists as the Oak Ridge Boys, Statler Brothers, Imperials, George Jones, Amy Grant, Alabama, Dolly Parton, and Rex Nelon Singers. Bergen’s orchestral work was classy and was a perfect marriage for the Talleys and this recording.
I must mention the classy and cool overhead cover shot for this album, as I felt it contrasted the understated cover of their preceding album, “Wherever I Am”. Shot at a large office building near the offices of Word Music in Nashville, the office boasted 2 large lobby areas with inverted colors in each lobby…one with a pink couch and teal carpeting (front cover) and the other with a teal couch and pink carpeting (back cover). It’s a great cover that complimented the Talleys exceptionally well and seemed to match the overall vibe of the album.
The album kicks off with the upbeat choral feel of the Kirk Talley penned tune, “Let the People Rejoice”. With its electric keyboard and brass/saxophone infused track, the song has a nice Lanny Wolfe feel to it (who was an early influence on both Roger and Kirk) and kicks off the recording perfectly, before the tempo slows down slightly for the rock ballad feel of the Danny Musgrove penned tune, “We Shall Stand”, which features Debra. Published through the Cathedrals publishing company, Onward Bound Music, Roger Bennett pitched the song to the Talleys, and the dramatic feel of the song was a perfect fit for the group, and is one of my favorites from this album.
Written by Steve Richardson, “Hallelujah, I Will Praise Him” continues the dramatic feel with its varying tempos and features Kirk. This triumphant tune has remained one of my personal favorite songs from this album, before the tempo picks up for the electric guitar driven track of “Instrument of Power”. With its heavy guitar track and slight Pentecostal undertones, this was something a little different for the Talleys, but it’s one of my favorites from this album. Written by Kirk and featuring Debra, the song was inspired by a sermon Kirk had heard, and it was the third single from this album, settling in at #15 in the February 1987 Singing News chart.
The black gospel feel of “If It Had Not Been”, which was written by Margaret Douroux, rounds out the first side of this album. Given the success the Talleys had with “Naaman”, Bill Gaither pitched this song to the Talleys, and though it was never a radio single, it became a hugely popular concert favorite, and they often used it as their opening song. I love the feel and dynamics of the song and it’s one of my all-time favorite Talley tunes. One interesting thing to note, the Talleys were one of the few groups that used soundtracks at this time, and they knew how to make the tracks work for them; one trick they used when performing this song is they would start the song with just Roger playing the piano, and mid-ways through, the track would kick in. Thanks to click tracks playing in the monitors, the track always would kick in at just the right time!
Kicking off the second side is the fun, “Sweeter As the Days Go By”, which became the Talleys first and only #1 song, holding the top spot for 4 months between June and September 1986. This was a popular quartet number back in the 60’s having been recorded by such groups as the Prophets Quartet, LeFevres, Statesmen, Weatherfords and Oak Ridge Boys, and in fact, the original Talley Trio recorded the song on their first album in 1971! Back in the day, quartets would sing this song as a vigorous up-tempo number, but when pitching the song to the Talleys, Bill Gaither suggested slowing the pace down a bit and using a slightly different arrangement than what the quartets did back in the day. Additionally, Gaither had the idea of having the Gaither Vocal Band join them on the song, along with the Cathedral’s bass singer, George Younce. This song was my initial introduction to the Talleys when I heard it on the radio for the first time back around 1985 or so, and I fell in love with the easy going feel of the song, and the acoustic guitar and harmonica work in the song is absolutely fabulous.
Slowing the tempo down and nicely orchestrated, Kirk steps up as he sings the self-penned title song, “Work of Heart”, which was the second single from this recording, which stalled out at #16 in the December 1986 Singing News chart. Inspired by a sermon Kirk heard about how our life is a canvas, he carefully crafted the song as a “Work of Heart”, rather than a “work of art”, and I always felt it was such a neat “hook” for a song.
The tempo gets kicked back up as Roger sings the driving, “Living Water”, which was written by Gary McSpadden and Dwight Liles, and in fact, Gary recorded the song a year earlier on his 1984 solo recording, “Separate Journeys”. This remains one of my personal favorite Roger features and is such a catchy and fun song to listen to and is probably my personal favorite song on the recording.
Speaking of fun songs, the Talleys always seemed to have a way of finding and recording fun and quirky tunes. Inspired by a rude lady grabbing a shirt Kirk wanted in a local clothing store, we come to the fun sermon in song, “Gimme, Gimme, Take, Take”, which features Kirk. Kirk has always had a knack for using everyday circumstances and crafting them into remarkable and memorable songs…some have been deeply emotional sentiments and others, like “Gimme, Gimme, Take, Take”, were lighthearted and fun.
Turning to a more serious vein, the album closes out with the Bill & Gloria Gaither penned classic, “Worthy the Lamb”, which features both Debra and Kirk. The Bill Gaither Trio originally recorded the song on their 1974 album, “Thanks for Sunshine”, and Bill thought it’d be a great song for the Talleys. While the original version by the Bill Gaither Trio clocked in at over 10 minutes long, the Talleys rendition isn’t nearly quite as long or dramatic as the original, but was a nice finale to the album and the Talleys do a tremendous job on the song.
I felt “Work of Heart” had a very similar feel to “Wherever I Am”, but with very subtle advances in their musical style, and that it was a classy recording that appealed to a broad spectrum of listeners. “Work of Heart” was the very first album I ever owned by the Talleys. I bought it during the summer of 1986 when I was 14 years old, and I fell in love with it. While my musical core was pretty traditional at the time (and still is for the most part), I was a big fan of the Nelons, and had recently discovered the music of Sandi Patti, Larnelle Harris and Steve Green, and I liked what they had to offer musically. The Talleys were an extension of that area of my musical palette, and with each recording they released, I fell deeper in love with their music, and continued to gain a greater respect for what they brought to the table.
By the time the National Quartet Convention rolled around in October 1985, the Talleys had been enjoying the fruits of their labor with their first major hit, “Thinking About Home”, and due to the immense success of the song, fans far and wide had fallen in love with Debra Talley, and she walked away with both the “Favorite Alto” and “Favorite Female Singer” awards during the 1985 Singing News Fan Awards! The Talleys were making a solid name for themselves as they continued presenting their music with stunning class, style, and sophistication. Their presentation was unique, and in many ways, very elegant, and they were very different from most mainstream Southern Gospel groups at the time, and promotors found that adding them to their concerts gave their audiences something very distinctive and exceptional. In fact, throughout their time on the road, the Talleys sang on many programs with the Cathedrals, as they offered something that completely contrasted what the Cathedrals brought to the stage, and the people loved it! As evidenced on this album and what many Southern Gospel fans were discovering, “Talley Music” was genuinely a work of art…as well as a true work of “heart”!
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