Music Review: Sweet Fellowship by Acappella

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Great harmonies on fun songs

Cons: Too short

The Bottom Line:

Ten wonderful songs

With wonderful harmonies

And one true classic

Voices Lifted in Sweet Fellowship

For one summer, the group Acappella invaded my youth group. Okay, not literally. But their music was the hot ticket everyone had to have. I found I enjoyed it and jumped on the bandwagon myself. One of the CD's I got as a result is this gem, Sweet Fellowship.

As you would expect, this CD is completely a cappella music. It's just four guys (with help from the group's founder and composer occasionally) singing and popping. Granted, they do snap their fingers for one verse of "I Feel Good," but I'm not holding that against them.

Now this isn't barbershop music. Barbershop is a subset of a cappella music that features four people singing in tight harmony. While there are some great harmonies here, the four men aren't always singing together. I'd say about half the time at least one of them is providing some kind of background humming. But don't worry, it isn't distracting. In fact, it sounds wonderful. Trust me, you won't miss the music.

The disc opens with the title track. It's a simple song about the joys of Christian fellowship. It's an upbeat opener. The men sing various lines behind the main vocals, providing a rich texture. It gives you a good idea of what you will enjoy for the rest of the CD.

The second track is probably the best known song they ever did. Why do I say that? Because I have recordings of it from three different groups. "The Criminal on the Cross" is an a cappella group classic. And it's a wonderful song as it rejoices that we have been saved like the criminal on the cross. It's one of those weird songs tempo wise. It's not especially upbeat. Yet there are so many lyrics squeezed into the song that it feels much faster then it is.

The group does two traditional songs on this disc. Frankly, I had never heard of "View that Holy City" or "I Feel Good" anywhere else. That's not to say I don't like both of these songs. "View that Holy City" looks forward with upbeat excitement to what we will be doing in Heaven. And "I Feel Good" gives God credit for the good things we can do now. One of the men in the group has an incredibly deep bass voice, and both songs give him an opportunity to show it off.

"His Righteousness" is taken from II Corinthians 5 and marvels at the grace God has given us. This is the closest the group comes to a barbershop sound as they don't do anything but sing here.

"To be with You" closes the disc on a slower note. There's lots of humming here as they sing about their longing to be in Heaven.

The eight original songs are all written by group founder Keith Lancaster. Most of the songs are great, and I enjoy listening to them. That even holds true for the two tracks I am going to mention. "For the Lost" and "Well on My Way" don't really have much to say. The first song especially is only five lines. Fortunately, the harmonies are enjoyable and the song is extremely short. To be honest, I enjoyed the upbeat repetitions of "Well on My Way" for several years before I noticed how few words there truly were.

With only 10 songs, the CD is only a little over half an hour long. Yes, I do find the length a little disappointing. But it's a very minor complaint.

A cappella music isn't for everyone. But if you enjoy it, track down a copy of Sweet Fellowship. You'll be glad you did.

CD Length: 32:29

Tracks:

1. Sweet Fellowship

2. The Criminal on the Cross

3. For the Lost

4. View that Holy City

5. Well on My Way

6. His Righteousness

7. I Feel Good

8. To Win as Many as Possible

9. Answer My Prayer

10. To be with You