Review: Kingdom Heirs "It's Christmas

The Christmas Waltz - Smooth and light with a hint of jazz, “The Christmas Waltz” doesn’t do much for me.  Horns, strings, a little bit of piano, and percussion mainly.  3 stars

Hark the Herald Angels Sing - While I don’t really care for the last track, this song would have to be it’s opposite.  I love it!  It’s moderately fast and is actually a Christian song.  Great harmony, good heavier music makes for a 5 star song!  Definitely in the top 3, if not the best song on the CD!

Hay Baby - I think this is song is kind of disrespectful.  Something about “Hay Baby” rubs me the wrong way.  When I first heard this track, I thought of Gold City’s “Look Who Just Checked In.”  As for the music, it’s not very Christmas-y.  Pretty country influenced, not rocky, but fast.  2.5 stars

Go Thee Down - Light ballad, actually one of the only slow songs on the CD.  It’s not at all progressive but very traditional.  There’s not a lot of orchestration, which is fine.  I don’t want people to get the impression that I can’t stand light ballads.  Not at all.  While I prefer heavier orchestration, I do enjoy listening to some light songs as well.  I imagine I would get tired of big ballads after a while, if that was all there was.  4 stars

Here Comes Santa Claus - Love the jazzy piano, love the backup singers, love the sleigh bells.  It would have been nice if the whole group had sung instead of just the (bass?) singer.  While this song is about old Saint Nick, it actually refers to Santa knowing that we’re God’s children.  Go figure.  3.5 stars

Oh Come All Ye Faithful - More progressive sounding than traditional, “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” has a nice acoustic sound.   That’s not to say that it’s rocky in the least, but it doesn’t sound like a traditional Southern Gospel song.  It’s a nice track with good music.  The whole group comes in for “encore” type repeat at the end.  4.5 stars

Who Do You Think - People are whispering, there’s a woman who’s gonna have a baby even though she’s not married.  Her name is Mary, she’s a virgin from Nazareth, she’s gonna marry Joseph, but the baby’s father is the Holy Ghost.

The tune to “Who Do You Think” sounds so familiar, and maybe even some of the words!  It’s possible that perhaps I heard this at a Kingdom Heirs concert when I went to Dollywood this summer.  That would be kind of weird though, since this a Christmas-themed song, and as I said, I went to Dollywood in the summer.  ;)  The music is nice, light, and fast.  It’s a good song, although perhaps a little bit long.  It has a Country/Classic Southern Gospel sound.  5 stars

That Little Baby - This is one of the rockiest songs I have ever heard from the Kingdom Heirs.  (One that might compete is “I’m A Brand New Man”)  The recurring (bass guitar?) playing in the background, as well as electric guitars, piano, organ, and percussion give it a very rock-influenced feel.  At first I didn’t think it was an amazing song, but after listening several times, I think it’s growing on me.  5 stars

Beautiful Star of Bethlehem - This song is largely acoustic sounding, but it doesn’t draw exclusively from that feeling like songs such as “That’s the Place I’m Longing To Go” (Collingsworth Family) do.  3.5 stars

Winter Wonderland - The Kingdom Heir’s version of the classic Christmas hit “Winter Wonderland” is very, very jazzy.  In fact, it would probably find itself right at home on a secular jazz album.  One thing I noticed about the lyrics is where the following was sung:

In the meadow we can build a snowman 
and pretend that he’s a circus clown  
We’ll have lots of fun with Mr. Snowman 
Til all the other kiddies knock em’ down


I never noticed that part about the kiddies knocking the snowman down before.  Was that part of the original song?  Hmm…  4 stars

The Christmas Song - Well, for a minute I was kind of disappointed, thinking “The Christmas Song” was accapella.  Thankfully, it just started out that way.  The music started after a minute of singing minus the instrumentation.  3.5 stars

Comments:
It’s Christmas is a pretty good project, though not as good as some.  It’s not packed full of solid hits IMO, although it does have a few 5-star tunes, as well as some more average-rated songs.  Whether you should buy it or not all depends on your personal musical preferences.

CD Rating: 3.5 stars
Song Selection: 4.5 stars
Favorite Songs: “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” “Oh Come All Ye Faithful,” “Who Do You Think,” “That Little Baby”

Review copy provided by Crossroads Music

Review: Tribute Quartet "The Waiting Is Over"

Songs of Zion - Starting out relatively slow, “Songs of Zion” gets faster halfway through the intro.  It could be compared to Greater Vision’s “No Longer Chained” although the music on this track has more instrumentation.  This is a nice fast song.  It’s not as happy perhaps as “Bring on the Joy” or “Marshmallow Christmas” (Ernie Haase & Signature Sound) but it’s still fun to listen to.  We hear the chorus to “Tell Me the Story of Jesus” near the end of the song, although the word “tell” is replaced with “sing.”  5 stars

Makes Me Want to Go - In my mind, this song can be to others such as “I’ll See You Over There.”  The music is somewhat similar with the guitars and other instruments, and the group even sounds a bit like Soul’d Out Quartet in parts of the song.  Not too much, but there are hints of resemblance.

