Enjoying the success from their “United” album, which was released in 1986, the Talleys did not release a new recording in 1987. They did manage to get into the studio during the latter half of 1987, and in early 1988, they released “For Every Generation”, which took the Talleys down a different path than “United” did. By this time, the Talleys had found a unique niche in worship and church music (fueled by the overwhelming success of such songs as “Triumphantly, the Church Will Rise”), so they shifted gears a bit and released this fabulous album filled with songs for every generation.
Their first 3 albums for Canaan had been produced by Bill Gaither and Gary McSpadden, but as they began going down the path of a new musical direction, the record company suggested using Steven V. Taylor as producer. Taylor is a 12-time Dove Award winning producer, arranger, and songwriter, and at the time, was doing some choral projects for Word Music when the Talleys brought him on board to produce this album. Along with Taylor, David Huntsinger is brought on to assist with arranging music tracks for the recording, as well as playing keyboards (he played piano/keyboards on their previous Canaan albums as well). Huntsinger played piano for the Rambos during the latter half of the 70’s, and during the 1980’s was doing lots of studio work with such artists as Sandi Patti, Steve Green, Nelons, Barbara Mandrell, Reba Rambo, Glen Campbell, Gordon Jensen, Imperials, Cathedrals, and others. Orchestrations for this recording were being handled by a young, aspiring orchestrator named Russell Mauldin. This was one of the first major recordings Mauldin was involved in since joining the Nashville music scene a couple of years earlier, and he credits this album as his big break in the field. With the shift to a more choral feel, you definitely hear the heavy orchestrations along with the additional background vocals (which included a young Guy Penrod). Also of note, this is the first album where Roger Talley is credited as Executive Producer, along with Canaan executive, John Mays.
The album kicks off with the big orchestral sound of the worship tune, “God of my Praise”. Written by Daryl Williams, he spent 6 months trying to write this song and spent much of that time coming up with the last line, “glory shall sing to the God of my Praise”, which he finally finished when he came upon Psalm 30:12, “to the end that my glory may sing praise to Thee…”. Once finished and adding a bridge, he quickly created a demo and Roger Bennett (who was Daryl’s publisher) pitched it to the Talleys. I always felt this “Sandi Patti-ish” type song could have been a strong contender for being a radio single, but it never made it to radio, instead it became a huge concert favorite for the Talleys, and my favorite song from this album.
With a cool gospel piano intro, popping brass, strong beat, and Pentecostal feel, “God’s Gonna Send a Revival” picks up the tempo quite a bit and was a bit of a musical departure for the Talleys. The song fit the overall vibe of this recording perfectly, and became the highest charting song from this album, peaking at #13 on the Singing News Chart for May 1989. Written by Kirk Talley and Jeff Gibson (who were and are still great friends), Kirk already had a chorus written, and since Kirk (who is Baptist), knew Jeff (who is Pentecostal) could come up with a good Pentecostal feel for the verses, the two collaborated with writing the verses together, and created a magnificent song. Tribute Quartet brought this song back several years ago, when they recorded it on their 2012 recording, “Our Anthem”.
Slowing the tempo down, Debra steps up as she sings the tender, “Hold on to the Years”, which was written by Dave Clark and Lari Goss and performed as a solo, singing from mother (Debra) to daughter (Lauren). With the success of “We’re Building Temples” from their “United” album, they knew they needed to find a song with a strong “family” feel, and this song fit the bill perfectly, before the tempo picks up a bit for the Kirk Talley/Lanny Wolfe penned anthem, “We Are Still the Church”. Featuring Kirk and Debra, the song was inspired by problems within the church, stemming from recent failings from prominent ministers. Kirk started work on the song and during the time he was working on it, the Talleys sang at an event with Lanny Wolfe in Estes Park, Colorado, and the two got together and finished the song. Featuring a big choral feel, the song never broke into the Top 20 (which I always felt it should have gone much higher), but it did become a popular fan favorite, and remains one of my personal favorites from this album.
Finishing up the first side, Kirk is featured next on the powerful song, “Sins Are Gone Forever”, a wonderful song of forgiveness, mercy, and grace. Starting out quietly with just keyboard and simple instrumentation, the song builds with intensity to its grand finish, and Kirk’s ad libs are exceptional as well. Written by Geron & Becky Davis along with Tim Pedigo, the song is one of my personal favorite Kirk features.
