Larry Sparks - Thank You Lord

(Old Homestead OHS-90060) 1976
Reissued on CD (Old Homestead OHCD-90060) 1996.

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Although this album had already been recorded by Feb 1975, it wasn't released until near the end of 1976, by which time You Could Have Called had also been recorded and released.^[1]

The sound quality is much better than on his previous two Gospel albums (New Gospel Songs and Where The Sweet Waters Flow), with crystal clear production and Larry's vocal & guitar being relatively high in the mix. Despite the better fidelity however, the material and performances don't quite reach the high-water mark set by Where The Sweet Waters Flow. This is possibly due to the sparser instrumentation, with the album being recorded without fiddle and Mike Lilly's banjo only featured prominently on a few cuts.

Two of the albums highlights, and of particular interest to Stanley fans, are the versions of I've Just Seen The Rock Of Ages and Travelling The Highway Home, both of which were later recorded by Ralph on 12th May 1977 for his Clinch Mountain Gospel LP. Curiously, this was the second time that songs recently recorded by Larry would get picked up by Ralph for his next album, with Osburn Thorpe's Green Pastures In The Sky from Larry's New Gospel Songs being the earlier example.

Also of note is Jacob's Vision which is performed a capella, in a similar fashion to the Stanley Brothers on For The Good People.

The first three songs, Thank You Lord, Where We'll Never Say Farewell and King Jesus, are all re-recordings of tracks previously found on Larry's 1972 LP Bluegrass Old And New. Larry later re-cut all three on his 2021 Ministry In Song CD.

Another decent cut, God Shall Wipe Away All Tears, was originally published in a 1940 Stamps-Baxter hymn book, 'Super Specials No. 1' and features mainly guitar and mandolin.

The two instrumentals which are included are a bit of an odd choice for a Gospel album, with Weeping Willow Tree largely comprising of lead guitar & mandolin; and (Keep On The) Sunny Side. The latter is one of the few cuts to feature banjo prominently (the others being King Jesus and clawhammer on Travelling The Highway Home).

Finally, Bill Monroe's You're Drifting Away and Hank Williams I'm Gonna Sing, Sing, Sing, showcase two of Larry's main influences.

• Larry Sparks: guitar, lead vocal (a)
• Mike Lilly: banjo, baritone vocal (b)
• Wendy Miller: mandolin, tenor vocal
• Tony Stubbs: bass vocal
• Art Wydner: bass (c)

NB: (a) And bass vocal on You're Drifting Away. (b) Also bass on I've Just Seen The Rock Of Ages. (c) Guitar on Weeping Willow Tree

Other artwork / related images:

[1] The album was mentioned as having been recorded in the Feb 1975 'General Store' section of 'Bluegrass Unlimited', and reviewed in the Jan 1977 edition.