Review - Southern Gospel Journal An Anthology - Daniel J. Mount

When I first discovered Southern Gospel, I was like a sponge soaking up all I could about this music. Many times, the websites that I turned to to learn about the music were blogs. As I fell in the love with the music, I loved learning as much as I could about what was going on in the industry.  It was reading their blogs that really first got me to consider blogging.

Daniel Mount's blog, Southern Gospel Blog later Southern Gospel Journal, was one that I visited every day. He retired the blog in 2014, but remains active in the industry.

He released a book Southern Gospel Journal: An Anthology earlier this year. The book includes some of his most popular blog posts from CD reviews to commentary to recaps to news stories. There are 50 chapters full of highlights of his blog. He blogged from 2006 - 2014 writing 3,175 posts and 1,048,944 words. 

It was fun reading and discovering some of those early blog posts before I had really become a faithful reader. I loved reading the historic LP reviews of the Cathedrals Trio and even the album reviews of projects that I had come to love like Look No Further by the Perrys and Always Have a Song by Mark Trammell Trio. 

If you were a faithful reader, you'll enjoy rereading posts like I did. One of my personal favorites was Daniel's tribute to Louisville after the last NQC there in 2013. I never got to attend an NQC there but through his post, I felt like I had. I could feel the significance of the move that was taking place. He had time to dig into the industry and bring out interesting points on stability of groups and the most recorded songs. In the years of the blog, read the two posts with the same title that both bring out different points. You can find out which post Daniel regrets writing. Read his advice to groups on reaching the younger fans. He also digs into the theology behind so many songs and examines the true thing that sets Southern Gospel apart - the message.

Daniel did an incredible job of posting daily, fresh content that not only promoted the music but got fans to think about the industry. That's something I don't think any of us have measured up with doing in the blogosphere. Enjoy reliving his 50 most popular posts with this book. Be sure to get your copy of Southern Gospel Journal: An Anthology!