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Group Name: Melody Boys Quartet
Website: www.themelodyboysquartet.com
Album Title: “Destination  Heaven”
Song Titles:

1. All Aboard We’re Glory Bound
2. Little By Little
3. Oh Broken Heart
4. The Stone Was Rolled Away
5. The Lamb He Died To Save
6. Come To The Water
7. Sinner’s Plea
8. Lonesome Road
9. Glory Bound
10. Give Me Jesus
11. I’ve Made It Home
12. Heaven, The Place Of My Dreams

The Melody Boys Quartet is one of the longest-tenured quartets in Southern Gospel Music today.  The front page of their website proclaims, “A Gospel music tradition since 1949”.  Some truly great singers have passed through this group throughout the years.  The quartet is owned and managed by arguably one of the smoothest bass singers in Southern Gospel Music, Mr. Gerald Williams.  He has been with the Melody Boys since 1949.  Joining him are baritone/pianist Caleb Matheny, lead vocalist Steven Hickenbotham, and tenor Tim Williams.

“Destination Heaven” is the group’s latest album, and the first with Hickenbotham and Williams.  It’s a collection of 12 older and newer songs done in classic Melody Boys Quartet style.  Let’s take a look at the songs on the album.

The album starts off with the up-tempo “All Aboard We’re Glory Bound”.  This would be considered the title track since the album title is taken from the lyrics of this song.  The first thing that you notice is that the group has a nice blend of vocals, even if the tenor is just a shade hot in the mix at times.  The tempo stays fast for the next song, “Little By Little”.  This song immediately became one of my favorites on the album.  The arrangement and tight blend of vocals make this song fun to listen to.  Song #3 is a slower ballad called “Oh Broken Heart”.  Tenor Tim Williams is featured on the lead vocals here, and it’s obvious that he has a good range and some power behind his vocals.  Also, the rest of the group blends well on the background vocals behind him.  Next up is a medium-tempo song called “The Stone Was Rolled Away”, which also features Tim Williams on the lead vocals.

The fifth song is a power ballad entitled “The Lamb He Died To Save”.  I first heard this song done by the Booth Brothers on their “Walkin’ On The Good Side” album.  It was written by Joseph Smith, who was a member of the Booth Brothers at that time.  Hearing this song for the first time with a bass vocal was nice, and I think the group did a good job on this song overall.  Song #6 is an up-tempo number called “Come To The Water”, and it’s immediately followed by an old Joe Roper classic, “Sinner’s Plea”.  The eighth song is another Southern Gospel classic that most people associate with the late bass vocalist J.D. Sumner- “Lonesome Road”.  After hearing Gerald Williams featured on this song, I think that he does a much better job than J.D. ever did on it.  I mentioned earlier that Mr. Williams is arguably one of the smoothest bass vocalists in the business, and this song is just more evidence to that fact.  His vocals on this song are effortless and rich.  It’s truly a joy to hear. 

Song #9 is the up-tempo “Glory Bound”.  This is another one that makes my list of favorites.  The next song is a slower, lighter Neil Enloe ballad called “Give Me Jesus”.  This is a slightly different style than the other songs on the album, but it’s nice to hear the group branching out a bit.  The eleventh song is an up-tempo, traditional Southern Gospel song called “I’ve Made It Home”.  I first heard this song done by the Anchormen on their “Nothing Less Than All” album a few years back.  I liked their version of it, and I like the Melody Boys’ version of it as well.  Theirs is a bit more “dialed back” than the Anchormen’s version.  The album ends with another Gerald Williams feature, the medium-tempo “Heaven, The Place Of My Dreams”. 

The last time I had the privilege of reviewing a Melody Boys album, they had just experienced some personnel turnover.  This was the case for this album as well, but the blend of vocals was still very good.  There were times that the tenor was a bit hot in the mix, but that’s something that is easily corrected.  This is a solid group of vocalists that should only get better the longer they sing together.  I think that the song selection and variety of styles and tempos throughout the album were very good.  Overall, I would give this album a 8 out of 10 microphones!

Favorites: “Little By Little”, “Oh Broken Heart”, “Lonesome Road” and “Glory Bound”