Happy People Deluxe Edition - Ernie Haase and Signature Sound - CD Review

Ernie Haase and Signature Sound released a deluxe edition of Happy People last week. Doug Anderson departed the group earlier this year with Dustin Doyle coming on board with the group. With the personnel change, several songs were recut and a few new ones added for this project. Check out my original review here.

Many of the songs are the same as the original version. “Jesus Changed Everything,” “A Soldier Fighting To Come Home,” and “I Do Believe” were all recut for this project. A number of solo lines from other songs that featured Doug though were left alone, so the project has a mix of Doug and Dustin.

The deluxe edition does include four additional songs including another version of "Oh What a Savior." "Redemption Draweth Nigh" was the song used to introduce Dustin as a member of the group. He does an incredible job on this song. The version is pretty straightforward. He lets the lyrics and his voice speak for itself on the song.

"Go Down Moses" is one of the new cuts. It's a cappella featuring bass singer Paul Harkey. The style is like an old spiritual. "It's Jesus in Me" really lets Ernie's tenor voice shine. It has a "soft shoe" feel.

I think it's a neat concept to release a new version of a recent project with the personnel change. It's good to get a project with Dustin on it so soon. However, if you already have Happy People, it doesn't differ so much from the original version. Dustin's version of "Redemption Draweth Nigh" is definitely a highlight though!