As far as gospel go, few can equal Rev. Ellis and The Country Boys in terms of the spirit, popularity and signature sound.  For the Country Boys music is a ministry and each song contains a spiritual message.  Therefore, it is not surprising that their second live recording is likely to be considered one of the best gospel quartet projects of 2006.

The group’s first live recording Rev. Walter Ellis & The Country Boys "Live in Montgomery" was in October 2001.  Their most recent live recoding, which is the subject of his review, is Live At The Rest.  It was recorded on October 9, 2005, at Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama.  The project was formerly released in May 2006. 

This 13 track CD and DVD are bound to be a best seller not just because of the congregation of The Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church and the friends of the Rev. Ellis and The Country Boys, but because of fans of great gospel quartet music.  The songs include “I’ve Been Touched,”  “If It Had Not Been For The Lord,” and “Holy Spirit (Move Right Now).”

The production on this project is superb.  But, you would expect it to be when you realize that Eric Sharper of Dream Reality Productions was the producer.  The video is just as impressive as the CD.  In fact, the video adds a dimension to the project that truly makes this a must have project.  You will want to acquire the CD and the DVD.   The Country Boys released this project on their very own label - CB Ministry. 

The live recording was well attended and the audience was certainly an integral part of this recording from the beginning to the end.  Because of good lighting you are able to really see the enjoyment on the attendees faces as the join Rev. Walter Ellis and The Country Boys in this song service.        

The quality of the sound is good.  There are no variations in the recording level to some of the songs.  The light is also good.  As a result of good lighting, there are great camera shots.  There are many close-ups of the members of the group.  There are very clear shots of the audience. 

There are no interviews interwoven between the songs.  You get a full song service with the only gap being when the guys leave the stage to change outfits. 

However, there is a segment on the video that give you a good behind the scene view of what when into producing the entire project including snippets of their rehearsal.  In addition, there is another awesome segment that allows you to join the guys on their tour bus and to actually witness their prayer before they take the stage.  Powerful!! 

If you like good hard hitting gospel quartet music than you must add this video from Rev. Walter Ellis and The Country Boys.  We give the video Rev. Walter Ellis and The Country Boys' Live At The Rest a 9.5 out of 10.  Click on the picture above to view a clip from the video.***  To purchase your copy of the video click here. 

Top 5 Gospel Quartet Videos

1. Racy Brothers

There's Not A Friend

2. Lee Williams & The Spiritual QC's

Tell The Angels

3. Canton Spirituals

New Life:  Live In Harvey, Il

4. The Memphis Harmonizers

Catch on Fire!

***The quality of the clip IS NOT indicative of the quality of the video.  Often, resolution in the picture quality is lost during placement of the clip on the Internet.  In addition, the type of computer you are using to access the Internet and the video player you are using may drastically impact the quality of the clip.