Personnel: James Bailey, Ben Marshall, Charlie Waller & the Country Gentlemen, Doyle Lawson, Ernie Thacker, Vernon Hughes, Jeff "Duval" Brown, Ned Cutshaw, Lori Forbes, Woody Platt, Earl West, Paul Williams , Homer Forbes, Bill Yates, Jay Forbes, Dan Marshall, Clyde Bailey, Jack Cooke, Jim Britton, Judy Marshall, Keith Whitley, Alan Bibey, Larry Sparks, Mark Newton, Ralph Stanley, Ray Deaton, Rickie Simpkins, Roy Lee Centers, Russell Moore, Sammy Shelor, Terry Baucom, Tim Stafford, Wayne Taylor, Mike Guggino, Graham Sharp , Junior Blankenship, Jason Burleson, Ronnie Simpkins (vocals).
Liner Note Author: Jon Hartley Fox.
Illustrator: Adam Ewing.
Photographers: Glen Rose; Richard Boyd; Carl Fleischhauer; Se¤or McGuire.
Arrangers: Larry Sparks; Ralph Stanley.
A cappella gospel is a Southern tradition, and a tradition that has lived on in the music of a number of traditionally minded musicians -- especially bluegrass musicians -- over the years. While groups occasionally specialize in the form, most are satisfied to include an a cappella number to show off their vocal prowess and express their religious faith. Feel Like My Time Ain't Long collects 15 a cappella gospel favorites from Rebel's vaults and includes both well-known performers like Ralph Stanley and Blue Highway along with a number of lesser known ones like Appalachian Express and the Marshall Family. The Forbes Family delivers the fabulous title cut. "Feel Like My Time Ain't Long" has never sounded fresher, with the family taking a complicated four-way arrangement and making it sound simple and beautiful. Several of these cuts go back to the '70s, when Doyle Lawson -- later to specialize in a cappella singing -- was still a member of the Country Gentlemen and Ralph Stanley was still performing with Keith Whitley. The real revelations here, however, are the names who may be less familiar like the Forbes Family and the Marshall Family. Feel Like My Time Ain't Long is a rock-solid collection that will please anyone who loves gospel, bluegrass, and traditional music. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.
Professional Reviews
No Depression (p.116) - "'I'm Working My Way', a quartet number by the Virginia Squires, is as pristine as Stanley's 'It's Heaven On Earth' is ragged."
