Review: Crist Family – Living With The Light On

As promised, here is a review of the Crist Family’s latest recording, Living With The Light On. This is an impressive project by a very talented group. I got the album digitally, so I do not have any liner notes, which is unfortunate, because I’d like to highlight writers and/or singers on several of these songs, but don’t have the information.

Tracks:

1. There Is A Savior – Brilliant acappella arrangement of a classic Sandi Patti tune. One of the strengths of this group is that with 7 vocalists, they can really weave some intricate background harmonies around a lead vocal, and that is just what they accomplish on this cut. Great cut! 10/10
2. If The Rocks Could Talk – Mid to uptempo progressive sounding song. This is the group’s current radio single. Lyrically this song follows a similar theme as the Cathedrals song “The Rocks Shall Not Cry Out”. Very solid performance, and what a smooth blend on the group vocals on the chorus, bridge and tag. There’s a nice key change before the last chorus. Solid, solid song. 7.5/10
3. Heaven To Me – Midtempo tune in 3/4 time. Unfortunately I don’t know who is singing lead on this song, but the gentleman that does so has a voice that fits this song very well. Very smooth. There are some nice background harmonies during the verse and again an incredibly smooth group vocal on the chorus. I really like this song, solid lyrics and a great performance. I have to mention the incredible vocal jazz chord on the ending. Very nice! 8.5/10
4. Lift Up The Cross – Inspirational sounding ballad. Again, the lead vocal on this song fits perfectly. This is the pick of the project to me. The first verse is solo, a duet on the second verse then a terrific group vocal on the chorus. The arrangement on this song is especially impressive. The bass vocal on this song deserves mention as well, it really holds the foundation very well. There is actually a third and fourth verse on this song, with the fourth verse leading to one of the best tags on a song I’ve heard in a long time. I love this song! 10/10
5. Wonder Working Power – Nice song based off of the old hymn. There is a chorus of the hymn thrown in as expected, but this is a very strong song, with a great vocal performance. This song was also recorded around the same time period by the Dills. Both versions are good, but this one has a more full arrangement to it. 9/10
6. For Every Whosoever Will – Another very strong ballad. Once again the lead vocals are spot on, with some really nice harmonies behind. The second verse features a male/female duet that is reminiscent of what you would have heard from Sandi Patti/Larnelle Harris back in the 80’s. Understand I’m not comparing these vocalists to those two, but the arrangement on the duet is much like what Patti/Harris would have done. The last chorus is led in by a nice key change and a much broader style. Another pick from the project. 9.5/10
7. He Gets Sweeter To Me – Very traditional uptempo song. This sounds very much like what you would have heard from the Nelons during the mid 90’s when Charlotte Ritchie was with them. Very solid song. 8/10
8. Living With The Light On – Mid to uptempo country flavored tune. Maybe it’s just my personal preferences coming out, but this song isn’t as strong as the previous ones. It’s still a good song, and definitely has some real highlights, namely the two short acappella breaks, and the bass vocals are again very strong on this cut, but it just doesn’t stack up to what was heard previously. 7/10
9. We Have A Hope – This is a cover of an old Wilburns ballad. Honestly, other than knowing I’d heard this song before, I am not familiar enough with the Wilburns’ version to compare them. This version is performed very well, and to the best of my memory is very close to the original. Again the smoothness of the blend and harmonies deserves special mention. 7.5/10
10. Big Hallelujah – Uptempo tune to end the CD. Decent song, but I consider this to be the weakest on the project. The performance is fine, but the song just seems a bit drab to me. Again, it’s decent, but pales in comparison to “Lift Up The Cross” or “He Gets Sweeter To Me”. 6/10

Overall: 8.5 I’d never heard the Crist Family before, as I said in my earlier blog post. This really is an impressive CD. The cover art is admittedly cheesy, but it works. The thing that really sticks out to me on this CD is the quality of the arrangements. Jeff Collins and Rich Crist, Jr. produced the album and did a spectacular job. There isn’t a bad song on this project. Even the weaker songs on the CD are still enjoyable, and not so weak that you would want to just skip the tracks. “Lift Up The Cross” is a big-time song. I’m not sure how radio friendly it is, but I would imagine it is very powerful in concert. I’ve told a couple of people that this group really reminds me of the Nelons in their heyday, and I still stand by that comparison. The Crist Family has made a new fan here. Great CD, definitely one you need to add to your collection.