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Group Name: Bledsoes
Website: www.thebledsoes.com
Album Title: “The Journey”
Song Titles:

1. I Just Came To Praise The Lord
2. A Far Better Place Over There
3. This Valley You’re In
4. That Same Hand
5. For All The World
6. I’m Ready To Go Home
7. He’s Still God
8. The Fourth Watch
9. Memories Of Mama
10. It’s Been Worth The Journey
11. Build My Mansion
12. I’ve Got A New Song To Sing (featuring Larry Holbrook of “Gateway” on bass)
13. I Know My Lord’s Gonna Stand By Me (featuring Mandy Royall of “New Vision” on lead)

The Bledsoes are a family group that has been around since the 1990’s.  The group currently consists of Rodney Bledsoe, Jonathan Bledsoe, Homer Childress, Buffy Danley, and Robert Freeman.

“The Journey” is the group’s latest album.  It contains 13 songs, a couple of which were written by Rodney Bledsoe himself.  The CD cover has a clear picture of the group on the front, and it was helpful that the group included the song lyrics on the inside of the cover. 

Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: THE SONGS!

The album starts off with an up-tempo song called “I Just Came To Praise The Lord”.  The blend of vocals is good throughout the song, and I think that this would be a good radio release at some point.  The tempo slows down a bit for Song #2, a medium-tempo number entitled “A Far Better Place Over There”.  Again, the vocal blend is pretty good, and the soloist has a very strong voice with good tone.  Rodney Bledsoe wrote the third song, a slow-to-medium-tempo ballad called “This Valley You’re In”.  This song is the first radio release from this album.  Song #4 speeds the tempo back up with “That Same Hand”.  This is a Ronny Hinson song that has become one of my personal favorites from this album. 

Song #5 is a slower power ballad called “For All The World”.  This is followed by a medium-tempo song with mostly piano accompaniment called “I’m Ready To Go Home”.  This is the first song where the vocalists aren’t singing at full volume, and it’s nice to hear a slightly softer side of the group sound.  The tempo picks up once again for the seventh song, “He’s Still God”.  This is a toe-tapper that I think most listeners will enjoy.  Rodney Bledsoe also penned the next song, a slower ballad called “The Fourth Watch”.  The message conveyed by this song is one of encouragement for any Christian.  The tempo stays pretty much the same for Song #9, “Memories Of Mama”.  Maybe it’s a personal preference, but I’m not a big fan of “Mama” songs in Southern Gospel.  I think that they’re something that has been WAY overused throughout the years.  While the vocals on this particular song are not bad, I think that this entire song could have been omitted from the album.

The tenth song is another slower number called “It’s Been Worth The Journey”.  Immediately following this is a medium-tempo Dottie Rambo song called “Build My Mansion”.  Here we find another example of a slightly softer sound from the group than what we hear on most of the other songs.  Songs 12 and 13 are bonus tracks, and each of them features a guest vocalist.  “I’ve Got A New Song To Sing” is a convention-style song that features Larry Holbrook of “Gateway” on bass. (www.thegatewaytrio.com)  This is a fun-sounding song with some nice harmonies.  “I Know My Lord’s Gonna Stand By Me” features Mandy Royall of “New Vision” on lead.  This is a medium-tempo song with a smooth sound.

Overall, I enjoyed this album.  The Bledsoes are a group with a good overall blend, and they seem to excel on songs that require them to sing full-force and full-volume.  However, I would like to see them work some more on dynamics and demonstrate some softer vocals on more than just a couple of songs.  This would add an entirely new dimension to their sound that I think would help them.  Overall, I would give this album a rating of 7 1/2 out of 10 microphones!

Favorites: “I Just Came To Praise The Lord”, “That Same Hand”, “For All The World”, and “He’s Still God”