Back Again

Audio Mixers: Stan Jones ; Doug Williams ; Melvin Williams; Randy Everett.
Recording information: Terminal Recording Studios, Jackson, MS.
Back again in 2010 are original members of the Jackson Southernaires Maurice Surrell, Huey Williams, and James Burks, and for (the appropriately titled) Back Again, they have created music they could have been making any time in the previous 50 years, particularly in the '50s and `60s. The group's most common style recalls the R&B of those decades, particularly secular male vocal acts like the Temptations, though Surrell's lead vocals often resemble those of bluesman Bobby "Blue" Bland. Sometimes the music is similarly bluesy, notably on "Did It for Me," that is, if the blues could be reconciled with gospel. The Jackson Southernaires also evoke traditional uptempo black gospel on songs such as "In My Heart" and "My Father's House," reminding listeners that they have remained faithful to their style, just as they have remained faithful to the Lord. ~ William Ruhlmann