Gloryland

1	I'm on My Journey Home ("O Who Will Come and Go with Me"), Revival ... 2:13
2	An Address for All (William Walker); Like Noah's Weary Dove (American ...) 4:20
3	Wayfaring Stranger, Religious Ballad 3:56
4	Wayfaring Stranger (Instrumental Version) 1:37
5	Where We'll Never Grow Old, Gospel Song 3:30
6	Ecstasy ("Oh, When Shall I See Jesus"), Revival Song 3:22
7	The Wagoner's Lad, Folk Song 2:48
8	Mercy-Seat ("From Ev'ry Stormy Wind That Blows"), Folk Hymn 4:11
9	Return Again ("Saviour, Visit Thy Plantation"), Revival Song 2:51
10	The Lost Girl, Folk Song 3:51
11	Palmetto ("Shall We Gather at the River"), Folk Hymn 3:25
12	Pleading Savior ("Gently, Lord, O Gently Lead Us"), Folk Hymn 2:20
13	Merrick ("Saviour, Visit Thy Plantation"), Revival Song 4:23
14	The Shining Shore, Gospel Song 4:43
15	Saint's Delight ("When I Can Read My Title Clear"), Revival Song 3:58
16	Just Over in the Gloryland, Gospel Song 2:55
17	You Fair and Pretty Ladies, Folk Song 3:35
18	Medley: Parting Friends; Wayfaring Stranger 2:42
19	Green Pastures, Gospel Song 3:55

Barnes & Noble

If Anonymous 4 surprised some longtime listeners when they exchanged medieval masses and motets for the shape-note hymns and sacred roots music of their hit American Angels, this follow-up album is sure to please both old fans and new. While Gloryland can boast the familiar Anonymous 4 virtues of finely tuned vocal harmonies and deep investigative research, it also achieves a looser, more relaxed feeling -- thanks especially to two guest artists recruited from the world of traditional music, Darol Anger on violin and Mike Marshall on mandolin and guitar. With their subtle accompaniments and more uninhibited interludes, this pair of instrumentalists help the singers bridge the gap between church meeting and jamboree. Beyond their typically painstaking historical reconstructions, the women seem to get the spirit. Even more than the group's previous outing, Gloryland covers a wide range of American styles and genres, from pungent shape-note hymns such as "Ecstasy" and "Saint's Delight" to the sweeter harmonies of early gospel tunes like "The Shining Shore" to the austerely melancholy strains of "The Lost Girl" and other secular folk songs telling of womenfolk forsaken by their men. Naturally, Anonymous 4 lead the listener through these varied pieces in a way that reveals the connections among them as much as the contrasts. And by the time they arrive in "Green Pastures" at the program's end, they've given their audience both a richly textured music history lesson and a uniquely scenic journey through the traditional American soundscape. Scott Paulin

All Music Guide

Anonymous 4's 2004 album American Angels, a collection of folk and gospel songs that stood in contrast to the a cappella group's usual focus on ancient and classical vocal music, was a major hit, reaching the top of the Billboard classical chart and selling a reported 80,000 copies. Surprisingly, Anonymous 4 picked this moment to announce that they would no longer be a full-time entity. Nevertheless, two years later, they are back with Gloryland, a follow-up to American Angels containing "Folk songs, Spirituals, [and] Gospel hymns of Hope & Glory." There are, however, changes. The group has wisely brought in two instrumental accompanists, Darol Anger on violin and mandolin, and Mike Marshall on guitar, mandolin, and mandocello, and given them co-billing. And the part-time nature of the foursome is reflected in the carefully delineated performing credits, which show that all of them are not present on all tracks -- in fact, A4 get together on only nine out of 19 -- but that Marsha Genensky, who penned the liner notes and is awarded an assistant producer credit, is on all but two, an instrumental reading of "Wayfaring Stranger" by Anger and Marshall, and a solo by Susan Hellauer on "The Wagoner's Lad." Hellauer, meanwhile, is on every track but three. It is thus not a surprise to read in the liner notes that Genensky and Hellauer are forming their own duo, the Lost Girls. As with American Angels, the performances by the singers in their various combinations are lovely and pristine. If anything, in fact, the singing is too pretty; this is rural music usually performed by untrained voices, and the effect of hearing Anonymous 4 render it is not unlike hearing Judy Collins sing an old folk song; it's beautiful, but it doesn't sound real. The instrumentalists are a big help in this regard, however, adding an underpinning of authenticity to the sound. On their own, the members of Anonymous 4 come off like a small Protestant choir in a country church that has somehow been transported to heaven, removing the imperfections and personalities of the singers and turning them into angels. Even the songs about secular concerns (mostly lost love) sound not of this world. William Ruhlmann

Billboard

A truly sublime album, guaranteed to appeal to saints and sinners alike. Anastasia Tsioulcas

Dallas Morning News

(Grade: A) Often haunting and inspirational, these songs about going to heaven frequently will take you there. Lawson Taitte