For about 30 years now, the Marksmen have occupied an interesting stylistic niche somewhere between traditional country gospel and bluegrass-gospel. They have a mandolinist but no banjo player, their songs' chord progressions tend to owe as much to black gospel traditions as white ones, and their repertoire tends toward slow and mid-tempo numbers, rather than virtuosic barnburners. Founding member Earle Wheeler and his son Mark Wheeler are the nucleus of the group, the remaining membership of which has shifted around them regularly over the past several decades; on this album the roster is rounded out by mandolinist Tommy Dutton and bassist/resonator guitarist Darrin Chambers, both of whom are also gifted singers. Earle Wheeler's voice has aged and mellowed nicely over the years, giving the group's ensemble sound a pleasant sort of tang. While not necessarily head and shoulders above the Marksmen's earlier work,
Grass Roots Gospel offers a number of particularly enjoyable moments, including a hair-raisingly fine rendition of "Way Down Deep in My Soul," and a very strong a cappella arrangement of "I Have Somebody With Me." The album's only weak point is the rather maudlin "Grandpa Was a Farmer". Recommended. ~ Rick Anderson