Group Name: Torchmen Quartet
Website: www.torchqt.com
Album Title: “An Evening With The Torchmen”

Song Titles:
1. He Took It Upon Himself
2. I’ve Made It Home
3. Movin’ Up, Movin’ Out
4. I’m Gonna Sing In The Choir
5. Who Touched Me
6. There’s A Testimony
7. Going Home
8. I’m Gonna Keep On Tellin’
9. All Aboard (Glorybound)
10. Payday Is Coming
11. Pray Daniel Pray
12. A Place Called Grace
13. Here, There, Or In The Air
14. I Love You Canada

Back in June, 2007, I reviewed the Torchmen’s “Here, There, Or In The Air” album.  If I recall correctly, I gave that album a rating of 7 ½ out of 10 microphones.  Well, recently I received the group’s recently-released live album entitled “An Evening With The Torchmen” for review.  This album was recorded at the CrossRoads Centre in Burlington, Ontario.  Of the 14 songs on this album, only 6 were also on the “Here, There, Or In The Air” album.  Thus, we get a chance to hear some of the group’s other material, and we get a chance to hear them in a live setting.

The Torchmen have been singing since 1969.  Since that time, they have become one of Canada’s premier Southern Gospel Groups. In fact, many would call them the premier Southern Gospel group north of the border.

The group is currently made up of Mike Moran (baritone), Dave Randall (lead), Josh Friend (bass), and Sandy MacGregor (tenor). Moran, Randall, and MacGregor are part of this album’s personnel lineup, but the bass vocals are done by the previous bass singer, Jon Hisey. I also remember, in my previous Torchmen review, commenting that I would be interested to find out how the group sounds with Sandy MacGregor singing tenor.  It looks as though I will get my chance here.

Now, let’s take a look at each of the songs on the album.

“He Took It Upon Himself” is the same song that opened up the “Here, There, Or In The Air” album.  It’s a very up-tempo number with a great message. This song contains no solos, which enables you to take a good, long listen to the group as a whole.  Song #2 is another song from the “Here, There, Or In The Air” album.  “I’ve Made It Home” is a medium-tempo song that is pretty well-done by the group.  Bass vocalist Jon Hisey has a solo here, and I was impressed that he didn’t try to “show off” with any excessively low notes.  He stayed in a mid-bass register and kept it smooth.  This leads directly into another up-tempo song, “Movin’ Up, Movin’ Out”.  The group’s blend is good here, and this song will definitely have you tapping your feet as you listen.

The fourth song is one that was written by lead vocalist Dave Randall.  “I’m Gonna Sing In The Choir” is an up-tempo song that speaks of what it’s going to be like when we get to Heaven.  Jon Hisey takes a bass lead on the final chorus, and his vocals are smooth once again.  It’s at this point that the group takes a bit of a break and lets the emcee, Mike Moran, begin group introductions.  I like the fact that he introduces one member at a time and then has that member sing a song that features them.  This leads into Song #5, “Who Touched Me”.  Lead vocalist Dave Randall is featured here, and he is also the author of this song.  Randall has a big, powerful voice that is very smooth and pleasant to listen to.  It fits this medium-tempo song very well.  Bass vocalist Jon Hisey is featured on the sixth song, an up-tempo number called “There’s A Testimony”.  This is another song from the “Here, There, Or In The Air” album.  Again, Hisey’s vocals are solid here.  I think that he has improved a bit since my previous review. 

The seventh song features tenor vocalist Sandy MacGregor.  “Going Home” is a familiar slower ballad made popular by the Gaither Vocal Band years ago.  Sandy is definitely a different style of tenor singer than their previous tenor.  I have to admit that I much prefer his voice when he is singing softly and smoothly.  As he projects more volume and power, he tends to get a bit nasal.  Sometimes this causes him to stand out a bit too much in the group’s blend.  However, this song is perfect for him, and the Torchmen’s arrangement of this is very nice.  Song #8 is another one from the “Here, There, Or In The Air” album.  Jon Hisey introduces baritone vocalist Mike Moran here before he is featured on the medium-tempo “I’m Gonna Keep On Tellin’”.  Moran’s vocals and pitches are solid here, and it’s obvious that he is a good baritone for this group.  The group goes directly into the ninth song, another medium-tempo number entitled “All Aboard (Glorybound)”. 

Song #10 is another medium-tempo song called “Payday Is Coming”.  Once again, we get to hear Jon Hisey featured, and the blend of voices here is solid.  The title of the next song, “Pray Daniel Pray”, at first got me to thinking about the Brian Free & Assurance Song called “Praying Man”.  The verses of this song are more spoken than sung, which gives it a bit of a different sound.  I have to admit that this is probably the weakest song on the album.  Parts of the chorus, when the group sings together, are a bit “thin”.  The twelfth song, “A Place Called Grace”, is very nicely introduced by Mike Moran.  It’s a slow ballad that features lead vocalist David Randall, and it has a very powerful message.

The next-to-last song is the title track from the “Here, There, Or In The Air” album.  “Here, There, Or In The Air” is a classic Southern Gospel up-tempo quartet song, and it’s another one that will have you tapping your feet as you listen.  This song is very well-done by the group.  The album ends with a patriotic song, “I Love You Canada”.  The group has a nice, full sound on this song that closes out the concert on a strong note.

I will freely admit that I am not a fan of live albums.  I much prefer studio versions.  However, it was nice to hear the Torchmen in a concert setting.  I really like the fact that the concert flowed smoothly and that there was not an excessive amount of talking in between songs.  The recording was clear and strong, which is always a concern with live albums.  Overall, I was pleased with this album, and I would  give it a rating of 7 ½ out of a possible 10 microphones- same as last time!