This is my first Greater Vision project ever. I’m just starting to get into the group, so my review may be a little different from the many others that have been posted. This is the opinion of somebody coming to GV’s music with fresh ears. Hopefully that’ll get you to read this even though everybody and his uncle has already reviewed the album. Enjoy! 1. He Didn’t When He Could Have Passed By (Griffin): Perfect country/gospel opener. Brisk fiddles get... Read more
If you hang around here, you’ll occasionally see me grouse about the loss of poetic ear in songwriting. I can get kind of cranky on this particular topic. Well, with this series, I’ll showcase some contemporary songs that are particularly well-crafted from a poetic standpoint. They won’t necessarily be southern gospel songs, just songs that are poetically good. I’ll start with a song I encountered just yesterday: “Burn Away.” The artist is Bill Cantos, one of the most underrated and... Read more
‘Tis the season for new bloggers. Just recently my friend Friday Night Revival launched his blog, and now another joins the ranks. Except this one is different, because it’s coming from the other side of the stage. This isn’t a fan blog. It’s an artist blog. Fans: Read and learn! http://anartistsperspective.com/ Read more
Happy 4th of July y’all. Today I thought I’d tackle a well-worn topic: Christianity, patriotism, and Christian patriotic music. Hopefully I can bring something new to this familiar discussion. Most Christians don’t have a problem with saying the Pledge of Allegiance loudly and proudly, singing “God Bless America” in church, or giving a singing group a standing ovation in concert for a stirring patriotic number. However, there are some Christians who feel uncomfortable with demonstrating love and pride in America.... Read more
The southern gospel world was first introduced to the Garms family through this video of their youngest child, Caleb, with Legacy Five. 7-year-old Caleb stole the show with his easy charm and stage presence, making a couple members of the group uneasy about being able to keep their jobs in the long run (particularly Glen Dustin, when it was revealed that Caleb aspires to be a bass!) Some time later, the entire Garms family became contributors to southerngospelblog.com, and their... Read more
Last night I was searching for an appropriate song to post today in light of the recent terrible news to come out of New York. And thanks to Miss Dianne Wilkinson and the Kingdom Heirs, I have the perfect one. May the words of this song stiffen your spine, lift your head, and remind you that there is still something to fight for… and a remnant to fight for it with you. [gigya src=”http://grooveshark.com/songWidget.swf” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” width=”250″ height=”40″ flashvars=”hostname=cowbell.grooveshark.com&songIDs=31140605&style=metal&p=0″ allowScriptAccess=”always” wmode=”window”... Read more
Hat tip to Daniel Mount (and David Bruce Murray in a subsequent comment), for inspiring this post. Daniel put up a post asking for reader feedback on whether differences among Christian denominations can influence the way a Christian song lyric is crafted. DBM commented that he’d love to see how the discussion would proceed along a slightly different line: Do denominational differences influence stylistic differences in music? So I’ve decided to take it up here on southerngospelyankee. My immediate reaction... Read more
On this, the one-month anniversary of “Camping’s flop,” I felt it would be appropriate to reflect on the Second Coming and have some gospel music fun at the same time. I first got hooked on the song “Coming of the King” when I listened to Beyond the Ashes’ cover of it on their latest project. Then I went and found the original Brian Free & Assurance version of it and got even more hooked, if it was possible at that... Read more
“The living God, who revealed himself both at Mount Sinai and on the Cross, is the only Lord who, if you find him, can truly fulfill you, and, if you fail him, can truly forgive you.” — Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods This is a first for southerngospelyankee: a book review! I don’t intend to do very many of these, but since someone recommended this particular book to me recently, I thought I would check it out and share my thoughts. In... Read more
[Apologies to Wes Burke for blatantly ripping off his “hidden gems” series. Sorry Wes… but it’s just such a good idea I had to get a piece of the pie!] Somebody has posted Gold City’s entire Pillars of Faith concert video to Youtube in five parts. A thousand blessings on his head, because that most excellent video has sadly been long OOP. [Update: I’m wrong! Thanks to Steven and Brandon for informing me that this video has been made available... Read more
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