Finest Hour - The Talleys - CD Review

The Talleys released their latest project Finest Hour on March 30. This is the group's first release since 2015 and also the first release where Lauren Talley has been a writer as well as vocalist.

Finest Hour features 12 songs as opposed to the normal 10. I love longer when projects give listeners a bonus track or two! And none of the songs fill like just "filler" songs.

The project starts with "Look Up" with each member of the Talleys having solos on the verses. I love the recitations during the song. This song also contains a line with the project's title - Finest Hour. I got to see this song live on the Abraham Production cruise, and it's definitely a powerful song live! I look forward to seeing them stage this a lot.

"Jeremiah 29:11 (You Have Plans)" is one of the highlights to me. I think this song voices fears that we all have. It's that reassuring ballad that we all need sometimes when life can seem to get the best of us. Lauren is featured on this song, and it's also one that she wrote. The other incredible ballad on this project is "Home At Last" which is a great song about Heaven featuring Debra and Lauren.

Debra's rich alto sings the verses of "When the Answer Is No." This is another great ballad that is very relatable. It takes the story of Jesus praying in the garden for this cup to pass from him on the first verse, the second verse is that application verse that talks about our own prayers not being answers as we hoped. We can be assured that God knows best when the answer is no. Debra is also featured on "That's What the Teacher Taught." The song goes through several of the life lessons of Jesus from His teachings and His life. It's one of those songs that you have to listen to a few times to find all the nuggets from these lyrics.

"Joy" picks up the tempo a bit and has a fun feel to it. Lauren takes the lead on this song that you really can't help but bob your head to. "Grab Your Umbrella" is another fun song. Roger sings this song that talks about Elijah praying for rain. It's a great song that talks about how God works behind the scenes so prepare for His blessings - grab your umbrella. "Get Me There" is another groovin' tune that talks about Heaven and features Roger.

Lauren is such a good communicator on story songs. "We Are Witnesses" is an incredible song that is from the prospective of Jesus' followers. This is another one that she co-wrote with Tony Wood and Kenna West.

The last track is "Begin Again God," which is also the first single. This song is just standard Talleys song that will make you want to push "begin again" on the project to give it another listen.

This project had a lot to live up to after After All This Time, but it certainly does not disappoint. It's one of those rare projects where you don't find yourself skipping over songs but listening to all 12.

Song to Turn Up - "Begin Again God" and "Joy"
Song to Put on Repeat - "Jeremiah 29:11 (You Have Plans)"
Song to Give a Second Listen - "That's What the Teacher Taught"

Song List -
1. "Look Up"
2. "Jeremiah 29:11 (You Have Plans)"
3. "When the Answer Is No"
4. "Joy"
5. "We Are Witnesses"
6. "Grab Your Umbrella"
7. "When Death Was Arrested"
8. "That's What the Teacher Taught"
9. "Get Me There"
10. "Home At Last"
11. "He Restoreth My Soul"
12. "Begin Again God"