David Bruce Murray
Diana Brantley
Kyle Boreing
Phil on Southern Gospel
Steve Eaton
The count down continues today with #13 among the best albums and recorded songs of the year. Akins burst on the scene several years ago with the release of their debut album Good Tired. Since then this father/sons family band garnered a #1 hit with “I Want My Stage To Be An Altar”. The group released their first live concert video in 2011. The recording, Live In Concert is #13 among the best albums released in 2011.
Live albums are rare among this era’s new album releases. That is what makes albums like Akins, Live In Concert so special. Easily one of my favorite live recordings of the last five years. It captures exactly what an audience would get at an Akins concert. This group is one of the best new artists to come along in Southern Gospel music in the last several years.
Personal favorite songs from this recording include: ”What If God Says No”, “It’s Good To Know It’s Not The End”, “Any Day Now”, “Faith Thing”, “The Cross Give Me Hope”, “Comfortable”, “I Want My Stage To Be An Altar”, “I’ll Be Happy When” and “Victory In Jesus”.
Southern Gospel classics never get old when given the right treatment in a song cover. That is what Beyond The Ashes did when they covered Ann Ballard’s classic “Treasures Unseen” in 2011. Found on the 2011 album of the same name, “Treasures Unseen” has one of the best vocal performances of any song recorded in 2011.
Tenor, Anthony Facello takes a scaled back approach with his performance of the classic. Simple piano accompaniment only enhances the song’s performance. As a result, “Treasures Unseen” is #13 among the best recorded songs of 2011. Take a listen to the first verse and chorus.
Tomorrow will bring #12.
I think it’s interesting that you regularly include covers in your “best songs” lists. If I were doing it, I think it would be cool to see if I could do all originals.