Legacy Five starts out singing “I’d Like To Say it Again” from their 2010 Give the World a Smile CD. The biggest negative aspect of this song, I think, is that the guys aren’t holding their microphones, but rather they have them in front of them in the stand. It seems to limit movement, and make the song a little “stiff.” Other than that, it’s a great song.
Next the group sings “My Soul Is Firmly Anchored,” an up-beat fun song from Just Stand. They leave the mic stands behind for this one. I think this majorly improves a performance, as they are free to move around a bit more. This is one of the best songs on the DVD, I think. On a side note, Scott Fowler sings the first verse’s lyrics slightly different than on the CD.
Up to this point, there have been no introductions, and hardly any talking. Just singing. But at this point, Scott Fowler (who does most of the song lead-ins) stops the singing to read the account of the Resurrection. He can’t find the book of Luke however, which causes some laughter from the audience and a joke from Glenn Dustin. :) As he reads the account, the intro to the next song starts and we listen to “When They Found Nothing.” It’s a very good song, and Gus does a good job with some power singing.
Directly after this song, the group starts into the fast paced “New Born Feeling,” which is, like the last two, from the album Just Stand. Trey does some cool stuff on the piano, that I don’t believe I heard on the CD version. The guys move around a little during this fun song, but they don’t dance or have any choreography, thankfully.
It’s on this DVD that I really see Trey’s talent on the piano, a lot more so than on his CD It Is Well. He plays a classical song first, teasing Scott Fowler, and then goes into “How Great Thou Art.” I’ve heard better performances of this song, though this version isn’t bad. Slowing down the first verse might be a bit of an improvement. I really like this part of the video. The guys tease Trey a lot because he’s been classically educated, and plays…Scarlotti. :)
After a little break, which is taped in some studio or back room with all the guys, we move on to one of the most over-used songs in Southern Gospel music…“Life Will Be Sweeter Someday.” I really don’t like this song, especially since so many groups have sung it. Ernie Haase & Signature Sound and Mercy’s Well immediately come to mind.
The only accompaniment to this song is by Trey at the piano. Gus makes it fun however by pretending to be offended when the audience doesn’t applaud some fancy stuff with a drop and four-part harmony. He also holds a note out a long time, which I consider a highlight.
The next song, “I Can Hardly Wait,” is a completely different than the one that the Kingsmen sang on their latest album Grace Says. I personally have never heard L5 sing it before, nor do I ever wish to hear it again. :) OK, I’m exaggerating a bit, but I still don’t care for it. The accompaniment is very basic, with piano, drums, and guitars. It’s a very old Southern Gospel style, like what the Cathedrals would have sung with. Glenn Dustin gets to sing the verses, and is featured very prominently throughout the rest of the song.
Next Scott Howard gets an intro, in the same “studio” type room I mentioned earlier. Of course he takes the lead on the song directly following this introduction, “Above All Circumstances.” This is another really great song from Just Stand.
The next introduction is for Glenn, L5’s bass that’s been with them from the beginning. IMO, the jokes here aren’t as good as the rest of the DVD. But the song doesn’t disappoint. “Just Stand” is a very fun, fast, rocky song that IMO is one of the groups’ best. Anyway, “Just Stand” is really good, and even shows Trey playing the piano during a type of “interlude.” If you’re confused about my meaning of the word “interlude,” think about Gordon Mote’s little piano highlight during the GVB’s “Give It Away” song.
The next song is another fast tune called “Thankful For the Change.” It’s fun with lots of horns and brass instruments. A hand-clapping, foot stomping regular barn-burner.
Finally, L5 digs a little deeper into their song catalog and pulls out “Holy Is Thy Name” from the album London. IMO, the fact that the song is only accompanied by Trey at the piano, is a bit of a downer, especially since the next song has no other instrumentation either. Three out of thirteen songs with only piano accompaniment seems a bit too much for me.
For the second to last song, the group sings an old Gaither favorite, “Something About That Name.” This isn’t a spectacular song, but it’s not that bad for a song with zero orchestration.
For the last song, we get to hear “We Shall See Jesus,” from one of L5’s most recent albums, Give the World a Smile. I love this song because it starts out with a kind of “sad” and “depressing” mood, but then picks up the pace, and get’s very glorious and triumphant sounding. It’s not my favorite L5 song obviously, but it’s good nonetheless.
Technical Aspects:
The camera quality was very good, though the picture gets slightly blurry when I play it full screen in Windows Media Player. The sound quality was mostly fine as well, although there are a couple of spots where it doesn’t sound quite as good as it should. This is almost imperceptible though, especially watching for the first time. It’s definitely not worth griping about, and is hardly worth mentioning.
Comments:
This DVD draws it’s song selection largely from the album Just Stand. This was a good move, IMO, because Just Stand was a really good album packed with awesome songs. It deserves its own DVD. While I think Frank Seamans was my favorite L5 tenor, I’m starting to like Gus Gaches a lot better.
A couple of things I would have changed, is perhaps making the DVD longer (about an hour and half maybe) and taking out some songs like “Life Will Be Sweeter” and “Something About That Name.” Also, the concert, I think, would have benefited from more "talking." Live In Music City had perhaps too much, and this one didn’t have enough. These observations are personal preferences though, and the DVD is still great without these changes being made.
If you’re short on money, you’ll probably want to go with getting a new CD. However, if you’re a DVD person, I would recommend California Live .
DVD Rating: 4.3 stars
Song Selection: 3.5 stars
Favorite Songs: "Just Stand," "When They Found Everything," "My Soul Is Firmly Anchored," "How Great Thou Art" (Trey Ivey)
Review copy provided by artist
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