Dave's Review

Label: Daywind
Website: www.marktrammellministries.com
Producers: Mark Trammell (with Wayne Haun on 3 songs)
Song Titles: "All Who Call," "Pass Me Not," "It's Jesus," "The Lamb," "I Just Feel Like Something Good Is About To Happen," "I'm Glad That I Know Jesus," "Because He Is, I Am," "I Believe In A Hill Called Mount Calvary," "Lazarus Come Forth," and "The Eastern Gate"

Something Good by the Mark Trammell Trio comes across as somewhat of a "hybrid" product. Mark Trammell is the producer, with Wayne Haun assisting in production on three tunes. Studio musicians, orchestra details, etc. are listed in the CD jacket for the Haun produced tracks, but no musicians are mentioned for the remaining seven songs, leading one to suspect that perhaps those tracks came from previously recorded sources. Most of the other songs are immediately identifiable either as classics or as tunes that have been popularized by other artists in the past. All things considered, this appears to be a project that was originally intended for sale at concerts as a "table project." At some point in the process, Daywind evidently put in some money, sprucing it up for retail/radio. In the final analysis, it falls somewhere in between table product quality and full blown studio release.

Let's examine the Haun produced tracks first. "All Who Call" is a Rodney Griffin tune with a fairly basic production. Some nice piano licks by studio musician Jason Webb set this track apart. The vocal performance sets the stage for the rest of the CD . . . nothing overly acrobatic with evenly mixed blending harmony. "I'm Glad That I Know Jesus," written by lead singer Joseph Smith, features tenor Eric Phillips singing effortlessly in a range where most lead singers would be really pushing. "It's Jesus" is the most fully orchestrated track on the recording. Trammell sings three verses that ask questions like "Who is that baby, meek and mild?" and "Who is that boy so brave and bold?" After tension gradually builds through the three verses, the payoff chorus kicks into double time with "It's Jesus! The holy one. Heaven's perfect lamb." A final verse and chorus follows . . . a very cool song.

Now on to the remainder of the CD. "Pass Me Not" is a great old hymn of the church presented with a "no surprises" vocal harmony arrangement. Phillips is featured on the second verse. Smith has written an anthem called "The Lamb" in the classic inspirational anthem style, starting soft and building to a big finish. He's also the featured vocalist on this song. A couple of Gaither classics, "I Just Feel Like Something Good Is About To Happen" and "I Believe In A Hill Called Mount Calvary" feature Trammell on the melody with solid harmony from Smith and Phillips. "Because He Is, I Am" is a nice uptempo number featuring Smith. Finally, Phillips takes the spotlight for "Lazarus Come Forth," while Smith and Trammell split the verses on "The Eastern Gate."

Something Good lives up to its name. It is a good CD. To be perfectly honest, it's probably not going to blow your socks off, but there's nothing particularly bad on this recording. "It's Jesus" really leaves your mouth watering for more. The other tunes include some great lyrics and this trio sounds great singing them, but the arrangements are more or less typical, standard fare. There's really no reason why they should restrict themselves like that. Besides, they've already let the cat out of the bag with "It's Jesus." Here's hoping the next CD will have at least seven or eight songs with that level of fresh creativity and ambition.