CD Reviews

Dec

2008

The Akins - Good Tired

Add this entry to Your Favorites | [0] Favorites

[0] Comments

RATING:

Producer: The Akins
Label: Crossroads Music
Website: http://www.theakinsonline.com

The Akins are one of latest groups picked up by Crossroads Music for a distribution deal (see The Dills, Cross 4 Crowns, Voices Won, etc.). The group consists of father David Akin and his three twenty-something sons Dave, Nick, and Eli. The group's latest recording, Good Tired was self-produced by The Akins. In addition, all instrumental work was recorded by the group - a task that is normally reserved for session musicians.

Good Tired goes the down the road of "Faith & Family" that is typical of Country music as of late. The album features Gospel influenced numbers like hymns "It Is Well With My Soul" and "Blessed Assurance", "The Cross Gives Me Hope", and worship-influenced "I Stand In Awe." The group also takes a more modern approach to Christian songwriting in the call-to-action songs of "Make a Difference In This World" and "We Only Have Today". "Good to Know It's Not the End" is a touching ballad about the loss of a loved one.

Elsewhere, the album takes the "positive country" route with songs like "Look Around", "Good Tired", and romantic themed "When You're In Love". "Peeples Road" is a fantastic instrumental break half-way through the album that really showcases the group's strong musicianship. Undeniably, the band's mix of faith and family based tunes should do well for them in the fair and country market - but a lack of really strong Gospel numbers will probably stifle the group's growth in the Southern Gospel market.

The Akins' debut effort features strong production and a fantastic packaging design and booklet - unfortunately, the group really fails to engage musically. The album opens with the country tinged "Good Tired" before kicking in to the pop sounds of "Make a Difference In This World". "When You're In Love" continues down the pop road, until they again shift focus to a bluegrass-influenced country tune in "Good To Know It's Not the End". Things really fall apart on their a capella version of "It Is Well With My Soul" with their arrangement and odd chord progressions. None of the Akins have a particularly strong voice, which makes the a capella number even harder to take in. Also - the addition of canned strings and instruments halfway through the song feels misplaced. "The Cross Gives Me Hope" also suffers from the lack of a strong vocalist. It's the kind of big ballad that a group like Gold City or Brian Free & Assurance would tear into - but unfortunately it fails to really take off with The Akins' performance. The group's performance of "I Stand In Awe" is really where they shine with a more stripped down and acoustic sound that fits their vocals. "Blessed Assurance" starts off nice, but they try to end the song with a big arrangement - and again - their voices just can't march the level of intensity that the musical accompaniment brings to the table.

Good Tired had the potential to be the answer to Southern Gospel's big question of "Where do we go from here?" The Akins seem to have found the path that is right for them - and quite possibly the future path of Southern Gospel music - "faith and family". Unfortunately, the lack of an outside producer who could bring a fresh opinion to the mix really hurt this recording. A lack of a real musical identity and poor arrangements really knocks this recording down a notch or two. Good Tired just really failed to go where it could have gone. It's an unfortunate thing for a group that has showed so much potential.

Buy Now

Song List:

1. Good Tired
2. Make a Difference In This World
3. When You're In Love
4. Good to Know It's Not the End
5. It Is Well With My Soul
6. Peeples Road
7. We Only Have Today
8. The Cross Give Me Hope
9. I Stand In Awe
10. Blessed Assurance
11. Look Around

Reader Comments

Add Comments

If you are seeing this form you are not a Member or have not logged in. Why not consider becoming a Member?

Membership allows you to have a prepared signature of your choice applied to every comment you make, as well as the ability to choose an avatar to display next to your name to help identify your posts. Members are also given opportunity to vote weekly in our Weekly Chart as well as special Members Only contests, polls and giveaways during the year. If you are already a member, login here, otherwise please register here.

**Note: Forums membership is a seperate membership.

By posting you agree to our Comments Policy

Name:
Email:
Location:
URL:
Comment:
	Remember my personal information
	Notify me of follow-up comments?
Please enter the word you see in the image below: