CD Reviews
CD Review: Oasis (The Crist Family)
I don’t have previous Crist Family CDs to compare this one too but their latest release is diverse musically. From the melodic, swingy tune “He’s So Amazing” to the “poppish” “I Love Lovin’ Jesus” to to the funky-sounding “Anyway” to “Rhythm of Grace” which has an African male choir singing the intro and some of the background vocals, this recording has something for everybody.
Breanna Crist sings the beautiful song, “My Oasis.” Tami Crist Starkel sings Steven Curtis Chapman’s song, “His Strength is Perfect.” Jim Brady wrote “There is a Fountain” which features Tami. Other songs include “Deeper,” “Voice of the Father,” “I Love You Son,” and “Until He Comes” which is another beautiful song with a great message. This was my first introduction to the Crist Family but I look forward to hearing more of their music in the future.
CD Review: Driven (Driven Quartet)
Many of you may remember Jason Funderburk from his days with Mercy’s Way or the Anchormen. Well, today he has his own quartet called Driven and, after observing him and the other men in his group a couple months ago, I was pleased that their focus seems to be on serving God and His people.
“I’m Pressing On” is a song of dedication and determination to press on regardless of what life holds. “Let Me Live” has an old-time feel. It starts out with a moderate tempo and then picks up on the last chorus. Geron & Rebecca Davis wrote the encouraging “Mercy Saw Me.” “In God We Still Trust” makes a declaration that, regardless what others do, “here in America, in God we still trust.” The last song on the project is titled “The Story of My Life” and will quickly usher you into praise and worship of a God that we cannot live without. I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t want to try.
Uptempo songs on the project are “Between the Rock and a Hard Place,” “Keep Drinking Water From the Well,” “Lost and Found,” and “I Can Feel My Mountains Move.”
CD Review: The Answer (The Collingsworth Family)
Although it may sound amazing to some, The Answer is the first Collingsworth Family CD I’ve heard except for one I borrowed a couple years ago so I don’t know how it compares to their other projects but I found their style a bit different than I expected.
It started with a jazzy song, “I Shall Not Be Moved” followed by “Fear Not Tomorrow” which, to me, has a ’50s sound. Beautiful harmony, reminiscent of maybe the Andrews Sisters of that time period. Then it breaks into a worshipful chorus of “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow.”
“I Could Never Praise Him Enough,” “I Want a Principle Within,” and “Oh the Thought That Jesus Loves Me” are more in line with the worshipful songs I’ve heard from the Collingsworth Family. “When the Roll is Called up Yonder” and “Great is Thy Faithfulness” are instrumental numbers.
Uptempo numbers include “I Know,” “Count Your Blessings Again” (which also has a jazz feel), “Bottom of the Barrel” The project ends so fittingly with “I Want Jesus More Than Anything.”
Anyone who loves the harmony and instrumentation of the Collingsworth Family will not be disappointed with this CD.
CD Review: Just Stand (Legacy Five)
This review is overdue but I like to listen to a project a while before posting a review. Sometimes my response to a CD changes with listening to it, favorite songs change, etc. but it’ll be no surprise to Legacy Five fans that they have once again put out a top notch recording.
It’s hard to pick a favorite on this CD but several that could be a favorite depending on the day are “Great is Thy Faithfulness,” “Just Stand,” “Faithful to the Cross,” “My Soul is Firmly Anchored,” and “‘Til We Meet Again.”
“Above All Circumstances” features Scott Howard, who continues to be among my top two favorite baritone singers.
Tim Parton sings “One Thing God Can’t Do” which is “stop loving you.” I hadn’t heard him sing before but he has a sweet, gentle voice. That’s probably not what men prefer to be told but I can’t think of a better way to describe it. It matches his personality I’d say.
“Just Stand” is an uptempo number which features Glenn Dustin. This past weekend, I found myself singing this song and it was a tremendous encouragement.
Other songs include “When They Found Nothing,” “Thankful for the Change” and “Statement of Faith” which, along with Legacy Five, features The Booth Brothers, The Hoppers, and Greater Vision.
One thing that struck me in listening to this project is I’m convinced Scott Fowler is at his best. I’ve listened to Scott since he joined the Cathedrals but I don’t think he’s ever sung as well as he is now. All in all, a top notch recording with great songs, great harmony, and great arrangements.
CD Review: Remind Me of the Blood (Curtis Pruett)
Curtis Pruett is a country gospel artist that I just became aware of but am enjoying. I’m really not sure who to compare him to but most of the CD is upbeat musically with all the songs being written by Curtis. I will say I like the uptempo songs or the really slow ones. The mid-tempo ones aren’t my favorites stylistically but that’s just my preference.
The titles are: “At the Foot of the Throne,” “You and Me Lord,” “Cornerstone,” “Children of Light,” “Set Sail,” “Standing on God’s Word,” “It Had to be This Way,” “The First Time and Forever,” “Do You Know Who I Am,” and “Remind Me of the Blood.”