Bring On the Joy - Here’s the happiest song on the CD, which you probably could guess from the title.  It’s a bit obnoxious in places (such as at the end), but mostly it’s not too bad.  The organ is fun, and gives a nice sound.  A choir comes in to sing the chorus a couple of times at the end.  3.5 stars

Jesus Is Alive - This song isn’t slow exactly, but it’s more serious, so it might give that impression.  The orchestration is pretty heavy, which of course is fine with  me.  The track features some really good power singing.  5 stars


Homecoming Day  - Really slowing down the pace this time, we have a fairly light ballad.  (at the beginning at least)  “Homecoming Day” probably won’t be remembered as a classic or a hit, although it is a terrific song.  I don’t really care for the first verse, though the second is slightly better.  There’s a choir, again, that comes in to sing the chorus and ending.  We don’t hear a lot of choirs in quartet music, although they are introduced on occasion, such as in “Jesus Saves” by the Mike Lefevre Quartet, and some different songs by Greater Vision (yes I know, a trio, not a quartet) and Signature Sound.  4.5 stars

More Than Able - Yes, this is the same song sung by Greater Vision on Live At First Baptist Atlanta.  If I had to compare the two, I’d probably say that GV’s is the best.  I can’t listen to Greater Vision’s version right now though, because a bunch of my GV/L5/Cathedrals/and other music mysteriously disappeared from my MP3 player a while back.  3.5 stars

The I Am - The first verse says that God has many different names that he is known by, but that the favorite (from the viewpoint of the singers obviously) is “I Am.”  I like the words at the end that state:

He Is I Am.

4 stars

There Is a City - Fast, fun, song.  Verse reminds me of another song that I can’t think of.  5 stars

The Climb - This song isn’t amazing, but it has some pretty instrumentation.  Some nice organ work, with percussion, piano, and soft guitars is pretty much all there is to the music.  It’s a nice light track.  Not mellow, but still soft.  I’m not really sure what all the lyrics mean.  3.5 stars

There Is a City - Fast song, with fun electric guitars.  Nothing spectacular, again, and not a hit.  But it’s OK.  A little bit of power singing near the end.  3 stars

Save My Friends, Save My Friends - This is a nice ballad that’s pretty mellow.  And it’s right where people are today.  I know so many people who have unsaved loved ones, especially unsaved children.  Part of the second verse says:

We all have friends so dear, living like they think they’re doing fine

Isn’t this so true?  It’s sad to see people that have grown up in a Christian home, that are mixed up in drugs, alcohol, sex, smoking, and all the other things that they find pleasure in.  This song really has a good message to it, especially since it’s so close to home with a lot of people.  4 stars

Comments:
If you like quartet music, then you should enjoy The Waiting Is Over.  It has some great fast songs, as well as some more serious songs like “Jesus Is Alive,” and “Save My Family, Save My Friends.”  I encourage you to consider getting it.  While it’s not quite as good as some of the years’ releases like Part of the Family, or We Will Stand Our Ground it’s better than a lot of the others like the Dove Brothers’ Unshakeable and IMO maybe better than Perrys’ Blue Skies Coming.  You can download a digital copy of the album, or purchase a physical copy at: www.crossroadsmusic.com.

Rating: 5 stars
Song Selection: 4.5 stars
Favorite Songs: “Songs of Zion,” “Makes Me Want to Go,” “Jesus Is Alive,” “Homecoming Day,” “The I Am”

Digital review copy provided by Crossroads Music

Review: Greater Vision "Everything Christmas"

With Christmas fast approaching, I thought I’d start reviewing some Christmas projects.  So I’ll start with Greater Vision’s latest addition to the Holiday catalog.  I’ll try to review some projects by EH&SS, Palmetto State Quartet, and some more later.

Everything Christmas (Overture) - This song covers parts of several of the songs that are played throughout the rest of the CD.  Maybe that’s why it’s called an “overture.”  ;)  There are several songs that are not played later, such as “The First Noel,” some unidentifiable song that says “Joy, joy, unspeakable joy,” several times, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,”  and some others.  To be clear, this is an instrumental, although it does have a choir in a couple places.  5 stars

There’s No Place Like Home For the Holidays/I’ll Be Home For Christmas:  My biggest problem with this song is that the verse of “There’s No Place Like Home For the Holidays” says: “Gee, the traffic is terrific.”  You say, so what?  Why is that a problem?  Well, I know a lot of people don’t really know this, but “gee” as well as “gosh” and “golly,” is a substitute for “Jesus.”  And the Bible says not to take the name of the Lord in vain.  Obviously, Gerald Wolfe probably wasn’t thinking about this, for many people now use these interjections frequently.  Maybe  using these substitutes are not as bad as saying “Jesus” or “God,” but they still should not be used.

