The Waiting is Over

Description

The Waiting is Over is the seventh studio album the American pop/rock group Sweet Comfort Band, independently released on Shelter Sound Music in April 2013. It was the band’s first project since 1984’s Perfect Timing.

[Shawn McLaughlin, Christian Musician, September/October 2013]

The Sweet Comfort Band returns! The funk and jazz are still there, now with almost three decades of maturing as artists thrown in as well. Worth the wait…

It seems like several bands and artists from the golden age of ‘Jesus Music’ have been jumping on the kick-starter bandwagon and picking up where they left off – some more successfully than others. On The Waiting is Over, their first project since 1984’s Perfect Timing, The Sweet Comfort Band doesn’t pick up from where they left off – instead, as The Beatles might say, they got back to where they once belonged. Where Perfect Timing had a big, pre-prog arena sound (thanks in part to the fine production work of Dino Elefante), The Waiting is Over has a more pure band sound that highlights the interplay of the musicians, the excellent songwriting, and the exquisite vocals.

The balance of The Waiting is Over continues with the band re-establishing itself with strong songs ranging from lush, introspective ballads (the melodically-stunning «Then I Remember») to outrageously funky work-outs («Rock Steady» features chunky horns, clavinette, and Duncan’s best James Brown-ish shouting – the only thing missing is the other ‘self-righteous brother’ …come on, Bob Carlisle – we’re waiting!). The most commercial, CCM radio-ready track on the album is, in fact, the title track – a song that’s produced with all of the slickness and accessibility that it needs to appeal to a broad base of listeners. That it’s possibly the weakest track is, in a way, a good thing, since – even as a concession to ‘light’ radio – it’s still a finely-crafted song.

Other highlights of The Waiting is Over include «In the Light of Heaven», the beautiful tribute to Kevin Thomson – the lyrics are poignant and vivid and Randy Thomas’ guitar phrasing is often Keaggy-like and stunningly beautiful on the closing vamp. The last track is an instrumental version of the gospel-tinged «All in God’s Hands», as The Sweet Comfort Band takes it to church, Memphis-style, with Thomas’ guitar taking on an Eric Gale / Cornell Dupree voice on the fade.

This is a fine album by The Sweet Comfort Band, without needing any qualification or excuse – it’s just real, real good music by a real, real good band! The production is clean and warm, sounding spacious and uncompressed. The core band does stellar work, aided by James Q Wright, Kenneth Crouch, James Raymond, Tim Bullock, and Rob Rinderer, who contributed some smokin‘ Hammond B3 and jazzy grand piano. Aside from a bit of a slow-down in the middle of the project (and these days you can arrange the track order to your liking, anyway) this is as good a Sweet Comfort album as any – maybe better. We’ve all grown up a bit in the last few decades – we just don’t all play or sing as well as these guys do. [Bert Saraco, The Phantom Tollbooth, 14 April 2013]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-waiting-is-over/634507534)

CD tracklist:

01. Lay It All on the Line – 4:57
02. Something Else Is Going on Here – 4:07
03. Nothing Can Separate Us – 4:23
04. Do You Love Me – 4:47
05. Rock Steady – 3:42
06. Then I Remember – 4:36
07. All in God’s Hands – 4:11
08. The Waiting Is Over – 3:53
09. All Stand Together – 3:41
10. Where Do We Go from Here – 4:21
11. In the Light of Heaven – 4:57

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2025. “If I Knew It Would Be The Last Time” was written by Bryan Duncan and Rick Thomson of the Sweet Comfort Band with songwriter and friend John Evans, in loving memory of the late Kevin Thomson of the Sweet Comfort Band and the many CCM artists that have gone before us.