Fun Clip Friday - Jubilee Christmas

Happy Day After Thanksgiving! I hope you all had a great holiday yesterday. I was blessed to spend the day with family. Sometimes there's nothing better than quality time at your parents' house.

Today really marks the start of the full Christmas season. So today's Fun Clip Friday is a promo clip of Jubilee Christmas. For a limited time, you can order the Jubilee Christmas DVD and get a Jubilee Acapella CD for free! Visit any of the groups' websites for more information and ordering. I know I'm looking forward to both!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! May your day be spent with family and friends giving thanks for the blessings of life.

I pray that today especially we focus on the fact that "we are so blessed."

Spoken 4 - Spoken 4 Quartet CD Review

I've been a Spoken 4 Quartet since day one of the group's formation. They formed in 2006 out of Branson, Mo. Being an avid Branson-goer, I was familiar with original members already from previous groups.

The group released their latest album entitled Spoken 4 earlier this year. I have to say, I think it's their best one yet. The project features 11 songs and nine of them brand new. The album was produced by Jeff Stice of Triumphant Quartet.

The album starts with "I Know I'm Going Home," which is also the first single. And I've been hearing it played a lot. It's a great uptempo song that features Cecil Stringer, bass singer. It's definitely one of my favorites and one of the highlights of the project. Something about it reminds me of the style of "I'm Still Feeling Fine." Another song where Cecil really shines and shows what an incredible bass singer he is is "Hold Me."

"It's Quite a Valley" is the same song that was previously recorded by Brian Free and Assurance. The instrumentation on this song is a little bit more stripped down than the Brian Free version, but it doesn't stray too far from that version. I like Spoken 4's take on it just as well as BFA's. It features Jon Charles Taggart, lead singer, but my favorite song of his on the project is "Back to Me." It's a beautiful song that tells the story of the prodigal son.

"That's Why He Died" is a great song with such a strong message. He was the only One who could be the perfect sacrifice for us. He knew how we would fail and still chose to die for us. Baritone Steven Hickinbotham sings this one. The song fits his voice so well! Another favorite for sure!

Tenor Brandon Britton really shines on "I Find No Fault in Him." The track of the song is simple to really showcase his voice and what he can do. It soars and builds at the end to make for a great song and arrangement!

"When the King Comes to Claim His Throne" is a personal favorite as well. It's a great song that really showcases the group's quartet-style singing. "We're in the Same Boat" is another great uptempo song.

Album Rating - 4 stars - There's no question to me that this a group to watch. This album is only further proof of what this quartet is capable of. The album is full of 11 great songs with a strong mix of uptempo and slower songs. If you're a fan of quartets, get this project. You won't be sorry!

Song List -
1. "I Know I'm Going Home"
2. "It's Quite a Valley"
3. "That's Why He Died"
4. "Back to Me"
5. "When the King Comes to Claim His Throne"
6. "I Find No Fault"
7. "We're in the Same Boat"
8. "Legend of the Fall"
9. "In the Valley I Can Hear His Voice"
10. "You'll Find Me There"
11. "Hold Me"

Transformation Tuesday - Kim Greene Hopper

Kim Greene Hopper started singing with her family the Greenes in 1979. She was the soprano for the Greenes for 10 years before joining the Hoppers in 1989 after she married Dean Hopper. Even in her beginnings with the Greenes, you could tell she was going to be a powerhouse female singer in gospel music one day. Here's a clip from 1986 of Kim singing with her brothers Tony and Tim.

Kim has become one of the most awarded female singers in gospel music. Since 1997 she has been named the Favorite Soprano in the Singing News Fan Awards. She also also been awarded the Favorite Female singer more than 10 times. But she's still the same amazing singer she was in 1986, here's a clip from this year's NQC of her singing with the Hoppers.

Christmas CDs

I'm sure if you have been reading, you know I'm a huge Christmas fan. I love it all - the trees, the lights, the music, the Salvation Army bell ringers. You name something Christmas, I love it! I've been listening to Christmas music since the beginning of November. I have several Christmas albums that I love. Many familiar favorites that I listen to again and again. But more recently, I've been pulling out Southern Gospel artists' Christmas projects.

I would say the majority of groups in Southern Gospel have put out a Christmas album. So when you hear a gospel artist is putting together a Christmas project, what do you expect to hear? Do you want all traditional Christmas carols? Do you think it should be all religious songs? Are you looking for another version of "Winter Wonderland" or "Let It Snow" despite them not being Christian songs? Does it bother you for the secular Christmas songs to be on their projects?

So here's your Monday morning poll -