The music has an old feel to it, like something you’d hear in an old Christmas movie, or in the early 1900‘s.  This is the result of back-up singers, and it sounds neat.  5 stars (without the slang)

Sleigh Ride - What would Christmas be without hearing “Sleigh Ride”?  Ah, I love it.  Jazzy piano coordinates with orchestra and sleigh bells.  The only downer is the kids singing.  We don’t even hear Greater Vision.  4 stars (My rating probably would have boosted if the group had sung and the kids didn’t)

O Holy Night - While “O Holy Night” is significantly slower-paced than the last two songs, it still maintains the predominant Christmas feel.  Big orchestration at the end, classic Christmas.  Even though I don’t care for the actual song, I have to give it a high rating, for Greater Vision did a great job.   The Christmas flavor and the big orchestration and choir at the end was really good.  4.5 stars

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - Chris Allman gets a solo here which I don’t think was a smart move.  I’m not criticizing his ability to sing, but there’s nothing like the rich harmony of a group.  Thankfully a choir helps throughout most of the song, but it’s still not the same as lead, tenor, and baritone, blending together for a classic Christmas melody.  3 stars (higher if the whole group had sang)

I Heard the Bells - If I’m not mistaken, Chris was the only group member that actually sang the words of this song.  The other guys may have harmonized and hummed the tune, but it was mainly Chris and the choir.  Perhaps because he was newer to the group when this album was produced?  2 stars

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - The music almost has a jungle sound to it!  I know that might sound kind of weird for a Christmas album, but the beat of the drums, and the flutes give me that impression.  And finally, the whole group sings together again, starting out in unison, and progressing into harmonization.  The orchestration gets heavier and much more frequent as the song advances.  3.5 stars

Do You Hear What I Hear - The intro sounds very majestic and royal, something straight out of a movie about, like, Rome or something.  I don’t really care for this song.  It just doesn’t do a lot for me.  But Greater Vision has improved some weaker songs (IMO) with good soundtracks.  Whoever produced this project did an excellent job.  3.5 stars

A Cradle In Bethlehem - This is probably the weakest song on the project musically and lyrically, IMO, with perhaps the exception of “Grace Has a Face (Hope Has Hands)” which I have not heard.  I guess this is just not my style, as well as that it’s not classic, and it’s pretty simple. (musically at least)  If you like lighter stuff, this is for you.

Comments:
This is a definite must-hear Christmas album.  It has a few things that could be improved, but mostly, it’s great!  The music is phenomenal.  If you’re looking for good, quality, Christian, Christmas albums, get Everything Christmas.

CD Rating: 5 stars
Song Selection: 4 stars
Favorite Songs: “There’s No Place Like Home…,” “Everything Christmas (Overture),” “O Holy Night,” and others

Has Southern Gospel Become Too Entertaining?

You go to a concert, clap your hands, relax for a couple of hours, meet the performers, buy a CD, and go home.  You have fun and get entertained.  But have concerts become too entertaining?  Has the "fun" aspect of a performance become too important?  There's nothing wrong with having fun.  I'll be the first to say that.  But this is Christian music.  Should we be at a concert more to worship God, or more to have a good time?

In the book of Psalms we can find the word "praises" 22 times (I used the King James Version)  We find the word "praise" 160 times, usually in reference to praising the Lord, or his name.  "Praised" is found six times.  This is just in Psalms.  There are other verses throughout the Bible, that talk about giving thanks, or praise to God.  Hebrews 13:15 says:

"By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name."

In Luke chapter 19, as Jesus rode into the city, people were shouting praises to him.  The Pharisees told Jesus to rebuke them and he said:

"I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out." (Luke 19:40)

God is worthy of praise, and he loves it when his children praise him.  It used to be commonplace for people to shout and praise the Lord and even run the aisles.  This doesn't happen much anymore.  People, today, don't even like to testify.

And I think this has happened to an extent with Gospel concerts.  I think the "praise" part been pretty much removed.   I think in some people's cases it has been replaced with praise and admiration for the performers.  Of course there's a time and a place for testimonies.  I don't think a concert, with hundreds of people, is the right time for someone to give their life story.  But we can still praise God in our hearts, raising our hand when a song speaks to us, or saying "amen" instead of cheering and screaming for an encore to “Didn’t It Rain.”  :)

On the other hand, we don't always have to be reading a book on theology, or handing out tracts in the inner city.  We should make time to have fun, and a concert can be a legitimate place to have it.  Christian's need solid entertainment, instead of the junk the world is trying to shove in our faces.  Life can be hard, and music has a way of cheering us up.  We go to church three times a week (or at least my family does), where we praise God and are fed spiritually.  But this can still be something to think about when you attend the next concert.

Are we praising God, or praising the people singing?

Review: Assurance "Holy Is Thy Name"

Pros:

• The group has great harmony.  You can really tell when they sing accapella on songs like "Blessed Assurance."
• While there's not very many up-tempo numbers, the few that are included are good.  "Blood-Washed Band" is the best fast song, and the best version I've ever heard.

