Review: Gold City "Somebody's Coming"

Peter, James, and John - This is the best song on the album (with “Lord of Life” coming in second probably) and is the perfect selection for radio single.  It has a nice country flavor, and the group really shines.  The only criticism I can see would be the ending,  It seems there should be more to it.  It doesn’t follow the chorus endings for the rest of the song.  It has different words and leaves you wishing for more.

I Get Down - The last song was excellent, this one is just the opposite.  Tim Riley leads the song.  It doesn’t do much for me.

Footprints on the Water - Don’t be surprised if you hear similarities to the last song, “I Get Down,” especially in the intro.  It’s a jazzy number, kind of fun, a little obnoxious with the electric guitars.

It Won’t Be Long - A note to Gold City: tone down!  Also, the music is a bit annoying with the loud percussion and electric guitars.  Some lyrics that stood out to me:

There’s no need standing up for the right, unless you’re gonna stand up against the wrong.


and:

You’d better make haste to meet your maker before you have to meet with the undertaker.


Good theology.  :)

Showers of Blessings - This song doesn’t sound much to me like Gold City.  The vocals sound like they’re sung by a different group (not one that I know, but a different group nonetheless)  The group had the perfect opportunity to at least sneak part of the old hymn into this track, but they missed their opportunity.  Nevertheless, “Showers of Blessings” is kind of a fun song.

Lord of Life - To me, this song would win second place on the album.  The first ballad, it starts out with fairly light music, and then kicks into high gear at the first chorus.  If you want a small sampling of the album, buy this song track, and “Peter, James, and John” on iTunes.

Somebody’s Coming - You’re sitting at an interminably long red light, bored out of your skull.  Suddenly, a sleek, red corvette pulls up next to you, rock music blasting from the radio.  The driver thinks he’s a “cool dude” complete with tattoos, muscle shirt, and tattoos.  You feel like opening your window and playing something from your car.  But, suddenly, you hear that the song he’s listening to is by Gold City!  And it’s called “Somebody’s Coming”!

OK, obviously, this will likely never happen.  But I’m telling you, minus the Christian words, this song would be absolutely perfect on a rock-n-roll or country station.  Well, if you like that kind of music, this song isn’t half bad, although it is very rocky.

Leave That Burden - This is ballad two of three.  It’s slightly slower than some down-tempo songs, but it’s certainly slower than most of the others on Somebody’s Coming.  I don’t think that the chorus is extremely well written.  It seems that there’s too many words stuffed into a small space.  The song is kind of country-flavored.  This seems to be the genre that most of the songs on the album would fit into.

I Have an Anchor - Sometimes it takes a few listens before I start to like a CD or song.  Second time through this one, and it’s improving, at least in my mind.  The group could have sang part of the song “Will Your Anchor Hold” (or perhaps called “We Have an Anchor”) in the old Praise and Worship hymnal that my church uses, but alas they didn’t.  So many old songs like this, that are in my hymnbook, never get sung by Southern Gospel groups.  Sometimes I can’t say that it would be a good idea to record some of those old songs though.  Not all of them are exactly well written.

Never Too Broken to Belong - Imagine piano and strings, because that’s what this song is.  It’s pretty (as in to a fairly large, noticeable, or reasonable extent) pretty. :)

Album Art: The cover is a work of art.  I really like it.  I’d like to say that the actual cover art is a bit different than the JPEG image above, mainly in and around the font.

Comments:
I have to say that most of the songs are not as good as some of the songs on Gold City’s last major release Moment of Truth, such as “What Children Believe,” and “By Your Grace, For Your Glory.”  There are a couple 4.5-5 star songs, and the rest range from 1.5-4 stars.  I can’t recommend paying $15 for the entire album, but I would recommend getting some of the songs on a digital download site, such as iTunes.

This album was very country influenced, with almost all of the songs, having at least a little bit, that country flavor.  I generally love country style Southern Gospel music, but I can’t say that about this album.  A lot of the songs are too loud for me.

Most likely, you’ll have a different view of the album than me.  Daniel J. Mount gave it a very favorable review.  If you liked Moment of Truth, then you’ll most likely like Somebody’s Coming.  If you didn’t like Moment of Truth, then don’t get Somebody’s Coming.

CD Rating: 2.5 stars
Favorite Songs: “Peter, James, and John,” “Lord of Life,” “Somebody’s Coming”

Review copy provided by New Haven Records

Video: Second Generation - Give It Away

I saw this song performed live at Youth Challenge 2011, several weeks back.  I finally found the video for it, and wanted to share it.  

Obviously, the music isn't on the scale that the Gaither Vocal Band would have.  But I still think it's fun to watch, especially since the group members are teenagers.  They sound off-tune when they start singing the chorus after the second verse, but other than that, I can't see any other places when they're not on tune.  I think if they're going to go for an encore twice, then they need to change keys the second time through.

Please tell me what you think.  You can find the video on our YouTube channel, along with some other music videos.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Southern Gospel Yankee posted a list of things she was thankful for today on her blog.  I thought I'd do the same thing.  Obviously there are many things I can be thankful, but these are some of the major as well as the more humorous ones.

• My family
• My Christian denomination
• My church
• My friends
• The piano
• The drums
• Most other instruments that I haven't already mentioned
• The Internet
• Southern Gospel Music
• Conservative people that aren't afraid to stand up against the crazy ideas that liberals have (abortion, gay marriage, ect.)
• Obama is very likely getting voted out of office soon!
• Good movies (which I don't watch very many of)
• Good books
• Vacations
• Fun
• Computers and most other electronic equipment like Android Phones, Laptops, Wifi, ect.

I think that list will suffice for now.  So Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The Inspirations

I made a comment on another SG blog a while back about not really liking a particular couple of SG groups.  One of the groups I mentioned was the Inspirations.  I’ve thought about this comment since I posted it, and realized that perhaps the statement wasn’t completely true.

While the Inspirations certainly aren’t my favorite group, and not even in my top 10 or anything like that, they do have some good songs.  They also seem to be more “conservative” than some other groups.  The main thing I don’t like about them is their music.  No drums and no orchestras.  It mainly consists of piano, and different guitars and stringed instruments.  You can’t label them as bluegrass, but they’re certainly not mainstream modern Southern Gospel music.

One particular song that I’ll mention, is “Cry For the Children.”  It deals with abortion, which, unfortunately, doesn’t get sung about much in Southern Gospel music.  It says that we’re concerned about things like the earth’s atmosphere and recycling, but we daily kill innocent babies.  Actually, this song, and the others from the same album did have drums.  I’m not sure what the reason for the change was though.  Now we’ll just have to work on that orchestra.  :)

Some other good Inspirations’ songs include:

• I Know Where He Lives
• Dealing With Gold
• Stone’s Throw Away
• If You Only Knew
• How Great It Is
• The Rose
• God Makes No Mistakes
• I Choose the Lord

I had to admit that when I listened to their latest album God Makes No Mistakes, it wasn’t quite as bad as I kind of expected it to be.  It won’t win “Album of the Year,” and might not be worth paying $15 for, but it’s not that bad.

DVD Review: Legacy Five "California Live"

What Happens:
Legacy Five starts out singing “I’d Like To Say it Again” from their 2010 Give the World a Smile CD.  The biggest negative aspect of this song, I think, is that the guys aren’t holding their microphones, but rather they have them in front of them in the stand.  It seems to limit movement, and make the song a little “stiff.”  Other than that, it’s a great song.

Next the group sings “My Soul Is Firmly Anchored,” an up-beat fun song from Just Stand.  They leave the mic stands behind for this one.  I think this majorly improves a performance, as they are free to move around a bit more.   This is one of the best songs on the DVD, I think.  On a side note, Scott Fowler sings the first verse’s lyrics slightly different than on the CD.

