Group Name: Harvest
Website: www.harvestbluegrass.com
Album Title: “Pressing On”
Song Titles:
1. Keeping The Old Man Down
2. Take My Life
3. Lord I Couldn’t Make It Without You
4. Fishers Of Men
5. Mary’s Little Lamb
6. Voice In The Wilderness
7. Trust In Me
8. Call Out His Name
9. I Don’t Know Why
10. Let My Life Be A Light
11. The End Of The Road
Harvest is an up-and-coming bluegrass gospel group. The members of the group
are: Caleb Smith, Mark Millsaps, Marty Price, Bryan Hooper, and Tyler Kirkpatrick. As you know, bluegrass music has 2 parts: the vocals and the instrumentation. It’s common have the instrumentation without the vocals, but not usually vice versa. However, with Harvest, you get a taste of both. Each of the five men plays an instrument: Caleb on guitar, Mark on upright bass, Marty on mandolin, Bryan on banjo, and 16-year-old Tyler on dobro. There are several vocal breaks in the songs which give the instruments a chance to shine by themselves. Along with playing their instruments, three of them handle the vocals: Caleb sings lead, Mark sings baritone, and Marty sings tenor.
“Pressing On” is the second major album for Harvest. This particular album was produced by Ben Isaacs, whom I believe knows a thing or two about bluegrass music. Of the eleven songs on this album, four were written by members of the group: two by Caleb and two by Marty.
The cover of the album is done in a sepia-tone effect. There is a clear picture of the group members with the group name and album title above them. It is simple, uncluttered, and very eye-catching. Harvest did not include the song lyrics inside the cover, but there is a note saying that the lyrics for all the songs are available on their website.
Now, let’s take a look at each of the songs on the album.
The first song is a familiar one: “Keeping The Old Man Down”. I’ve noticed that, with bluegrass music, the vocals many times are what turn people off. However, Harvest’s vocals are quality, and they maintain that traditional bluegrass sound. Lead singer Caleb Smith has a very strong voice that fits the group well.
Song #2 is called “Take My Life”. Written by Caleb Smith, this song expresses what I believe is Harvest’s prayer and goal for their ministry. They want God to take their lives and use them as He sees fit. This song, like the previous one, is fairly up-tempo, and the blend of vocals is very tight. It is followed by the third song, another up-tempo number called “Lord I Couldn’t Make It Without You”. This is the second song on the album written by Caleb Smith.
The fourth song is called “Fishers Of Men”. The tempo stays pretty much the same as we get to hear guest vocalist Sonya Isaacs sing with the group. Group member Marty Price is the writer of this song, and they perform it quite well. Sonya Isaac’s voice fits in with them almost perfectly. The tempo slows down a bit for Song #5, a ballad entitled “Mary’s Little Lamb”.
Song #6 is my absolute favorite on this album. I’ve been listening to bluegrass for a long time- all my life, in fact- and I have never heard anyone attempt acapella bluegrass. As I said earlier, it’s common in bluegrass music have the instrumentation without the vocals, but not usually vice versa. This medium-tempo song is called “Voice In The Wilderness”, and you get to hear 4 voices blend together in the bluegrass style courtesy of guest vocalist Ben Isaacs on the bass part. This song is proof that Harvest is talented not just instrumentally, but vocally as well.
Song #7 is the fairly up-tempo “Trust In Me”. The tempo stays the same for the 8th song, “Call Out His Name”. The 9th song is the last one on the album penned by one of the group members. Marty Price wrote “I Don’t Know Why”, a slower-tempo ballad that gives the group a chance to showcase their vocals once again.
A third guest vocalist makes her appearance on the 10th song. Charlotte Ritchie joins the guys for the up-tempo “Let My Life Be A Light”, and the vocal blend doesn’t suffer a bit for it. This leads us into the last song, appropriately titled “The End Of The Road”. This song has probably the fastest tempo of any song on the album, and is a good finishing song for the group.
When I saw that this group was a bluegrass gospel group, I was excited. I was raised on this type of music and have always had a love for it. Harvest didn’t disappoint me in any way. However, let me make a few observations. First of all, out of 11 total songs on the album, only 2 had a slower tempo and only one was a real “barn-burner”. That left 8 songs with approximately the same tempo. I know that bluegrass kind of lends itself to a faster tempo all around, but a little more variety in tempo would be a good thing. Another slower song and maybe another “barn burner” like the last song would help the pace of the album. Also, I like guest vocalists as much as the next person. However, 3 songs out of 11 with guest vocalists is, in my opinion, pushing it just a bit on an album. I like hearing the group on the cover sing as much as possible.
If you are in any way a bluegrass lover, then you need to have this album. The instrumentation and vocals are quality, and the message of the songs will bless you. I fully expect to be hearing much more from this group in the future. Overall, I feel that this album deserves 4 out of a possible 5 microphones!
Personal Favorites: “Take My Life”, “Mary’s Little Lamb”, “Voice In The Wilderness”, and “The End Of The Road”