Cons:

• The project would have benefited from more fast songs.  There were only two, which is a pretty poor number when compared with 7-8 ballads.
• The percussion section needs to be louder, and perhaps used more than it is.
• There are quite a few songs on this project that have been sung by major groups (Legacy Five, the Hoppers, the Cathedrals)  However, I'm not sure if this should be considered a negative element, because the songs are really good, and sound different (and in most cases) better than the other versions.

Notes:
The music is very "guitar based."  It provides a unique sound, one that isn't captured very often by Southern Gospel groups.  It's sort of refreshing, although I do miss the orchestration on some songs.  ;)

I would have made several changes if I had created the CD, but the producers did a good job with what they decided to put in.  This is a nice CD to listen to when you're kind of burned out with your regular collection.  If you want something lighter, consider Holy Is Thy Name.

CD Rating: 4 stars
Song Selection: 3 stars
Favorite Songs: Blood Washed Band, I Have Seen the Light, Redemption Draweth Nigh, I've Got That Old Time Religion (There are a couple others, but these are probably the best)

Track List: Blessed Assurance, Blood Washed Band, Haven of Rest, His Name is Wonderful, Holy Is Thy Name, I Believe in the Old Time Religion, I Have Seen the Light, I Am, I've Got That Old Time Religion, Redemption Draweth Nigh 


(NOTE: I don't have a list of the title tracks, so some of the titles are named from lines in the song, but may, in reality, be different.)

Is Contemporary Music Appropriate For Public Worship?

This seems to be a popular topic lately so I thought I'd throw in my two-cents, though it may go in a slightly different direction than the other articles on the subject.  Here's my question:

Is contemporary music appropriate for public worship?  

This is not an attack on the CCM genre, but I'm rather more questioning the time and place for it.

Traditional worship, obviously, has not disappeared completely.  Many churches have not yet switched to the "modern" music that we hear so much today.  But as you know, many "places of worship" have switched over. If you go to the big churches you might find "praise bands" and "worship teams."  In some cases these "teams" are dressed immodestly, and the bands are not much more than a rock group.  Nothing about them resembles Godliness or indicates that they're there to worship.  The music is loud and obnoxious, and does not bring glory to God, but is rather appealing to the audience and the performers.  Speaking of the performers, they're not even dressed in appropriate church attire, but rather, look like they're going to a street fight.

There are several problems with the picture I have just described.  For starters, 1st Corinthians 11:14 tells us that it is a shame for a man to have long hair, and that long hair on a women is a glory.  Sadly people don't follow this much anymore, even in the Church.  1st Timothy 2:9 speaks against immodesty, costly clothing, and the wearing of jewels.  (The performers are decked out in jewelry, even some of the men!)  Also 1st Corinthians 14:40 tells us that all things are to be done decently and in order.  Can you truthfully say that the type of service I described is decent and orderly?  People screaming into the microphone, working the crowd into a frenzy, the praise team dancing for all they're worth, and the musicians "playing" their instruments at a nearly deafening level?

Rock and Roll was a type of music that was started in rebellion.  It was never meant to bring glory to God.  Think about the '60s.  Rebellion, drugs, alcohol, sex, the whole nine yards.  Anti-authority, and anti-God.  These things were promoted openly in rock songs.  Some performances included spitting, vomiting, nudity, and profanity.  Some groups were epitomized by the men wearing makeup and singing witchcraft and devil-worshipping songs.  The lyrics were sensual and even well-known artists like Michael Jackson and Madonna began to sing songs that openly mentioned sex.  How is that kind of music, even with Christian words, acceptable in a church service?

Church leaders have welcomed rock music into their services, partly to try to get new people to come in.  Maybe they reasoned that sacred music wasn't appealing to sinners, so they had to get more "modern."  But that's a rather ridiculous argument.  God's word doesn't appeal to sinners, so should we stop reading the Bible in service?  Should we stop taking an offering,  because sinners certainly don't understand the concept of tithing 10% to God.  Well, perhaps we should stop praying.  I mean, it might not appeal to some people.  They could get offended and never come back.  In fact let's not even mention God, because some people get upset.  We'll just have coffee and donuts and sit there listening to rock music, hoping that new people will get saved even though they can't know about God's plan of salvation because we're too busy trying not to offend them by not talking about their creator.  ;)

I'm not totally adverse to rockier songs, such as we hear sometimes in Southern Gospel.  "I'm a Brand New Man" by the Kingdom Heirs is a good example.  That type of song is different than what rock actually sounds like.  I don't think that type of music should be played during a church service (at least not during worship), but I'm not against listening to it for fun.  An example of a song I might be more against is "Praying Man" by Brian Free and Assurance.  It's not simply fun and up-beat Southern Gospel, but comes pretty close to getting into the CCM genre.  That's not to say that I fault somebody else for listening to it, as long as they don't have a personal conviction against it.