Up to this point, there have been no introductions, and hardly any talking.  Just singing.  But at this point, Scott Fowler (who does most of the song lead-ins) stops the singing to read the account of the Resurrection.  He can’t find the book of Luke however, which causes some laughter from the audience and a joke from Glenn Dustin.  :)  As he reads the account, the intro to the next song starts and we listen to “When They Found Nothing.”  It’s a very good song, and Gus does a good job with some power singing.

Directly after this song, the group starts into the fast paced “New Born Feeling,” which is, like the last two, from the album Just Stand.  Trey does some cool stuff on the piano, that I don’t believe I heard on the CD version.  The guys move around a little during this fun song, but they don’t dance or have any choreography, thankfully.

It’s on this DVD that I really see Trey’s talent on the piano, a lot more so than on his CD It Is Well.  He plays a classical song first, teasing Scott Fowler, and then goes into “How Great Thou Art.”  I’ve heard better performances of this song, though this version isn’t bad.  Slowing down the first verse might be a bit of an improvement.  I really like this part of the video.  The guys tease Trey a lot because he’s been classically educated, and plays…Scarlotti.  :)

After a little break, which is taped in some studio or back room with all the guys, we move on to one of the most over-used songs in Southern Gospel music…“Life Will Be Sweeter Someday.”  I really don’t like this song, especially since so many groups have sung it.  Ernie Haase & Signature Sound and Mercy’s Well immediately come to mind.

The only accompaniment to this song is by Trey at the piano.  Gus makes it fun however by pretending to be offended when the audience doesn’t applaud some fancy stuff with a drop and four-part harmony.  He also holds a note out a long time, which I consider a highlight.

The next song, “I Can Hardly Wait,” is a completely different than the one that the Kingsmen sang on their latest album Grace Says.  I personally have never heard L5 sing it before, nor do I ever wish to hear it again.  :)  OK, I’m exaggerating a bit, but I still don’t care for it.  The accompaniment is very basic, with piano, drums, and guitars.  It’s a very old Southern Gospel style, like what the Cathedrals would have sung with.  Glenn Dustin gets to sing the verses, and is featured very prominently throughout the rest of the song.

Next Scott Howard gets an intro, in the same “studio” type room I mentioned earlier.  Of course he takes the lead on the song directly following this introduction, “Above All Circumstances.”  This is another really great song from Just Stand.

The next introduction is for Glenn, L5’s bass that’s been with them from the beginning.  IMO, the jokes here aren’t as good as the rest of the DVD.  But the song doesn’t disappoint.  “Just Stand” is a very fun, fast, rocky song that IMO is one of the groups’ best.  Anyway, “Just Stand” is really good, and even shows Trey playing the piano during a type of “interlude.”  If you’re confused about my meaning of the word “interlude,” think about Gordon Mote’s little piano highlight during the GVB’s “Give It Away” song.

The next song is another fast tune called “Thankful For the Change.”  It’s fun with lots of horns and brass instruments.  A hand-clapping, foot stomping regular barn-burner.

Finally, L5 digs a little deeper into their song catalog and pulls out “Holy Is Thy Name” from the album London.  IMO, the fact that the song is only accompanied by Trey at the piano, is a bit of a downer, especially since the next song has no other instrumentation either.  Three out of thirteen songs with only piano accompaniment seems a bit too much for me.

For the second to last song, the group sings an old Gaither favorite, “Something About That Name.”  This isn’t a spectacular song, but it’s not that bad for a song with zero orchestration.

For the last song, we get to hear “We Shall See Jesus,” from one of L5’s most recent albums, Give the World a Smile.  I love this song because it starts out with a kind of “sad” and “depressing” mood, but then picks up the pace, and get’s very glorious and triumphant sounding.  It’s not my favorite L5 song obviously, but it’s good nonetheless.