Side 2 kicks off with the title song, “For Every Generation”, which features guest vocalists, Brock Speer, the Cathedrals (minus George Younce, as he was recovering from a heart attack) and country family group, the Whites, along with a big choir for the final chorus including a list of names many may recall including David & Lisa Binion, the Hemphills, the Speers, Tanya Goodman-Sykes, Michael English, Steve Hurst, Russell Mauldin, and others. Kirk wanted to write an anthem for gospel music in the same vein as “We Are the World”, and the song was released to radio on a 2-sided single with “We Are Still the Church”, with “For Every Generation” peaking at #20 in August 1988. During this time, the Talleys and Cathedrals did a lot of concerts together as a package, and they usually kicked off the 2nd half with this song, and it always went over exceptionally well.
Picking up the tempo a bit, we come to the rhythmic, acoustic feel of “All Over the World”, which features Roger. With Kirk providing some nice descants on the final chorus, it’s one of my personal favorites from the recording, before Debra is featured on the beautiful, “Never Thirst Again”. Featuring some gorgeous guitar work and tastefully orchestrated, the song was written by Bill & Gloria Gaither, along with JD Miller, and it was one of those songs Debra could really sink her teeth into. I first heard this song on Lulu Roman’s 1985 album, “Take Me There”, and was already a fan of the song by the time I heard the Talleys version, and the Talleys made me fall in love with the song all over again.
The fun, “The Word Impossible”, picks up the tempo, as Roger takes the lead on this jazz infused song, which features some fun piano highlights. Done in the spirit of such legendary performers as the McGuire Sisters and Andrews Sisters, the song was a great deviation from the norm for the Talleys, and provided a light moment, that was fun and contagious, before closing out the recording with the beautiful strains of “There is a Savior”, which was written by Greg Nelson, Bob Farrell, and Sandi Patti, and features a very delicate performance by both Kirk and Debra. Roger heard the song on Sandi Patti’s groundbreaking album, “Morning Like This”, and he really pushed for the record company to allow the Talleys to record the song. The Talleys believed in the song so much, they ended up cutting out a song they had already recorded, and though not credited in the liner notes, Roger went into the studio to lay down the piano track, then Russell came in and added some lush orchestrations behind them, and it was the perfect closing tune for this album. I remember when I saw the Talleys in the fall of 1987, this album had not been released yet, and with just Roger at the piano, they used the song as their final song in their program, and it was a breathtaking moment. I was already familiar with the song, as I was a huge fan of Sandi’s “Morning Like This” album, and I couldn’t wait until “For Every Generation” was released so I could hear the Talleys recorded version of the song, and it did not disappoint.
As far as awards go, Kirk was already an awarded vocalist, as he took home the “Favorite Male Singer” award during the 1983 Singing News Fan Awards as well as the “Favorite Tenor” award in 1983, and then again in 1984. But during the 1987 Singing News Fan Awards, Kirk was finally recognized for his outstanding songwriting skills, as he walked away with the “Favorite Songwriter” award. Additionally, Debra took home the “Favorite Female Singer” award during the 1987 Singing News Fan Awards, and she also won “Favorite Alto”, during the 1988 Singing News Fan Awards.
“Talley Music” was truly music that was “for every generation”. Their music was so versatile, innovative, and far reaching, and it could reach people of every age and background, which is what made them so unique for their time and what made me such a fan of their music. The Talleys weren’t one dimensional artists, as each recording had its own unique personality, and you were able to see different shades of thought and musical styles with each new recording.
“For Ever Generation” has a very big sound and a real “meat and potatoes” feel to it, that heavily leans more towards the choral/church music side. You could hear it in the arrangements, orchestrations and even in the type of songs that were chosen for the album, as these were mostly songs that would go over well in your larger churches and could be easily adapted for choir or choral use. It may not have been their most successful album, as far as sales and hit songs go, but it was a fantastic album, highlighting the versatility of the Talleys as outstanding musical creators and innovators.
Please check out my music page on Facebook for more content related to Southern Gospel Music including more discography reviews on other groups, we well as other thoughts and discussions related to Southern Gospel Music. Please like and follow my page at https://www.facebook.com/James-Music-Page-102612571620560.