I believe that there is a time and a place to listen to fun music, and there's a time to worship God.  We don't go to church to have fun.  That's not the point.  We're there to learn about God, and to worship our creator.  I don't think it will hurt us to give up our preferred type of music for an hour or so during a few services each week.  (To clarify, I don't listen to CCM, but I know a lot of people who do.  That's up to you and God, and I don't think you're a wicked sinner or whatever for listening to music that's rockier than what mine is.)  :)

NOTE: Some of the ideas and information presented in this article I got from the book "Church Music Matters" by Garen L. Wolfe.

Review: Browns "More"

Good Enough - I believe that "Good Enough" is the first song by the Browns that I'd ever heard.  I listened to it on the radio, and thought that I'd like to get it.  Imagine my surprise, when a bit later I logged onto SouthernGospelBlog.com, saw their review of "Now," visited the Brown's website and heard the song.  :)
It's a fast song, with a fun country flavor.  The words speak of not wanting to go to Heaven because of the luxury and beauty, but rather because Jesus is there.  This is a fairly common theme (as well as seeing Jesus before anything else), used in songs like "First Thing's First," "If Jesus Is There," and "Look For Me At Jesus' Feet."  5 star song

Nothing Is Impossible ­- I don't care much for how the male soloist sings.  He kind of reminds me of Jason Crabb.  The female soloist needs to tone down too.  The message, though, is good.  It talks about a failing business, bad news from the doctor, a modern day prodigal, a judge taking away freedom, a foreclosure, the grip of addiction, ect., reminding us that with God nothing is impossible.  The end of the chorus provide us with some interesting lyrics:

Unbelieveable, inconceivable, infeasable, unachieveable, unbearable, unattainable, unreachable (x2) unthinkable, with God, nothing is impossible.


Somebody had to be using a thesaurus.  :)  3 stars

Beautiful Day - Jazzy, fun, song, that moves along at a good pace.  The soloist's voice is very resemblant of one of the members in the Tribute Quartet (sorry, I don't know his name)  5 stars

Worth of It All - Wow, this is a good song.  It's not slow, but it's not what you imagine when you think fast.   It reminds me of "He's Alive" by the Gaither Vocal Band, except it doesn't get so "progressive" at the chorus.  It's a great Easter song.  If you were listening to it in a movie, you would probably call it suspenseful.  And majestic?  I'm not sure quite how to describe it, but it's really good.  5 stars

Joyful Medley - This is an instrumental number.  It's supposed to be a medley, but the only song I could positively identify was "Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee."  Commenting on the music, I think the song has a pretty contemporary feel to it with the drums and guitars and some other unknown instrument.  Violins?  It's very enjoyable to listen to.  5 stars

Put Your Hand In the Hand - Some of the lyrics to "Put Your Hand In the Hand" are kind of cheesy and funny at the same time.  For example the first verse says something to the effect of:
Mama taught me how to pray before the age of seven.  It was on my knees that I was closest to Heaven.
It's a very fun fast song, although one of the singers (the "Tribute Quartet" guy I think) ruined the ending with an obnoxious "Ohhh, yeeaaahh."  5 stars

Silent For Me - This isn't really the "Easter" feel type song, at least not in the sense that "Worth of It All" was, but it still has the message.  It tells the story of Pilate questioning Jesus.  It states that when the soldiers mocked him [Jesus], and when Pilate interrogated him, he was silent for me.  Pretty heavy orchestration, my type of song.  :)  4 stars

Everywhere I Go - This is the same song that the Liberty Quartet sang on the album Say It Again.  This version is shorter, faster, and is probably better all the way around.  4.5 stars

My Child Is Coming Home - When I listen to this track, it reminds me of another song, but I can't think of what that other song is.  It has a slight musical resemblance to "Light From Heaven" by the Collingsworth Family, but I think there might be a more obvious comparison.  Anyway, the orchestration is heavy, again, and majestic sounding.  It does not have the same theme as Greater Vision's "Another Child's Coming Home" but is about Christian's going to Heaven, rather than prodigal's coming back to their families.  4 stars

Rained Out - This is the rockiest song on "Now."  A lot of songs about Noah, rain, water, ect., tend to be up-tempo, but "Rained Out" isn't just fast-paced.  It might have been fine if the singers would have seriously toned down, but for some reason, I guess they thought that they had to act like some un-Godly country star.  I've said it before, I'll say it again, we're supposed to be listening to Southern Gospel, not the Rolling Stones.  I'm not adverse to performers utilizing some other musical styles, but the Browns crossed a line.

Grace Became Amazing to Me - This is a lighter ballad.  Kind of "cheerful" sounding.  There are a couple of other songs that change the words "grace" and "amazing" around to make different song titles.  "Oh How Amazing is Amazing Grace," by the Hoppers and "That's What Makes Grace Amazing."  Perhaps it's time for a different theme idea.  ;)   4 stars

Comments:
The Browns managed to make a 14 song album with a lot of solid songs.  From the more serious set "Worth of It All" to the fast barn-burner, "Put Your Hand In the Hand."  Even though it had a lot of good tracks, I don't think I would buy it.  Find it on the internet, borrow it from a friend, but save your money for a release from one of the bigger artists.

