Title: "Campaign For The Lord"
Description: New Vision Trio
Chadley - March 26, 2007 11:17 PM (GMT)
Group Name: New Vision Trio
Website: www.newvisiontrio.com
Album Title: “Campaign For The Lord”
Song Titles:
1. Mamaw Taught Me To Pray
2. God Knows What He’s Doin’
3. Tell Me Who
4. Master’s Hand
5. Every Hour Every Day
6. Gettin’ Ready To Go
7. We’re Going Home
8. Listening For The Trumpet
9. Oh What A Time
10. You Can Trust In Jesus
11. Campaign For The Lord
The New Vision Trio is a group based out of Flatwoods, KY. They have been singing together since 1995. According to their website, they have a statement that sums up their ministry: "It's not about me, it's not about you, but it's all about Him." The group consists of Arnold Sexton (baritone and group manager), Judy Sexton (alto and songwriter), and Vanessa Hall Casto (soprano).
“Campaign For The Lord” is the group’s latest album. It was produced by John Darin Rowsey, and it is pretty much straight-up Southern Gospel. Of the 11 songs on the album, 9 of them were written by Judy Sexton and one was written by Arnold Sexton. The Sextons seem to be very good, capable songwriters who give each song a strong Gospel message.
The cover of the album consists of a clear picture of the group framed on the top and bottom by the group name and the album title. The group included the lyrics to the songs on the inside of the album cover, which is something that I personally like to see..
Now, let’s take a look at each of the songs on the album.
Getting things started off is the up-tempo “Mamaw Taught Me To Pray”. Judy wrote this song from memories of time spent with her grandmother, a Godly lady who truly did teach her the power of prayer. It is a sequel to an earlier song written by Judy entitled “Mamaw And Me”. Judy’s alto voice is featured on the verses and as the lead vocal in the chorus harmony.
Song #2 is the equally-upbeat “God Knows What He’s Doing”. Judy is once again featured on this song. The tempo stays the same for the third song, “Tell Me Who”. This song features Vanessa, and I must say that I was very impressed with her voice. It is strong and clear, and she sounds very natural when she sings. New Vision Trio definitely has a jewel on their hands with this young lady.
The fourth song is called “The Master’s Hand”, and it is a medium-tempo song that slows the pace of the album down just a bit. Once again, Vanessa is featured and does an excellent job. The tempo stays the same for the next song, “Every Hour Every Day”. This is the only song on the album not written by either Judy or Arnold, and no single voice is featured. The group sings the entire song together, and the arrangement seems to be Judy on lead with Arnold and Vanessa singing the harmony parts.
Song #6 speeds the tempo up again as Vanessa is featured as the lead vocalist on “Gettin’ Ready To Go”. The next song keeps the tempo up as Arnold is featured and takes the lead vocals on “We’re Going Home”. This leads us to what is probably the most “progressive” song on the album, the upbeat and hard-driving “Listening For The Trumpet”. Once again, Judy is featured and has the lead vocals.
The ninth song is the one song on this album written by Arnold. “Oh What A Time In Heaven” is an upbeat song that features Arnold on the lead vocals. The tempo slows down a bit for Song #10 as Arnold and Judy are each featured on “You Can Trust Jesus”. This is probably the closest thing to a ballad-type song on this album.
The group once again takes the tempo back up as they close out the album with the title track, “Campaign For The Lord”. Each group member gets a solo feature in this song, which is a nice way to close out the album.
I really think that the message found in each song is the biggest strength of this album. As I said earlier, Arnold and Judy are gifted songwriters, and that seems to add a great deal to the album as a whole. I think that, by far, the group’s strongest vocal arrangement is Vanessa on lead with Arnold and Judy singing the harmony behind her. I think that they would be wise to take advantage of this arrangement as much as possible. The blend seems to be tighter in that arrangement, and the strength of Vanessa’s voice is very much at home with lead vocals.
A couple of other things that I noticed bear mentioning here as well. It seems that, at times, Arnold and Judy tend to “oversing” their parts just a little bit when they have the lead vocals in a song. I think that it would add just a little bit more to their sound if they would relax a bit and concentrate on singing a strong, clear melody for the group to follow and harmonize with. This is in no way a slight against their voices. No matter what arrangement or who has the lead, the group is always in tune. Also, I think that the album had a few too many upbeat songs. People who know me might think it strange that I would say that since I am one who loves upbeat Southern Gospel songs. However, I do also like to hear a few strong, ballad-type songs on an album as well. “Campaign For The Lord” really had only one song that wasn’t fairly upbeat, and I think that a couple more “change of pace” songs would have been nice. I would really like to see what Vanessa’s voice could do with a “power ballad”.
In closing, it was definitely my privilege to review this album. I was definitely blessed by the message in the songs and by the way that the group delivered them. I look forward to hearing what this group does in the future. Overall, I think that this album deserves a rating of 3 out of a possible 5 microphones!
Personal Favorites: “Tell Me Who”, “The Master’s Hand”, and “Gettin’ Ready To Go”