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Group Name: Dills
Website: www.thedills.net   
Album Title: “The Story Of A Lifetime”
Song Titles:

1. Amazing You
2. Holy Of Holies
3. I See A Mountain
4. I Quit
5. Tired Of Running
6. Worth It
7. He Got Up
8. Yesterday’s News
9. He Promised Me
10. I’m Over What’s Under The Blood

Brothers Shawn and Tim Dill have been involved in Gospel music in some way for over 20 years.  The two began singing with their parents around the age of seven.  Together with their wives, LeAnn and Bridget, they make up The Dills.

“The Story Of A Lifetime” is the group’s latest album.  It contains 10 songs- one more than their previous album, “Uncommon”.  It may seem like a small difference, but to me it gives the album more of a “complete” feel.  They have made use of the services of such songwriters as Geron Davis, Joseph Habedank, Matthew Holt, and Marty Funderburk.  Also, unlike their previous album, I was happy to see that the song lyrics were included inside of the CD jacket.

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

The album starts off on an up-tempo note with “Amazing You”.  Bridget takes the lead here, and the vocal blend is smooth and tight throughout.  The tempo then slows down as Shawn takes the lead on “Holy Of Holies”.  This is an older song with more of a praise-and-worship feel, and the group turns in a strong performance.  It actually sounds like it’s only a trio consisting of Shawn, Bridget, and LeAnn.  Song #3 is an up-tempo, country-flavored song called “I See A Mountain”.  Tim gets the feature here, and his vocals are strong and clear.  I do wish that the background vocalists were just a bit stronger in the mix, though.  The tempo then slows down again as LeAnn is featured on a ballad called “I Quit”.  She does a fine job with the lead vocals, and the harmonies are simply beautiful when the others join her.

Song #5 is a medium-tempo, driving song called “Tired Of Running”.  Shawn takes the lead again, and Tim actually drops down to sing a bass line throughout the song.  This progressive sound is a very good one for the group.  I could hear this song doing very well at radio.  This might very well be my absolute favorite song from this album.  The next song is a slower song that will be familiar to fans of Brian Free & Assurance: “Worth It”.  I realize that the Dills recorded it first, but Brian Free & Assurance’s version was the first version I heard.  The two versions are similar, but I think that the Dills come in a close second here.  Still, Bridget turns in some powerful lead vocals here, and the harmonies are smooth throughout.  The seventh song is a medium-tempo number called “He Got Up”.  This song mainly features group singing, although Tim and LeAnn both get some feature spots. 

The eighth song is a medium-tempo progressive ballad called “Yesterday’s News”.  This is mostly a solo feature for Bridget, but the group does have some harmony parts interspersed throughout the song.  The tempo then speeds up for Song #9, a bluegrass-tinged number called “He Promised Me”.  Finally, the album ends with another familiar song, the medium-tempo “I’m Over What’s Under The Blood”.

While I enjoyed “Uncommon”, this album is several steps ahead of that one.  The song selection, arrangements, and vocals fit the group almost like a glove.  If the Dills keep making albums in this vein, then they will be doing well.  Overall, I give this album a rating of 9 ½ out of 10 microphones!

Favorites: “Amazing You”, “I Quit”, “Tired Of Running”, and “He Promised Me”