Bill Pinkney & The Gospel Drifters CD Review

Bill Pinkney & The Gospel Drifters

I Found The Lord

In 2004 we introduced you to Bill Pinkney’s Gospel Drifters. At that time we indicated that the group has recorded under different names. Their first gospel project Fire is Coming, on the World Wide Gospel label, was done under the name Bill Pinkney’s Original Drifters. Their second gospel project Peace In The Valley, on The Blackberry Records label, was done under the name Bill Pinkney & The Original Drifters. Their third project was released on Mr. Pinkney’s own label, Pinkney Records. That project was, What A Wonderful Change, and was recorded under the name The Gospel Drifters, featuring Reggie Funderburk.

After Perry Taft joined the group, the What A Wonderful Change project was re-released using the group name Bill Pinkney’s Gospel Drifters. On the re-released What A Wonderful Change the song “Babylon,” was added to the project. Perry Taft was lead singer on the song “Babylon.”

Perry is no longer with the group and the group, once again, has undergone a name change. Their new project I Found The Lord was released under the name Bill PInkney & The Gospel Drifters.

Irrespective of what name the group uses, all of their gospel recordings are outstanding and should be a part of every quartet fan collection. This group has obtained national attention and stature, thus their new CD, I Found The Lord, is being reviewed as a national released project.

The most recent project, I Found The Lord, begins with Mr. Pinkney moving, as only he can, from bass to tenor on “I Found The Lord.” Reggie Funderburk sing lead on most of the other songs, except "Walk Around Heaven," which is led by Jeff Hall. Jeff is a natural falsetto. His singing top on this song is just extraordinary. This is one of the best recordings of this song since it was recorded the first time by Paul Beasley.

Reggie also shares lead duties with Mr. Pinkney on "I Found The Lord" and "It Won’t Be This Way." And, on the other songs where Reggie is not the sole lead singer, he shares lead duties with other members of the group.

There are many songs of note on this 10 track CD. Several that will certainly get your attention are “He Brought Me From A Mighty Long Way,” “A Change Gonna Come,” and “No Pain, No Gain.” The harmony on all of the songs is tight, but on these three songs the background harmony is exceptional. Reggie lends his unique vocal talents to “A Change Is Gonna Come.” Although, this song has been recorded by many Sam Cooke ‘wannabes,’ you will find that Reggie is not trying to be anyone but himself. He is at his best on this song.

“When You Trust in The Lord” has the same arrangement as the song “Babylon.” This would have been a perfect follow up song for Perry Taft after “Babylon.” However, Reggie comes to the rescue and really delivers a great rendition of this song. And by the way, the instrumentation on this song is just enough to have you clapping your hand and stumping your feet, without interfering at all with the singers.

“I Love The Lord” is on this project. It was on also on the CD What A Wonderful Change!

Overall this is a Wonderful project and should be in your collection. You will not be disappointed. We give Bill Pinkney & The Gospel Drifters’ I Found The Lord an 8.5 out of 10. Click HERE to purchase the CD. Click on the red song title to hear "I Found The Lord."

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