The Messengers Quartet

Pontiac, Michigan

Recorded March 17, 1990 in Ashland Ohio

Trivia: There were several reasons to record a live album. First, we were trying to capture the concert experience, mood, and feelings we always tried to create. The three of us always believed Sonny was one of the best emcees we had ever heard and we wanted to preserve some of his insightful comments on tape. In concerts he always gave Mark, Mike, & D a hard time about losing their hair, but he could always “bring it home” with song introductions that caused us to have a greater understanding of what we were singing. Sonny was a big influence on the three of us because of his spirituality, but also because he was the oldest!

The second reason was that to our knowledge a live album had never been done among “our” groups. It was quite a technical undertaking made possible by the advancements in home recording technology and our ability to do it ourselves. Hiring a studio to do a live album would be cost prohibitive for most of the groups.

The third reason for the live project was that we still had requests for songs recorded on previous albums that we were not, or soon would not be selling any more. The Melody Boys did an album called “Encores” to address this problem. There were about eight songs recorded that night that did not make it onto the cassette for one reason or another, most notably the song “In The Sky”. We wore that song out around the midwest and it should have been included on any anthology type album we did, but that night in Ashland we did not perform it well (I think we went about 1 1/2 steps flat!) so it sounded pretty sour.

The last reason was that during that 1989 -1990 period, Mark was building a new house in Lapeer. He didn’t contract out much of the work, doing most of it himself. We recorded four “new” songs for the live project rather than having to learn the usual twelve, consequently we didn’t have to practice quite as much, which helped Mark out. So everything just fell together and the Lord blessed our efforts.

One last thing, D actually painted the album cover art. We think it is a plant!

Listen: I’m Happy In The Lord Anyway
When I Cross To The Other Side Of Jordan
Listen: As For Me And My House, We Will Serve The Lord
I’m Just A Sinner Saved By Grace
Blood Washed Band
Standing On Holy Ground
Looking For A City
Amazing Grace, The Sweetest Song I Know
Look For Me Around The Throne
The Heavenly Parade
I’m Taking A Flight
I’m Gonna Move On Up The Mountain
The Test Of Time
I’m Gonna Liver Forever
Build An Ark
We Shall See Jesus
When Jesus Breaks The Morning
Stepping On The Clouds