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Producers: Michael Sykes & Phil Johnson
Executive Producer: Scott Chancey
Label: Spring Hill Music Group

CrossWay had a successful past as an independent quartet, gaining exposure mostly throughout the south. When Spring Hill picked them up and re-released No Distractions nationally, the group took off by leaps and bounds. They followed up the very country sounds of No Distractions with the extremely traditional Walk On Water Kind of Day, which earned them more critical appeal and a spot on the hearts of Southern Gospel purists around the world. On their third national release, This I Know, the group not only experiments with a new member, but also a new sound. Original tenor Casey Cappelman left the group last year, and the group quickly scooped up Matt McFarland to take his place. While Cappelman was a more than capable singer, McFarland will do nothing but help push the quartet to higher notoriety. McFarland is the first Southern Gospel tenor I’ve heard to be in the same league as David Phelps. Not only do they share a similar style and approach, but the tones of their voices are eerily similar. CrossWay decided to stray a bit from the traditional sounds of Walk On Water Kind of Day and experiment more in the sounds of progressive Southern. Upon first listen, the group’s new sound recalls the Gaither Vocal Band, but that is in part to sharing the same producer as the group and adding McFarland’s sound to the quartet. The album kicks off with “Oh My, My” which would be right at home on a GVB album. It’s a nice uptempo number, and perhaps the most traditional the guys get on the disc, other than the stripped down approach to “That’s the Kind of God He Is”, which features Chris Weaver. “Unscarred” is a beautiful ballad that reminds the listener of the sounds of Chosen Few and features the stellar vocal works of Matt McFarland. “It Looks Like Love to Me”, the first single, has a bit of a progressive country sound, similar in vein to the Crabb Family or LordSong. “No Back Roads” is another progressive country number, which finds the guys experimenting a bit in their collective vocal work. The group also has a lot of very nice harmony moments, dabbling in some minor chord structures and modern arrangements, as displayed in “That’s Kind of God He Is” and “Unscarred”. The Oak Ridge Boys also make a guest appearance on “Long Arm of Love”. It’s a nice added touch, but the song doesn’t add anything new to the recording. Overall, This I Know will more than likely be a landmark recording for CrossWay, especially with the addition of Matt McFarland to the group. What CrossWay needed was a distinctive voice that made people remember them. With McFarland, they’ve found that voice. This is easily one of the finest Southern Gospel albums released this year.

Reader Comments

I have been following Crossway for about 3-4 yrs. Their “Quartet Singing” CD was just that. Solid, pure quartet singing that was reminiscent of that of the Cathedrals, Singing Americans, Kingsmen, etc. Their “No Distractions” CD was solid quartet singing, but featured a classier, richer sound. This CD is still my favorite Crossway CD by the way.

“Walk on the Water Kind of Day”, though featured some true quartet sounds, allowed Crossway to stretch themselves musically and feature some soulful sounds with a bit of country as well. I respectfully and completely disagree with Chris when he said “No Distractions” was very country and “Walk on Water…” was more traditional. It was quite the opposite. “No Distractions” featured a lot of orchestrations and brass…definitely not country. But I digress…

This newest release by Crossway really steps out on a limb musically and vocally for the guys. I know the ads say if you like the Cathedrals or GVB, try this group…I see GVB, but not the Cats; maybe with “No Distractions”, but not with this one. It features a definitive country sound, and the addition of Matt as tenor; the group really takes on a new sound. I would love to hear Matt really get down on a big ballad type song. I really like some of the songs on this recording…”Unscarred”, “No Back Roads”, “This I Know”, “You Are my Riches in Glory” and I LOVE “Long Arm of Love” with the Oaks. That’s a cool song! “It Looks like Love to Me” still has to grow on me.

I agree with Chris with the 4 ½ star rating. I like the CD. I still have to keep adjusting myself with groups who constantly are either changing their sound or the evolution of their sound is still taking place. It seems lately that I will find a group that I really enjoy and become a fan of, and then they decide to take a different direction musically. It does get frustrating sometimes for me. But like the old saying, the only thing constant is change.

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