The Talleys – Love Will (1990)
If “Typical Day” was the Talleys most “Southern” recording, “Love Will” would be the alter-ego, as it was their most contemporary offering. In an effort to change things up a bit, they began to focus their energies on going a more Contemporary/Inspirational route. To further emphasize the shift in their music, the Talleys were signed to Canaan’s parent label, Word Records (untying them from the SG labeling with Canaan Records) and the label heads brought on a gentleman named Robert Sterling to bring in some new ideas and produce “Love Will”. Sterling had cut his teeth in the 80’s by doing radio/TV jingles, industrial film scores and producing custom recordings for Inspirational artists such as Luke Garrett, and he had also worked on some choral projects prior to producing the Talleys. It was an excellent pairing, and the Talleys were his first (and only) Southern Gospel artist to produce. Sterling would go on to win 6 Dove Awards between 1992 and 2011 for his various choral works, as well as production work with Michael W. Smith and Point of Grace.
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Along with producing, Sterling also handled all the music arrangements for the recording, and though there is a lot of synthesized sounds that was prevalent during this time period, Carl Gorodetzky and the Nashville String Machine provided orchestrations on a few songs. One behind the scenes story with this recording that I found interesting was shared with me by Sterling…John Mays brought Sterling on board to produce “Love Will”, and when it come time to do final mixes for the recording, the gentleman that was booked to do the mixes had bailed at the last minute and left everyone scrambling. In a midnight hour save, Sterling ended up hiring an engineer that he had worked with for years in Dallas, TX named John Mayfield. John came to Nashville to mix “Love Will”, and impressed everyone with his work, and he ended up moving to Nashville permanently, and is now one of the top mastering engineers in Nashville, running Mayfield Mastering, handling the final mix/mastering for such artists as Dave Matthews Band, Willie Nelson, Oak Ridge Boys, Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, Taylor Swift, Kathy Mattea, Allison Speer and Johnny Minick.
As I already alluded to, “Love Will” was a very deliberate and purposeful directional push towards a more contemporary/inspirational sound, and I think it may have gone over the heads of the average SG fan. Even the cover artwork and head shots convey a more contemporary feel, and when sitting on the shelf at your local Christian Bookstore, it blended in well with the more contemporary artists. Thankfully, I think in hindsight, your more insightful fans of what the Talleys were doing is now appreciated and respected, as I feel this was a trendsetting album for the Southern Gospel genre, though some of your “died in the wool” traditional fans may feel it’s not a true Southern Gospel recording. Whether it is or it isn’t, I thought it was an outstanding piece of work.
“Love Will” kicks off with the driving, highly contemporary sounding, “How Many Ways Can We Praise Him”, which was a song written by Robert Sterling along with his wife, Cindy and friend, Kathy Frizzell. Nicely orchestrated and effectively setting the tone for the recording, the song features each member of the Talleys. Initially Roger wasn’t completely sold on the song, but the song became a fan favorite and was actually performed by the Talleys during the 1991 Dove Awards for the Southern Gospel segment of the show, along with the Speers and the McKameys. We also get an added treat by hearing Roger tackle some respectable bass singing towards the end of the song!
Slowing things down just a bit, we come to the title song, “Love Will”. With its driving beat, haunting harmonica and nice acoustic guitar work, the song features Debra soloing on the verses, with Kirk taking the lead on the chorus. It’s an exceptional song and a highlight of the recording, which quickly became one of my personal favorites from this recording.
Next, we come to what is arguably the most important song in the Talleys entire career, “He is Here”. Inspired during a drive from Nashville to Atlanta after the National Quartet Convention in 1989, Kirk was internally reflecting on some miracles that happened during the previous week at NQC, and the Spirit of God filled the car and God gave him the words faster than he could write it down, and as Kirk puts it, “My name may be on it, but I just held the pen”! The Talleys had performed at Brooklyn Tabernacle numerous times, and the idea of using the choir was a brilliant decision, as they add perfectly to the overall ambiance of the song. This became the second single from the recording, peaking at #10 in February 1992 (should have been a #1, in my opinion, or at least Top 5!), and the song actually took home the Dove Award for “Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year” for 1991! The song has been recorded numerous times and sung by church choirs and worship leaders around the world, ultimately becoming an integral part of the modern worship scene as well, an accomplishment achieved by only a few songwriters. The Gaither Vocal Band eventually recorded an amazing rendition of the song on their 2010 recording, “Greatly Blessed”, and outside of the Talleys original version, is my favorite version of the song.
