LeFevre Quartet

Legacy
Song Garden Music

Combine a famous southern gospel name (the LeFevres) with a much-talked-about new label (Song Garden Music) for interesting results.

We didn’t expect Alphus and family, but when the first song (“I Love Him So”) started with an Eva Mae-style piano intro then rolled into an equally vintage-sounding four-part blend, it seemed we might  indeed have a retro album on our turntable.

By the third cut, however, we were listening to a tricky beat and full-blown orchestration. It’s apparent that Mike LeFevre and crew respect their legacy, but they’re also firmly planted in the 21st century. They’re obviously having fun on tunes such as Dianne Wilkinson’s rousing “I’ve Got My Reservation,” but traditional quartet fans will enjoy “He Just Keeps on Giving,” which delivers the solid, four-part attack that male quartet purists appreciate.

“Amen, Amen” and “Grace Got in on the Case” combine a bit of yesterday’s sound (both feature bass leads by Stacy Bragg) with driving instrumentation that clearly represents the sound of today.

Lead David Staton also wrote a couple of the songs on this project, including the country-flavored finale, “That’s Why I Sing Gospel Music.” They sing gospel music because — well you’ll have to hear it to understand.