Album Rating: 4 stars
Song Selection: 4 stars
Favorite Songs: Put Your Hand in the Hand, Joyful Medley, Worth of It All, Good Enough, Beautiful Day

Review: Trey Ivey "It Is Well"

(NOTE: For those of you who might be confused, Trey Ivey is pianist for Legacy Five.)


He Keeps Me Singing - Fast, fun song.  The first part of the verse bears a striking resemblance to "In My Heart There Rings a Melody."  4 stars

It Is Well - Most of the tracks on this CD are fast and jazzy, but this is one of the few ballads.  I think it would have sounded better with some runs, and stuff like that.  But he plays it pretty "generically."  A key change would have sounded good.  2 stars

The Old Gospel Ship - This is one of the best fast songs that Trey played.  It's very jazzy, with fun organ and piano work.  4 stars

Farther Along - Personally, I like Kim Collingsworth's arrangement of this song, from the CD that came with the piano book An Artist's Soul, better.  It was jazzier, and was more advanced than this one.  The music with this version has a slow country feel, and I don't think that it goes as well with this song, as does jazz.  2 stars

Leaning On the Everlasting Arms - This track beats "The Old Gospel Ship."  It starts out slow, and then suddenly gets fast.  It doesn't haven't orchestration, just piano and percussion, but it's still very good.  And it's here that you hear Trey open up more probably than on any other song.  He does some fast piano work, which is fun and sounds really good.  5 stars

Amazing Grace - Slowing down the pace, with no orchestration or drums, which I'm not criticizing.  This would have been a perfect song to open up on, but unfortunately Trey played it,  again, very generically.  The key change sounded good.  2 stars

Heaven Medley - Comprised of the songs "Heaven's Jubilee," and "When We All Get to Heaven," with basic accompaniment, fast, and fun to listen to.  The drums are perfect, and this song might remind you of "Leaning On the Everlasting Arms" minus the cool fingerwork.  3.5 stars

In the Garden - "In the Garden" is one of my favorite hymns to hear on the piano.  Like "Farther Along" there's a slow country flavor.  Also like "Farther Along" I think I enjoy Kim Collingsworth's version better.  Perhaps this is partly because I don't care for the light country swing.  (One of my readers told me that perhaps it isn't fair to give a song a lower rating just because I don't the music.  So, I'll say this: if you like slow country style, you might immensely enjoy Trey Ivey's version) :) 2 stars

The Unclouded Day - I don't have anything particularly special to say about this track.  Fast, with nice strings accompaniment, and fun percussion.  At times you can hear a touch of jazz in the chords. 3 stars

Jesus Medley - "What a Friend We Have In Jesus," and "Jesus Loves Me" are the songs that make up this medley.  No orchestration, drums, guitars.  Just piano, which is fine since this is a piano CD.  :)  Trey does some cool stuff on "Jesus Loves Me" which makes this the best ballad.  One personal preference would have been adding another song to the medley.  4 stars

Comments:
Trey Ivey is a talented pianist.  You can tell from a couple of the songs that he was not playing on the scale that he could have.  If he had opened up and played to the best of his ability, it would have improved his project immensely.  It's still a good album, a good CD to listen to on Sunday morning getting ready for church when you want something lighter.  (My mom does that sometimes)

If you're in the mood for a lighter, simpler, project get it.  If you want something more advanced, with an orchestra, runs and all kinds of fancy pianowork, I'd have to recommend something else.  It all depends on your personal preferences and your personality.

CD Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Song Selection: 3 stars
Favorite Songs: He Keeps Me Singing, The Old Gospel Ship, Leaning On the Everlasting Arms, Heaven Medley, Jesus Medley

Performers: Trey Ivey (Pianist), Ron Fairchild (Additional Keyboards, Bass Guitar), Joel Key (Acoustic Guitar), Rex Wiseman (Steel Guitar), Fred Satterfield (Drums)

Collingsworth Family - "The Answer" Review (2009 release)

The Collingsworth Family is one of my favorite Southern Gospel artists, and they certainly don't disappoint with this 2009 release.  The Answer is one of their best projects to date.  The musical quality, voice changes, song selection, and cover art are impressive.  This is certainly not a CD you will want to miss.

Phillip's voice has improved a lot since the family's earlier projects.  Even since the preceding major release, We Still Believe, his voice has matured greatly.  And of course, he sounds older, again, on September's Part of the Family CD.  Some people might think him a bit of a show-off, but I like how he uses his voice.  IMO it's better than how Brooklyn uses hers.

The musical quality seems to improve with each album.  Of course, there are good songs on the older projects, but the music seems to get more "modern" (for lack of a better word) with each new release.