Technical Aspects:
The camera quality was very good, though the picture gets slightly blurry when I play it full screen in Windows Media Player.  The sound quality was mostly fine as well, although there are a couple of spots where it doesn’t sound quite as good as it should.  This is almost imperceptible though, especially watching for the first time.  It’s definitely not worth griping about, and is hardly worth mentioning.

Comments:
This DVD draws it’s song selection largely from the album Just Stand.  This was a good move, IMO, because Just Stand was a really good album packed with awesome songs.  It deserves its own DVD.  While I think Frank Seamans was my favorite L5 tenor, I’m starting to like Gus Gaches a lot better.

A couple of things I would have changed, is perhaps making the DVD longer (about an hour and half maybe) and taking out some songs like “Life Will Be Sweeter” and “Something About That Name.”  Also, the concert, I think, would have benefited from more "talking."  Live In Music City had perhaps too much, and this one didn’t have enough.  These observations are personal preferences though, and the DVD is still great without these changes being made.

If you’re short on money, you’ll probably want to go with getting a new CD.  However, if you’re a DVD person, I would recommend California Live .

DVD Rating:  4.3 stars
Song Selection: 3.5 stars
Favorite Songs: "Just Stand," "When They Found Everything," "My Soul Is Firmly Anchored," "How Great Thou Art" (Trey Ivey)

Review copy provided by artist

Review: Stetler Trio "Precious Friend"

Shout to the Lord - This song is much the same as the version on Forgiven’s summer release.  Most of it is nearly identical, although there are some notable changes, especially at the beginning  of the song, and with the piano.  And of course since Milton Smith produced the orchestrations for both CDs, and Julia Stetler was in both groups, the two songs will sound alike.

What a Precious Friend - I saw the Stetler Trio perform this song live when I went to a Christian event.  It’s a nice song.  Not really fast, but not too slow either.  It’s fairly light with a nice use of the organ and strings.  Part of “What a Friend We Have In Jesus” is sung as well as the title song.  This song was originally sung by the Kingdom Bound Quartet.

Happiness Is - This is the first song I ever heard from the album, which I found on YouTube.  It’s OK, but I wish more instrumentation would have been utilized.  I hear a piano, drums, and bass guitar.  It’s fast and jazzy.

Total Praise Medley - Slowing down the pace, we hear “Total Praise Medley” which was written by Richard Smallwood.  The orchestration is pretty heavy through different parts, but not the whole way through.  It’s a pretty song.  I like it, but just don’t have much to say about it.

Made Me Glad - I don’t have much to say about this song either, other than that it’s really good.  This is one of the few songs that Elisa (Stetler) Calderon gets a verse (or part of one anyway) to herself.  Her voice sounds older and more mature's than Julia's does.  That's not to say that Julia isn't a good singer!

More Than Wonderful - Written by Lanny Lavon Wolf, this song was formerly sung by Sandi Patty and the Gaither Vocal Band.  This version is really good and has some great power singing.  The chorus says:

For He’s more wonderful than my mind can conceive
He’s more wonderful than my heart can believe
He goes beyond my highest hopes and fondest dreams
He’s everything that my soul every longed for, 
Everything that he promised and so much more
He’s more than amazing, more than marvelous, more than miraculous could ever be
He’s more than wonderful, that’s what Jesus is to me

It’s an awesome song.  The music isn't as good as GVB's, but the singing is much better than Sandi Patty's.

He Washed My Eyes With Tears - This is a bit faster, and a bit less serious than some other songs, but not as much so as say “Happiness Is.”  It’s not a very strong IMO, but it’s OK.

Trust His Heart Medley - Very good lyrics.  The orchestration is nice and pretty light, although it gets a bit heavier in places.  We hear the organ playing in the second song which gives a nice sound.  

Isn’t It Amazing - If I were to write a full review of each slow song, the descriptions would probably be about the same.  “Isn’t It Amazing” is good just like “Trust His Heart Medley,” “Made Me Glad” and the others.  Sure they’re different songs, words, tunes, instrumentations, but I fear that I will repeat myself, so I’ll just say that this song was really good, like the others.

