Producer: Ben Isaacs
Record Label: Independent Release
Website: www.highroadmusic.com
It was a pleasure to get to review the newest CD from HIGHROAD. They are a very talented group. The live instruments and unique arrangements set them apart. They start this project off with “Sweet By And By.” I love the arrangement they did on this. There are several key changes throughout, which gives this song their own flavor. The title song on the CD, “Somewhere I’m Going,” is next. It’s a medium tempo song that tells a story. It’s what I call a “feel good” song. While listening to this song, I can imagine going home to a country house on a farm somewhere. It talks about home, and they did an awesome job giving it that homey feel, musically.
Next up is “Love.” The soloist has a pretty voice, however it’s a little bit hard to understand the words. You have to listen very intently. This is easily fixable with better pronunciation, though. The message is about how God is love. It’s a good song. “Then On Sunday” picks up things a little bit. It has good harmonies. Next is “We Are Broken.” This is a slower ballad. It reminds me of an Allison Krauss song. The soloist has some tones like her, and even the tune is very similar to her style. The harmonies are beautiful on this song. I like the message. It makes the point that we have to be broken to be made whole, and it has very good lyrics.
It’s followed by “Shine.” There are some cool minor chords in the chorus, which make this song different from the others. They finally pick up the pace with the next song, “Squirrel Hunter.” It is an instrumental that shows of each of their instrumental talents. The traditional “I’d Rather Have Jesus” is next. “Don’t It Feel Good” is a neat song. I like the music on this one. It’s what I call a “head bobber”. I love when they go into full time, on the second verse and second chorus. They added a tambourine and organ which, along with the full time groove, gives it a revival/campmeeting feel. “His Hand On Me” takes things back to a medium pace. Again, there’s some pronunciation and nasal singing issues here. That makes it really difficult to understand the words, which is most important in Gospel music. It is followed by ballad “Christ My Hope, My Glory”. The violin at the beginning is beautiful! Guest artist Jason Crabb joins them on this song. The duet between Sarah and Jason at the beginning is very pretty. It sounds like a song that the group Selah would sing. It’s more contemporary than any of the other songs on the project. However, it is very pretty. They end the project with the old song “Give Me Jesus.” The harmonies are beautiful and tight nit. The tempo throughout this whole project is mostly medium and has a laid back feel.
If you like bluegrass, you’ll love this CD. Like I said already, this group is a very talented bunch. If you’ve never heard them or seen them live, I encourage you to do so. I give this project overall 4 stars. There are some pronunciations that should have been a little better, to make sure the message in the song is heard and understood. I’d also like to hear a few more upbeat tunes on future albums. The harmonies were great though, and the arrangements were also good.
Track Listing:
Sweet By and By
Somewhere I’m Going
Love
Then on Sunday
We Are Broken
Shine
Squirrel Hunter
I’d Rather Have Jesus
Don’t It Feel Good
His Hand on Me
Christ My Hope, My Glory (with Jason Crabb)
Give Me Jesus