Some people don't like how some of the family's songs have gotten so jazzy (or rocky or whatever you want to call it)  IMO they did go to far with "Just Another Rainy Day" from their latest CD.  But I listen to most of their fast songs, even if they are more progressive.  I know some people might be disappointed that some of the up-tempo numbers have grown so rocky, so perhaps they [the Collingsworth] should tone down a bit for future releases.

I'm pretty pleased with the ratio of fast songs to ballads.  It's 7:7 if you count "Ever Gentle, Ever Sweet," and "I Could Never Praise Him Enough" as up-tempo.

The case for this project is pretty unique.  And the graphic design looks good too.  It's better, IMO than We Still Believe and is probably more professionally designed than Part of the Family.
One thing I don't really care for (and which thankfully never made its way onto the new CD) is the instrumentals.  I don't mind so much when Kim does a piano song, but I would rather that space (at least the trumpet solos) be taken up with a song that is actually sung.

Olivia's voice had not matured greatly in time for this release.  For example, in "Oh the Thought That Jesus Loves Me" you can tell that she is younger than her siblings.  This is a very minor complaint though, and hardly worth mentioning.  I also don't care for Phil's singing.

My favorite ballad is "I Want Jesus More Than Anything."  Courtney does a great job handling the first verse, and leading on the chorus.  This sounds kind of like a song I would hear at campmeeting.  I love it.  As for the music, there's a mixture between heavy and light orchestration.

CD Rating: 5 stars
Song Selection: 5 stars
Favorite Songs: Fear Not Tomorrow, Ever Gentle Ever Sweet, Jesus Is Still the Answer, I Want Jesus More Than Anything, Bottom of the Barrel

Song List: I Shall Not Be Moved, Fear Not Tomorrow, I Could Never Praise Him Enough, When the Roll is Called Up Yonder, I Want a Principal Within, I Know, Ever Gentle Ever Sweet, Jesus Is Still the Answer, Count Your Blessings Within, Within the Reach of a Prayer, Oh the Thought That Jesus Loves Me, Bottom of the Barrel, Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Group Members: Phil, Kim, Phillip, Courtney (Metz), Brooklyn (Blair), and Oliva Collingsworth

Ernie Haase & Signature Sound - "With George Younce" Review (early 2011 review)

Ernie Haase & Signature Sound is one of the biggest names in Southern Gospel music.  They've produced several solid albums such as A Tribute to the Cathedrals and Get Away Jordan." But this project was a bit of a disappointment.  I think a regular album would have made a much better addition their music catalog.
One thing that would have been a major improvement is if there had been a lot more up-tempo numbers.  There were eight ballads, compared with two faster songs.  It gets pretty boring to listen to, especially if you don't really like slow songs.

The orchestration was good, although it could have been improved with some variety.  Most of the songs don't stand out in my mind as spectacular, partly because of the pace, and perhaps partly because some of them sound much the same.  In almost all of the tracks, there's a large use of guitars.  I think several songs with big orchestrations would be nice.  Maybe a jazzy track, with a lot of brass instrumentation.  Of course the producers were limited, since George couldn't be there to record the songs live.  So we do have to consider that it was probably pretty difficult to record the music around his voice, instead of recording his voice around the music.

A unique feature that was pretty neat, was the voicemail message from George to Ernie Haase, that was at the beginning and end of "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow."  That was a good move on the part of the producers.  It provided a bit of a break from the monotony of the music.

One other complaint, that could not have been helped, was that there were too many old songs as well as several hymns.  But of course, those are the songs that George sang, so those are the ones that had to be used.

I would like to clarify something I said in my review of the Collingsworth Part of the Family CD.  I said that the Collingsworth version of "At Calvary" was much better than the version on With George Younce.   I was mistaken, however.  EH&SS did not sing "At Calvary," but rather, "At the Cross."  Totally different song.

Don't waste your money buying this CD.  The music is too unvaried, the song selection is horrible, and it's just not a strong project.  If you want to hear it very badly, you can listen to it for free on Spotify.  If you already bought the CD like I did, well you can regret spending 15-20 dollars on a bad album, but then again, maybe you liked it.  As for me, live and learn, I guess.

CD Rating: 2 stars
Song Selection: 1 star
Favorite Songs: Love Was In the Room

Song List: Love Was In the Room, At the Cross, Beyond the Sunset, I Know Who Holds Tomorrow, Room At the Cross, Suppertime, You Will Get Your Reward Someday, The Journey's End, Sometimes This Is Heaven To Me, Silent Night
Group Members: Ernie Haase, Devin McGlamery, Ian Owens, Doug Anderson with special guest star, the late George Younce

The Trend of Album Drop-Off

I've noticed a drop-off in the production of new CDs recently.  During the summer months there have been a lot of solid projects introduced but after NQC this trend has all but stopped completely.  Sure, there's a few projects scheduled to come out in the next couple months, but no landmark albums.  I'm not sure when we will see the amount of projects that we saw during the summer again, but I assume it will really pick up next spring/summer.  As a result of the loss of new CDs, we do not have many new albums to review.  

