Give Me The Mountain
Kingdom Heirs
The Kingdom Heirs are in fine form on their latest CD titled Give Me The Mountain, their first major release since Billy Hodges joined the group to sing tenor. "Sing Shout Dance" sets the standard right off the bat, featuring bass singer Jeff Chapman on the first verse with Hodges getting several solo lines on the second verse, bridge and final chorus. Arthur Rice is showcased next on a slow, jazz lounge influenced piece written by Dianne Wilkinson called "Pray For Me." The tempo picks up and the style shifts to a basic Country feel for "I Don't Wanna Go Back." Rice is featured next on "When Jesus Speaks Life," a song that should appeal to enjoyed the Kingdom Heirs' recent number one hit, "Forever Changed." The spotlight returns to Chapman for "The Day Before He Saved Me." The second half of the CD kicks off with "God's Word" (Chapman gets in several deep growls on this one) and "My Anchor Of Hope" (a slow anthem featuring Hodges). "Poorest Man In Heaven" is my favorite track from this project. It includes a great hook from the songwriters (Marty Funderburke and Jeff Silvey), an exciting arrangement from the production team of Jeff Collins and Arthur Rice, and Rice does an outstanding job on the vocal. I smiled when I heard Rice's soulful line at the end ("Oh yeah!") followed by
what sounds like a spontaneous laugh. Steve French steps up to sing the title track next, and the CD concludes with another jazz lounge influenced track called "So Long And Goodbye" (again written by Wilkinson, with Jerry Kelso co-writing as well). Be sure to listen to the very end of your CD. The band returns for a brief humorous postscript after the last chord fades out. If you've ever wanted to hear perfect studio musicians playing out of sync, this is your chance! All things considered, this is an excellent CD by the Kingdom Heirs. By the way, they DO provide song lyrics in the package. That's an expense some major Southern Gospel record labels have eliminated, but it's great to see the Kingdom Heirs and Sonlite continuing to offer this for the fans. by David Bruce Murray
Rating: 4 1/2 STARS
Label: Sonlite
Producers: Jeff Collins and Arthur Rice
Websites: http://www.kingdomheirs.com and http://www.crossroadsmusic.com
Song Titles: "Sing Shout Dance," "Pray For Me," "I Don't Wanna Go Back," "When Jesus Speaks Life," "The Day Before He Saved Me," "God's Word," "My Anchor Of Hope," "Poorest Man In Heaven," "Give Me The Mountain," and "So Long And Goodbye"