Janice MacDaniels
Rodney Dillard, aka one of those Darling boys from the old Andy Griffith Shows (more about that later), wants to take you to church and this album will do just that beginning with the title cut admonishing you to get right with God before it’s too late. Overflowing with gospel songs, Rodney and his wife take me back to my childhood, the Bible stories and the old people, there, singing harmony. Opportunity to sing along is provided with virtually every song with the most enticing being “Somebody Touched Me.” Rodney’s wife, Beverly Cotton-Dillard, backed up by a sweet mandolin, delivers a lovely ballad style on “Heaven.” “Hear Them Thunders Roarin’” has a straight up Knitters vibe and Beverly’s voice on this track reminds me of Exene Cervenka of that band and the LA Punk band, X. My favorite cut on this CD is “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” full of that Chet Atkins fingerstyle guitar feel with nice walking bass lines and turn-arounds. “When My Time Comes to Go” and “The Devil Just Can’t Knock Off My Knees” are rollicking, toe-tappers, the latter calling out to play it again. “Softly and Tenderly,” so gently and sentimentally presented by Dillard’s solo voice, so full of personally special meaning to me, is the end cap of the musical portion of this album. “The River of Jordan” and “Gospel Ship,” round out this grouping of songs. True to all of the Dillards’ past offerings this collection is full of top-notch picking, heart-felt vocals and personal dedication to the music and the message.
“Don’t Wait For The Hearse To Take You To Church”
Capitalizing on his time as one of those dead pan Darling brothers from the Andy Griffith Show days, Rodney has added four additional tracks, little sermonettes, if you will, using some of the situations from the show to teach simple life lessons. Maybe these are a little corny but maybe we could use a little corny these days.
Rural Rhythm Records