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Group Name: Called Out Quartet
Website: www.calledoutquartet.com    
Album Title: “Classics”
Song Titles:

1. Somebody Loves Me
2. I’ve Got So Much To Thank Him For
3. A Beautiful Life
4. Thank God I Am Free
5. Now I Have Everything
6. I’m Winging My Way Back Home
7. What A Day That Will Be
8. Child Of The King
9. Living In Canaan
10. Glory, Glory, Glory, Somebody Touched Me

Formed in 2002, Called Out Quartet is an up-and-coming group that tries to mix the traditional hymns with the new songs of today.  Personnel currently include Jess Birdwell (lead), Eric Melton (baritone), Scott Russell (tenor), and Von Gaines (bass).  However, on this particular album, the baritone vocals are those of the group’s previous baritone, Darrell Collier.

“Classics” is the group’s latest album.  Staying true to the theme implied by the title, the album contains well-known traditional Southern Gospel songs done with the accompaniment of only keyboards, bass guitar, and drums. 

Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: THE SONGS!

The first song is the up-tempo “Somebody Loves Me”.  The blend isn’t as tight as some more established groups, but it’s clean nonetheless.  Song #2 is a medium-tempo song called “I’ve Got So Much To Thank Him For”.  The introduction is the same as that of the Cathedrals’ “Somebody Touched Me” featuring Danny Funderburk, and that’s what I thought I was going to hear when I first heard it. (I’m a huge Danny Funderburk fan.)  However, that intro works for this song as well.  This is a nice piece of singing by the group.  This leads into a medium-to-up-tempo song called “A Beautiful Life”.  The slowdown on the last chorus with the bass lead gives this song a fun dimension.  The tempo stays about the same for Song #4, “Thank God I Am Free”. 

The tempo then slows down a bit as the group sings “Now I Have Everything”.  This is a slower song that features good blending vocals.  The sixth song is the up-tempo “I’m Winging My Way Back Home”.  This is a song that gives each vocalist small features here and there, and the guys do very well with it.  The tempo then slows down for an old familiar favorite, “What A Day That Will Be”. 

The tempo stays the same for Song #8, “Child Of The King”.  This song features bass vocalist Von Gaines on the second verse, and he has a nice range to his voice.  The tempo then picks up for “Living In Canaan”, a toe-tapper that people will enjoy listening to.  Finally, the album ends with “Glory, Glory, Glory, Somebody Touched Me”.  This is the up-tempo song that goes through the days of the week to see when it was that people got saved.  While I personally enjoy this song, I don’t think it was a good choice to record an album.  Musically, it’s the same thing over and over again 8-9 times.  However, in spite of that, the group does a good job on it.

Called Out Quartet is a group that is still growing vocally.  Each of the guys is a good vocalist, and they will only improve as time goes on.  I enjoyed the “classic” feel of the album, and I’d like to see what they can do with a full studio album full of new songs.  Overall, I give this album a rating of 8 out of 10 microphones!

Favorites: “I’ve Got So Much To Thank Him For”, “Now I Have Everything”, “Winging My Way Back Home”