“The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail” picks the tempo back up, featuring a nice bass track and is filled with lots of synthesized music, which does give the song a bit of a dated feel, but at the time, it was hip! Written by Kirk Talley along with Phil & Carolyn Cross, the song features Roger, before the mood shifts back to a more worshipful feel for another Talley/Cross collaborative effort titled, “Radiant Lamb”. With its mesmerizing feel, the song features Kirk, and is nicely orchestrated, but also features some synthesized music as well, and is a highlight of the recording. I’d love to hear someone like the Collingsworth Family, Hoppers, or maybe even Phil Cross’ group, Poet Voices bring this song back!
Featuring some nice guitar work, Roger steps up next as he is featured on the upbeat, acoustic, country feel of, “God is Able”, which was written by Chris Machen and Bob Sterling. Machen had already recorded the song a year earlier, and Sterling ended up pitching the song to the Talleys, ultimately becoming the first single from the recording. I was in college when the song came out, and I remember hearing it on the radio for the first time, thinking it was such a cool song and something a little different for the Talleys. Though it was a great song, unfortunately the song never made it into the Singing News Top 20 chart. Eventually, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Singers cut the song a couple of years later, on their 1992 recording, “Only to Him”.
One of my favorite Debra Talley features is the magnificently done, “Simple Love”, which features a very delicate performance by Debra, as well as some beautiful guitar work. The song paints a beautiful picture of how just showing people the love of Jesus can change lives, and every time I listen to this song, I can’t help but think back to my Bible College days when my professor one day loudly proclaimed during “Evangelism” class, that there is no such thing as a “silent witness”, because you have to TELL people about Jesus. But as the second verse tells the story of a daughter’s life being a testimony to her unsaved father, the last half of the verse says, “but through the years she taught her father with deeds and not just words, until her quiet witness let him to the Lord”, it just gives me chills every time.
The mood then transitions to the fun, jazz infused, “My Faith Grows”, which also features a playful performance by Debra. Written by Karla Worley, this quirky tune features some cool modern harmony, and was a song that Roger had a lot of fun with performing live. I will admit, I wasn’t a big fan of this song until I saw the Talleys perform the song in concert during the summer of 1991, and they made me fall in love with the song that night!
Building off the success of “Hallelujah, Praise the Lamb”, the big choral feel of the power ballad, “Not the Half Has Been Told” is a highlight of the recording. Written by Eddie Carswell & Niles Borop and featuring Kirk, this song was totally in the Talley’s wheelhouse and was a spectacular inclusion for this recording, before we finish things out with the anthem, “Let’s Keep Prayin’ for Each Other”. Written by Cindy Sterling and Karla Worley, the song, and its message, was something that really clicked with the Talleys and was the perfect ending for this recording, challenging the listener…“Let’s keep prayin’ for each other, until we are together again, I will pray for you my brother, and you just keep on lifting me to Him, won’t you keep us in your prayers, God will keep us in His care, so let’s keep prayin’ for each other”.
“Love Will” was actually nominated for a Grammy Award, but it lost out to Bruce Carroll’s, “The Great Exchange” recording. Although I tend to be somewhat conservative musically, I like to call myself a “Progressive Traditionalist”, and though “Love Will” leaned heavily towards CCM, I really enjoyed this recording immensely, and actually liked it more than I did “Typical Day”! The recording truly showed the breadth and depth of the Talleys’ music, and proved they truly could sing ANYTHING! I deeply appreciated what this recording had to offer both musically and lyrically, and respected what they were trying to do with “Love Will”. Not every artist is meant to push musical boundaries, and sometimes when artists try to do so, they fall flat. Then there are those who manage to push the musical envelope with pure class, and with “Love Will”, the Talleys DID!
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