We Press On - I don’t like this one as well as some of the others.  The words and tune don’t really “grab me.”  The music can be compared to that of the other ballads.  Elisa handles the verses.  I’m not sure if I like her voice as well as Julia’s, but she’s not bad.

Will You Love Jesus More - I could entertain you with clever lines and tender words.  But if all I did was entertain you, I have failed in my mission.  When you leave this place, will you love Jesus more?  This needs to be the  theme song for all Christian musical artists to an extent.  They need to remember that the most important thing they could do is to tell sinners about Jesus’ saving grace.  They’re not just there to entertain, though that can be part of their purpose.  I believe the Booth Brothers sang this before.

Jesus Is Coming Medley - This is the same song that Greater Vision did on Hymns of the Ages.  The Stetlers sang it faster, while GV held back more.  It’s a pretty song, but probably could be improved by slowing down at the beginning.  The song seems too rushed.

Comments:
Precious Friend really is a good CD, but it could have been improved.  For one thing, there should have been at least two more (maybe three or four more!) fast songs.  There were only two truly fast songs when you count “Shout to the Lord.”  There are others such as “He Washed My Eyes With Tears” and “What a Precious Friend” that were maybe more fun, but not really that up-tempo.  You could compare this to saying that “Holy Hands” by the Triumphant Quartet or “Nothing’s Worrying Me” by the Collingsworth Family is fast.  Most of the ballads are really good, but some more up-tempo numbers would be awesome.

• You can buy the CD here.

Rating: 4.5 stars
Song Selection: 4-4.5 stars
Favorite Songs: “More Than Wonderful,” “What a Precious Friend,” “Will You Love Jesus More?” “Total Praise Medley,” “Isn’t It Amazing,” and others

CREDITS:
Vocals: Elisa Stetler Calderon, Julia Stetler, Paul Stetler
Producers: Paul Stetler, Chas Payson
Piano: Paul Stetler
Bass: Darrell Lacy
Drums: Todd Walker
Orchestrations: Milton Smith 
Arrangements: The Stetler Trio
Studio: Echo Beach Studios (Jupiter, FL)
Engineer: Chas Payson
Photography: Churchill Photography (Hobe Sound FL)
Graphic Design: Brandon Hilligoss (Cincinnati OH)
Clerical Assistance: Lynn Hughes

Review copy not provided

Bass or Tenor: Which is More Manly?

When I think of the word “manly,” I think of strong athletic guys with deep voices.  Maybe this isn’t the picture you have, but it is mine.  A while back, some of my friends asked me which harmony part I thought was more manly: tenor or bass.

Obviously the bass part fits in a little better with the macho guy description.  The word “manly” means:

conventionally typical of man: having or showing qualities conventionally thought to be characteristic of or appropriate to a man, especially physical strength or courage 
(Encarta ® World English Dictionary)

 I think people sometimes equate a man with a higher voice as “geeky” or not as masculine as others.  But I love the tenor part, especially when it’s used in power singing.  There’s just something about singers hitting those high notes that I love.

So while the bass part might be thought of as more manly, tenor, I think, is a lot of the time, more fun.  :)

This video features Legacy Five's former tenor, Frank Seamans, with some great power singing. (near the end)

Another Legacy Five video, this time with their bass, Glenn Dustin taking the lead.

Where Can I Get "Strength For the Journey"?

Does anybody know where I can get the old Collingsworth album Strength For the Journey?  Up until last night, I didn't even know it existed!  But now that I do know, I'm anxious to get a copy of it.  I don't care if it be a digital or physical copy.  It's hard to find since it's out of print. (or out of recording :P)  I'd appreciate it somebody could guide me to a download site or eBay or Amazon listing or something.  Thanks!

Review: Booth Brothers "Let It Be Known"

First John - This song has nothing to do with John…at all.  Is “John” a musical term maybe?  Perhaps one of readers can enlighten my ignorance.  :) It’s a weak song, mainly because it’s accapella.  It’s downright boring, not worth listening to, and definitely not worth putting on a CD in the space where a good song could have fit.  1 star

See What a Morning - With “See What a Morning” we go from no music to a lot of music.  This song is very fast and majestic sounding.  The group pulled out all the stops.  Strings, horns, and the works.  We hear part of the song “He Arose” a couple of times.

She Still Remembers Jesus’ Name - If you think you’ve heard this song before, you’re probably right.  This is the radio single for Let It Be Known.  It describes a woman who has dementia, and can’t  even remember her husband who died just last fall, or her oldest son’s name.  Even though she can’t remember these things,  she remembers Jesus and his amazing grace.  She remembers the song “Rock of Ages Cleft For Me” and John 3:16.  The music is lighter with a lot of piano, strings, and guitars strumming softly in the background.  It’s a really good song, although I’m not quite sure that it’s deserving of radio single.

He’s So Good To Me - This is a fun song.  Fast and more traditional.  I don’t have much of anything else to say about it.

When You Bow At Jesus’ Feet - I think musically, this song can be compared in ways to “Try Jesus.”  The music has a familiarity to it, as well as parts of the tune.  “When You Bow at Jesus’ Feet” has lighter music, with no drums.  It’s a refreshing change from the heavy percussion that dominates the Southern Gospel genre.

Since Jesus Came - Picking up the pace we have “Since Jesus Came.”  Most of the other up-tempo numbers are pitched in a higher key.  This one seems lower, especially near the beginning and up to the second verse.  The words say that life is worth living since Jesus came to live inside.

Masterpiece of Mercy - This has a completely style and sound than “When You Bow at Jesus’ Feet” but it’s still a really good ballad.  It has a pretty acoustic sound, with a bit of an old country feel.

Let It Be Known - This song is in a pretty contemporary style.  Obviously not as much as actual CCM songs, but it’s still progressive.  If you like that kind of music, then you should like this one.  It’s actually very good.  Lots of electric guitars, and heavy percussion

The Master’s Table - This song retains just a teensy (VERY teensy) bit of the progressive flavor that makes up the last one, due to some electric guitars heard every once in a while.  Especially at the beginning, it sounds more progressive that it actually is.  I don’t really care for this track as much as the last two ballads.  It seems to kind of drag on, like the song “Look For Me At Jesus’ Feet.”

Bread Upon the Water - Just to be clear, this is a completely different song than “I Cast My Bread Upon the Water” by Gold City.  This one is much faster, and more jazzy.  It has some fun instrumentation including some trumpets and horn sounds, and an awesome beat.  It would probably be pretty successful in a concert setting.  It features some power singing, which people tend to like.  5 stars

What About Now - Wow, this has a long intro!  It lasts almost a minute and two seconds! (1:02)  It has a very unique sound.  Acoustic and kind of “lonely.”  It’s the kind of music that you might hear in a deserted desert scene in a movie.  The message is basically this: Are you right with God now?  It doesn’t matter that you joined a church a long time, or that you got right with God way back when.  But it matters that you love him right now.  Is there evidence of it?  Can people look at you and see that he’s living in you.  If the length of this track wasn’t 6:10, I’d say it should be the radio single.  It has a very Biblical, timely, message, and the music is awesome.  It’s very light until about 4:03 where it kicks into high (and I mean very high) gear.  The group “hums” “First John” at the end.  This is what makes it so long.  If they had left this part out, they could have kept it at near five minutes and chosen it for radio.

Cover Art - The art for this album is extremely well done.  Every thing from color scheme, to fonts, to arrangement is truly a work of art.

Comments:
The first time I heard this CD, I didn’t see why everybody has made such a fuss about it.  People seemed to really like the project, but I wasn’t that impressed.  So I kind of skimmed the CD, listening to the fast songs, and falling asleep on the ballads.  But after finally hearing the rest of the songs, I’ve changed my opinion.  It has some very solid ballads, and some catchy up-tempo songs.  From an eleven-track album, we get about seven 5-star songs, with three others ranging from 3.5-4 stars.  Only one song, “First John,” is truly not very good.  The Booth Brother's have created a winner.  Consider Let It Be Known when you look to expand your music collection.


