Dave's Review

Artist: Gaither Vocal Band
Label: Spring House Music Group
Producer: Bill Gaither
Song Titles: "I'm Gonna Sing," "Not Gonna Worry," "New Day," "You Must Be Born Again," "Heartbreak Ridge And New Hope Road," "Knowing You'll Be There," "These Are They," "Hallelujah Chorus," "Everything Good," "When The Rains Come," "I Love You, Lord," "O Love That Will Not Let Me Go," "My Soul Is Anchored To The Rock," "Why Not Crocodile Me?" "What Were You Thinking?" "He Came Through," "Let The Glory Come Down," "This Is The Time I Must Sing," "The Really Big News," "Forgive Me," "There Is A River," and "It Is Finished"
Rating: 4 Stars

Australian Homecoming carries a list price that's 33% higher than most Gaither Gospel Series video projects. Is it worth it? Maybe. From a scientific point of view, you certainly get more in terms of sheer bulk. The main video is 115 minutes vs. the normal 90 to 100. An additional 8 songs of "bonus concert footage" increases the grand total to 146. There's also a featurette of the guys discussing the process of recording _Everything Good_. Two DVD discs are included, with each containing the full program and bonus materials; one in wide screen and one in 4:3 standard TV format. The 4:3 format suffers the most from the editing.

But what about quality? The main video is excellent. The Vocal Band presents the songs from _Everything Good_ with several more songs added for good measure. If you've heard that CD, you know that it heavily features Guy Penrod and Russ Taff. Fortunately, "These Are They" and "Let The Glory Come Down" were added to this video to give David Phelps a comparable opportunity to shine. A few guests . . . Mark Lowry, Janet Paschal, Jeff and Sheri Easter, and Taylor Mason . . . round out the cast. Mason is particularly versatile as he performs a rapid fire "song" with two puppets. One of the guest singers is a young boy from the audience. You'll either like this segment for the sweet quality of the moment or you'll hate it. The kid is spunky and amusing to watch, but he doesn't maintain pitch very well when he sings.

You may think of the bonus concert footage as "filler" that was added only to push the price of this product up, but some will still enjoy it. The best performances are definitely in the main video. The featurette is interesting, because it helps you see the GVB members as ordinary people. Taff bears the brunt of the verbal abuse as they tease him about locking himself under the bus and spilling coffee on himself.

In my opinion, this DVD has a few great moments, but it's not quite up to previous projects that featured the GVB like Hawaiian Homecoming, I Do Believe, and Live At Praise Gathering. Those videos didn't have as many visual bells and whistles, perhaps, but they had more heart and soul. This one isn't bad, though. A "mediocre" GVB DVD is still excellent when compared to the competition. The exotic "down under" location lends a certain charm as well. I'm going with 4 stars.