CD Review: “headin’ home” by Eighth Day
Eighth Day is a mixed trio based in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Their third project, headin’ home, was released earlier this year.
The groups’ members are Scott and Joni Robinson, who sing tenor and lead/soprano, respectively, and baritone Derek Parker. The group has a somewhat progressive sound; they describe themselves on their website as being “a little bit country, a touch of bluegrass, and a whole lot of gospel.”
All of the songs on this album are written or co-written by Robert Arthur, Monty Lane Allen, and Eric Childers. Allen, Arthur, and Susan Whisnant collaborated on the project’s first song and current single, “I Wanna Go Home.”
Joni is officially the group’s “featured vocalist,” and she is indeed featured on enough songs to make the description accurate. She is featured on six of the ten songs: “I Wanna Go Home,” “Even Then,” “He Would’ve Done it Anyway,” “Gonna Get Left,” “Rolled Away Stone,” and “When You Know Where They Are.”
The project’s third song, “He Would Have Done it Anyway,” sounded immediately familiar. A little searching confirmed that it was indeed a radio single for the group earlier in the year.
The CD has a good variety of songs. “Rolled Away Stone” is an enjoyable ballad with a big-production feel. The song “Gonna Get Left” has a country feel and is a novelty tune in some ways. There are several mid-tempo songs on the CD, including “Let Go and Hold On,” “Work in Progress,” “Living Water,” and “When You Know Where They Are.” The song “Safe in His Loving Arms” is perhaps the only song on the CD that would be instantly identifiable as a traditional Southern Gospel song.
Fans of progressive Southern Gospel with a country touch will find much to enjoy in this project.