CD Rating: 4.5 stars
Song Selection: 4 stars
Favorite Songs: “What About Now,” “He’s So Good to Me,” “When You Bow at Jesus’ Feet,” “Bread Upon the Water,” and others

Review copy provided by Daywind Records.

Video: Stetler Trio "Happiness Is"

This is a song off of a CD I'm planning to post a review of soon.

Time to Slow Down

I’ve posted a lot of reviews since I started the Gospel Review Blog.  But as I’ve been thinking it over, I’ve thought that maybe I should slow down.  Daniel Mount said something on his blog that got me to thinking.  He said something to the effect of “If I post all the good CD reviews as soon as I get them, I won’t have enough good projects to post the rest of the time, when album production is down.”  I’ve noticed that after NQC, the number of new albums decrease for a time.  It’s only through a bit of luck that I’ve started obtaining review copies of CDs, and I’ll probably have to slow down with the p0sting, perhaps only post one or so reviews a week.  Of course that leaves the question, what is to fill in for the rest of the week?  YouTube videos I suppose, articles of course (which are hard to find a topic for so I won’t post a whole lot of those), news, which I can’t and won’t try to take on reporting.  I’ll going to think and try to come up with some other ideas, as I don’t want the blog to get boring.  I don’t want my traffic to drop because I’m only posting reviews.  I’d appreciate it if you, my readers, would take a minute or so to make some suggestions for what you’d like to see here.

Anyway, here’s a list of upcoming album reviews that I’m going to try spacing out:

• Stetler Trio - Precious Friend
• Booth Brothers - Let It Be Known
• Gerald Crabb - Sometimes I Cry
• Libbi Perry Stuffle - Journey
• The Chigger Hill Boys and Terri - Indescribable
• Marshall Hall - Brighter One
• Wilburn and Wilburn - Family Ties
• Ernie Haase & Signature Sound - A White Christmas (hopefully)

And along with the regular albums, here’s one to post every week as well.  Some older Holiday projects:

• Legacy Five - A Little Christmas
• Ernie Haase & Signature Sound - Every Light That Shines At Christmas
• Greater Vision - A Greater Vision Christmas (not sure about this one yet)

Review: Ernie Haase &Signature Sound "Every Light That Shines At Christmas"

He Started the Whole World Singing/O Come All Ye Faithful - “He Started the Whole World Singing” is nice and has a pretty tune, especially on the chorus.  It kind of reminds me of “Since Jesus Passed By,” as it only has one verse, and then repeats the chorus several times.  Although I’m not a big fan of kids choirs, the one featured on here, wasn’t too bad. The orchestration really picks up on “Oh Come All Ye Faithful.”  5 stars

Mr. Heat Miser - This CD has a fair share of weird songs that don’t really have any point.  This is probably the biggest pointless song, although it’s kind of fun to listen to.  :)  The chorus says:

He's Mr. Heat Miser, He’s Mr Snow.  He’s Mr. Icicle, He’s Mr. ten below.
Friends call me snow miser, whatever I touch turns to snow in my clutch, I'm too much

That gives you an idea of how strange the lyrics really are.  This song was possibly directed toward kids?  Another observation about several of the songs, including this one, is that the group talks at the beginning.  For example, at the beginning, Ernie says that he wants it to be cold for Christmas, and Tim Duncan says that he wants it to be hot since he’s from the South.  It’s kind of like a mini-drama or something.  3 stars

Changed By a Baby Boy - I’ve only heard a 30-second clip of this jazzy clip, so I can’t really comment.

Thank God For Kids - Is it appropriate for Christian singers to sing about Santa Clause?  I don’t think it’s wrong necessarily, but I think performers need to be careful and not go overboard with it.  The reason I said that here, is because the first verse says:

If it weren’t for kids have you ever thought, there wouldn’t be a Santa Clause.

