Label: Spring Hill Music Group
Spread The Word 2002
Label: New Day Christian Distributors
Back around 1995, some of the big wigs at the three largest Christian distribution companies got their heads together and came up with an innovative idea. The notion was simple . . . put 30 of the top songs on a double length product. Consumers bought into the idea in a big way, and WoW 1996 went platinum. (That's 1 million units in sales). The big wigs gleefully rubbed their hands together and said, "We're gonna do this again." Videos, songbooks, and even bibles were released with the WoW moniker. Christmas, worship, and gospel genres were added. WoW became a "brand."
Why are we talking about WoW? Because in the fall of 2000, Spring Hill Music Group began offering an annual Southern Gospel compilation called Shout that's obviously inspired by WoW. Shout products sport the phrase "30 of the year's top southern artists and songs." WoW's line is: "The year's 30 top Christian artists and songs." Even the inside artwork is from the same mold. What was proven to work in the Contemporary market seems to be catching on with Southern Gospel customers, too, because this fall will see the release of the third Shout project.
Shout 2003 carries a suggested retail price of $19.98. For three or four dollars more than you'd pay for a regular Southern Gospel CD, you're getting 30 songs that have seen serious radio airplay. I recommend this product to people who don't buy a lot of CDs, but are interested in keeping up with what's hot in Southern Gospel. Also, it's a great introduction for someone just getting their feet wet in Southern Gospel.
Shout is a well packaged item with a fair market price, but perhaps you're aligned more in the "real cheapskate" category. Never fear. New Day Christian Distributors has an annual compilation just for you. It's 16 songs on one CD for $3. They call it Spread The Word 2002. This year's model can even be had for free if you make a qualifying purchase. What's more, they provide $32 in coupons that are good towards the purchase of other projects. Unlike the "we'll make more" Shout products, though, Spread The Word is only available while supplies last. When they're gone, they're gone for good.
How do these projects compare? Well, surprisingly, there's only one song that appears on both, the Perrys "I Rest My Case At The Cross." Buy both, and you'll have 45 unique songs. Each project gives you some lesser known artists to consider as well. Shout 2003 offers Paid In Full, while Spread The Word gives us Terry Terrell and The Arnolds. Also, both projects draw artists from a number of different record labels. I was surprised to note that the Kingdom Heirs didn't have a song on Shout, but they did get a tune on Spread The Word. Ditto for the Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet and the Talley Trio. Spread The Word has one classic cut from the Hinsons, and as a whole, would probably be considered to be the more traditional of the two collections.
A full list of songs and artists for each project is provided below.
Shout 2003"He Ain't Never Done Me Nothin' But Good" - Isaacs; "Gonna Rise" - Dove Brothers; "Safe Thus Far" - Hoskins Family; "Everything Good" - Gaither Vocal Band; "I'm Not What I Was" - Gold City; "The Call" - Mike Bowling; "Walk On Water Kind Of Day" - Crossway; "The Day Will Come" - Whisnants; "Learn To Love Again" - Jeff and Sheri Easter; "New Shoes" - Paid In Full; "His Blood No Longer Leaves A Stain" - Greenes; "So Close To Home" - Brian Free And Assurance; "Standing On The Promises" - Martins; "Teardrops" - Tony Gore And Majesty; "Soon We Will See" - Greater Vision; "Don't You Wanna Go" - Crabb Family; "Heroes Of The Faith" - Legacy V; "Now That You Know" - Karen Peck and New River; "Try Jesus" - Booth Brothers; "But For The Blood" - Hoppers; "The Key" - Phil Cross and Poet Voices; "Victory Side" - Freemans; "I'll Not Turn My Back On Him Now" - Inspirations; "Made By Mercy" - Ruppes; "Moving Up To Heaven" - Palmetto State Quartet; "I Rest My Case At The Cross" - Perrys; "I'm Working On A Building" - Oak Ridge Boys; "Let The Rocks Keep Silent" - Lordsong; "Be Blessed" - Ivan Parker; "Heal Our Land" - Crabb Family/Martins/Isaacs
Spread The Word 2002"Through The Fire" - Crabb Family; "So Much God" (live version) - Greater Vision; "What About His Grace" - Hoskins Family; "Walkin' On The Will" - Crossway; "There Through It All" - Isaacs; "Jesus, Jesus" - Old Time Gospel Hour Quartet; "What's Missing Here?" - Kirk Talley; "Call Me Gone" - Hinsons; "I Rest My Case At The Cross" - Perrys; "Free" - Ruppes; "There Is Still Forgiveness At The Cross" - Cumberland Quartet; "Before The Blood Was Dry" - Terry Terrell; "God's Still Faithful" - Arnolds; "Who Needs A Boat" - Kingdom Heirs; "The Answer Is Christ" - Talley Trio; "What A Savior" - Brian Free And Assurance