Therefore I have decided to start reviewing some older projects.  (e.g. The Answer - Collingsworth Family; Til the Storm Passes By - Skyline Boys)  So be expecting a lot of those reviews in the coming months as we review old CDs as well as new.

How to Get Free Music Legally

Are you looking for a free way to listen to Southern Gospel?  Look no further, here's a list of sites where you can find some great music!

Spotify - I haven't used this option very much, but it looks sort of promising.  They have some harder-to-find new albums. But unfortunately you have to download a program, you can't simply access the music from your browser.  Also, some albums are missing.  You get 20 hours/month of free music (I think), unless you upgrade to a paying account.

Napster - Napster has a lot of music.  They also have a lot of groups that aren't as well-known in the Southern Gospel world.  But recently they haven't been adding new projects (e.g. Tribute Quartet, Collingsworth Family, ect.) and some projects just have 30-second clips (e.g. Greater Vision)  If you're interested in listening to new CD's, don't choose Napster.

Grooveshark* - The music on Grooveshark is mainly from more popular artists (Gaither Vocal Band, EH&SS, Greater Vision, ect.)  And while they do have lesser-known artists (Kingdom Heirs, Inspirations, Collingsworth Family) they don't have the new CDs, and may just have a couple of songs from the particular performer you're looking for.  I don't use Grooveshark very much unless I want to upload music.

Pandora - Much the same as a lot of the other options.  Not a lot of new music, and not a great selection of artists either.  Also, you can't pick each song you want to listen to.  Pandora creates a playlist based on similar artists to the one you picked.

Last.FM - This is like Pandora, with perhaps, a little more music and (sometimes) more obnoxious ads.

YouTube** - Probably the world's biggest video uploading site, YouTube is a goldmine for music.  There's a lot of music that people have recorded off DVDs, so you can find some really good stuff.  Then you can get programs to convert the videos to MP3s.

Artist Websites - Sometimes a group will put some of their music on their websites.  Check out the websites for the following artists (Google their name): Collingsworth Family, Skyline Boys, Cross4Crowns, Liberty Quartet, Stowtown Records, Greg Howlett, Crimson Gold, Dove Brothers Quartet, Gold City, Heaven Bound Quartet, Whisnants, Mike Lefevre Quartet, Old Paths, Palmetto State Quartet, Providence Quartet, Resurrection Quartet, Paul's Journey, Sons of Liberty, Soul'd Out Quartet

Do you have anything to add to this list?  Please leave a comment and let us know!

*Grooveshark has dubious legality.  Anyone with an account can upload music.  The site does pay the record labels for the music, however the labels have to sign up with Grooveshark to get paid.
**While YouTube is legal, some videos that are posted are not supposed to be there.  The creators of the content (artists, producers, ect.) can have their content removed by contacting YouTube.

Tell Us What You Think!

I just found out that I've had 678 some page views since I started the blog!  (Disregard the hit counter in the sidebar, I didn't add that at the beginning)  So thanks for everyone who's reading the blog!  I hope you're enjoying it!  Please send me an email, tell me what you think of our reviews (do you like the short or long ones better?), how to improve, what you think of our design, and anything else.

Short Review: "Knowing You" (Faith Trio)

Pros:

• The music is pretty good, although a lot of the songs aren't on the scale I'd like them to be.
• Although I'm not completely pleased with the song selection on Knowing You, it does have some really great songs.  ("Were It Not For Grace," "Knowing You," "Heritage of Holiness," ect.)
• The percussion has improved since the last CD.  (The Anchor Holds)  GBS seems to have used that guitar (that  was so annoying when played on every song) much less sparingly.  Thank goodness!

Cons:

• As this CD was produced by the same studio/people that made The Anchor Holds,  it does have one of the same problems.  And that's the piano.  A real piano, or a realistic-sounding keyboard would help the songs sound better.
• Although I am pleased with some of the songs on the CD, I do not like some of the others.  For example, "Broken and Spilled Out" is nearly eight minutes long (7:54), and it's pretty boring.  "All Of Me," and "Abide in Me," though not as long, are still not very fun to listen to.  They're slow, tend to drag on, and aren't heavily orchestrated.

At least a couple of the songs should have more accompaniment/orchestration.  If I could pick two to arrange the music for, (if I could arrange that is!) they would be "Were It Not For Grace," and "Knowing You."
There aren't enough fast, fun songs.  There's four if you count "Heritage of Holiness."
IMO, "Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow" was kind of wasted space, as they sang it accapella.

Comments:
Knowing You is a good CD, but it's not on the scale of most Southern Gospel projects.  You probably won't want to spend $15 + shipping to purchase it, when there's so many other recordings that surpass it in production quality.  Still, I recommend listening via Grooveshark, because there are some very good songs.  3.5 stars

Favorite Songs: "Out of His Great Love," "Knowing You," "Were It Not For Grace"

(Note: You can listen to this CD on Grooveshark.)