And in several other Christmas songs EH&SS has sung, they’ve referenced Santa Clause.  We hear so much of this from the world, shouldn’t Gospel singers sing about Jesus?  It’s not a big deal, just an observation.  This is kind of a neat song.  Well-written and interesting lyrics.  The verses are handled by Doug Anderson, if I’m not mistaken.  4 stars

Every Light That Shines At Christmas - This can be compared to “He’s My Guide,” in some aspects.  This is a fun song to listen to, but it’s not as good as some of the other tracks, such as “Marshmallow World.”  The guys come in for an “encore” type ending that fades out.  3.5 stars

Redeeming Love - Once again, I’ve only heard a 30-second clip of this song, as well as “All I Want Is You,” “Christmas In Indiana,” and “Changed By a Baby Boy.”

Marshmallow World - This has to be the best song on the CD!  Sleigh bells give it the classic Christmas feel, such as was captured a lot in Greater Vision’s “Everything Christmas.”  Fast, upbeat percussion adds to the fun.  Also this is another “talking” song.  (Refer to “Mr. Heat Miser”)  5 stars

Christmas Is Christmas (Wherever You Go) - This song has a special feature at the beginning, much the same as in “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow” on EH&SS’s 2011 project with the late George Younce.  A woman calls her family on the phone and wishes them a merry Christmas.  She apologizes that she won’t be able to be home for the holidays, explaining that she’s in the hospital, and that she just had a baby boy.  Next comes “Captain Thomas Smith” and his team in Baghdad, wishing their families back home a happy holidays.  There’s also some other people “calling home” throughout the rest of the song.  Once again, a kids choir comes in, which I don’t particularly care for.  2.5 stars

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - I don’t really care for this song as much as the others, mainly because it’s accapella.  I love music.  It harmony is good though, and the group does some neat stuff.  3 stars


If It Doesn’t Snow On Christmas - This is probably the song that talks about Santa the most.  The group sings that they’re worried about how Santa will bring the sleigh if it doesn’t snow.  They wish he could fly a plane and even offer to loan him their bus.  It almost seems as if the writer was trying to put into kids’ minds, doubt about old Saint Nicholas.  3 stars

Silent Night - Ack!  Another accapella number.  It’s one, or, perhaps even two too many!  This one wasn’t as good as “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”  Actually it’s not completely without instrumentation.  The strings section comes in lightly near the end.  2 stars

Light A Candle - Light a candle for the old man who sits at the frosty window pane, and the lonely woman, and the children who need more than presents, and the homeless and hungry, and the broken and the forgotten.  This song would make sense if it was coming from a Christian point of view.  But it seems that it’s coming more from a politically correct, liberal agenda.  I guess a more accurate description would be to say that it’s not overtly Christian.  God isn’t even mentioned.  It sounds like a song you might hear on some movie like The Polar Express or from some secular artist.    4 stars for the song, but it should Christian references

Amen - The chorus is literally the word “amen” over and over again with alternating group members singing something different.  You can hear the kids choir in the background again, which isn’t too bad for this particular song.  This is a very charismatic song, like what a black choir would sing.  3 stars

Comments:
Every Light That Shines At Christmas is a fairly good project.  It has a lot of good songs, although it does have a few negative aspects.  It wouldn’t have hurt to ease up a bit on the secular songs.  I don’t think Signature Sound will be going rock or country on us anytime soon, but they are a Gospel group, and should probably be singing more Christ-centered music.  The best fast song is “Marshmallow World,” and the best slow song is “He Started the Whole World Singing.”  I  would recommend this CD if you're looking for good Christmas music.

CD Rating: 4 stars
Song Selection: 4.5 stars
Favorite Songs: “He Started the Whole World Singing,” “Marshmallow World,” “Light a Candle,” “Thank God For Kids”