CD Review: Tracks Left Behind (Bobby Bowen)
Through the years, I have always said I’m not a big “Christian country” fan. It seemed like groups that used to be classified as such was really not great musically or lyrically which is often what pulls me into a group.
A few months back, I received a CD from Bobby Bowen. Back in the 1980s, I listened to a group called The MidSouth Boys, and they were one group that had Christian country down. I listened to Bobby’s CD before finding out he was the lead singer of that group and, after discovering that, it was no surprise that I love his sound and his song selection. He sings a lot of songs previously recorded by groups of other genres but he makes them his own without taking away from the feel of the original.
I enjoy his uptempo country-sounding songs “Mile Marker 45” and “Other Side of the Radio” but he also does a great job on the praise songs, “Who am I,” “I Could Sing of Your Love Forever,” and “How Great is our God.”
Other songs on this project are “Finally Home,” “Little Man,” “My Life,” “Nobody Wins,” and “Greater Grace.”
CD Review: God’s Been Very Good (Patsy Bellington)
About a year ago, I came across the website for a lady named Patsy Bellington. I didn’t know anything about her but I emailed her and we ended up dialoging. I found her to be a delightful lady with a great sense of humor. I then met her at the National Quartet Convention and picked up a copy of her latest CD.
It’s hard to know what genre to place Patsy in. If there were an Inspirational category, some of her songs would fall into that but she fits well into Southern Gospel as well.
Although I tend to be partial to fast songs, on this CD I prefer the heartfelt way Patsy sings slow song. My favorite songs on the project are “He Knows,” “In the Garden,” “I’ve Been There,” “When I Start My Day With You,” and “Give Him Glory.” I think that covers all the slow songs on the project. 🙂
Other songs are “I Came to Get My Blessing,” “God’s Been Very Good to Me,” “Not the Great I Was,” “He Will Do the Rest,” and “I Saw the Light.”
CD Review: Simply…Faith! (The Southern Plainsmen)
As I was playing this CD this morning, I thought how fitting the first song was. “Good Morning Jesus!” is a great way to start your day–acknowledging God and proclaiming that every day with Him is a wonderful day.
I love the song “Come and Get Me,” written by Mosie Lister. The Perrys recorded it a couple years ago but the Southern Plainsmen did a good job as well on this traditional quartet style song.
A song I hadn’t heard before is “My Friends.” It talks about meeting friends in Heaven–very encouraging as most of us have friends or family we’re longing to see again. “The Devil and His Old Suitcase” is a different kind of song but points out that satan cannot linger where grace is present. “Walkin’ a Line” is a great quartet song which features the bass singer on the chorus. “Take His Hand” is a call to unbelievers to take God’s hand.
They also sing the Inspirations’ song “Touring That City,” Neil Enloe’s song “From a Star to Stripes,” Rodney Griffin’s song “Faces,” “Just a Little While” (another classic quartet song), and “I’m Getting Ready to Leave This World.”
This CD was actually recorded in 2008, commemorating the group’s 30th anniversary. I only found out about them last year and I’m sure a lot of you reading this have never heard of them either but I’m thankful there are groups like this who continue to serve God even if most people never know their name.
CD Review: Sing It Again (Perfect Heart)
In 1990, a new group took the world by storm. Their first single “Somebody Touched the Lord” hit #1 on the Singing News Chart. After a few years’ sabbatical, Perfect Heart is back and now consists of Jimmy Dunn, Wesley Anders, Tommy Smith, with original member Mike Presnell still singing bass.
Their Sing It Again recording was produced by Johnathan Presnell and Arthur Rice and features “Land of the Living,” “In the Sweet Forever,” “Forever Changed,” “Long Black Train,” “Midnight Cry,” “I Know I’m Going There,” “Stand Upon the Rock,” “I Stand Redeemed,” “The Ground Is Level,” and “Glory Road.”
If you prefer recordings with original material, you may not like this CD; however, if you liked Perfect Heart before, you should really give the new group a try.
CD Review: I’ll Take Your Place (The Spencers)
I think one of the biggest surprises lately has been how much I have enjoyed The Spencers’ CD, I’ll Take Your Place. I love Barbara’s voice and really enjoyed the Spencers with JB, Barbara, Wade & Kevin but, as I listen to them now, I find that the Spencer sound I remember and loved is still very much there. I don’t know how they did it but they have a full sound, causing me to forget that it is only JB and Barbara now.
Barbara wrote the title track as well as “Setting My House in Order,” “My Soul Has Wings” and “Home Free.” She also added a verse to the hymn, “Were You There?”
JB leads on “Bigger Than Any Mountain” and he sings Michael Comb’s song, “Drinking From My Saucer.” The first time I heard him sing that was in concert a month ago and it really didn’t hit me but, as I listen to it on the CD, it’s becoming one of my favorites on this project.
Barbara leads “Heaven Will Be Worth the Journey,” an uptempo bluegrass number. They also sing “I Never Shall Forget the Day” and “The Old Country Church,” which the Oak Ridge Boys sang years ago.
This is a CD which every Spencer fan will greatly enjoy.
