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Group Name: Driven Quartet
Website: www.drivenqt.com     
Album Title: self-titled
Song Titles:

1. Between The Rock And The Hard Place
2. I’m Pressing On
3. Let Me Live
4. Mercy Saw Me
5. Keep Drinking Water From The Well
6. Lost And Found
7. In God We Trust
8. We Are Your Symphony
9. I Can Feel My Mountains Move
10. The Story Of My Life

Driven Quartet was formed in 2006.  They are an up-and-coming young group that is quickly making a name for themselves in the world of Southern Gospel music.  Current group members are Scott Penuel (tenor), Jason Funderburk (lead), Chad Smith (baritone), and Will Lane (bass).

This self-titled album is actually the second one produced by the group.  It contains 10 songs done with a slightly progressive Southern Gospel style.  The album cover presents a nice, clear picture of the group with the group name at the bottom. 

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

The first song is the up-tempo “Between The Rock And The Hard Place”.  This is one of my favorite songs from the album, and it’s a good choice to start things off.  The vocal blend is pretty tight, and the arrangement is one that will catch the attention of listeners very quickly.  The tempo then slows down considerably for a ballad entitled “I’m Pressing On”.  There are some powerful lyrics here that will be a blessing and encouragement to listeners, and the group does a fine job singing it.  Next up is a medium-tempo song called “Let Me Live”.  Bass vocalist Will Lane gets the feature here, and he has a richness and smoothness to his voice that makes him easy to listen to.  Many bass singers don’t know exactly how to interpret solo lines, but Lane does a good job here.  I also like how it becomes an up-tempo song about halfway through.

The fourth song is another slower ballad called “Mercy Saw Me”.  This song gives us our first real listen to tenor vocalist Scott Penuel.  He has a nice range, and even though he shows some power behind his vocals, they sound effortless.  The group stacks under the tenor lead on the choruses for a nice sound.  The next song is another up-tempo number called “Keep Drinking Water From The Well”.  While I like the song itself, the mix seemed to be a bit off.  Had it not been for that, this is a song that would have had me hitting the repeat button several times.  Even in spite of this, as you listen to lead vocalist Jason Funderburk sing one of the verses, you can hear how much he sounds like his father, well-known Southern Gospel tenor vocalist Danny Funderburk. (Who, by the way, is my favorite tenor of all time in Southern Gospel.)  The tempo stays pretty much the same for Song #6, “Lost And Found”.  It sounds as though baritone vocalist Chad Smith is featured here, and this song did have me hitting the repeat button a few times.  The message is strong, and the group’s vocals are very solid and tight.  This song is followed by a patriotic number entitled “In God We Trust”.  This is a medium-tempo ballad that sounds like something that the Oak Ridge Boys would sing.  I know that some people don’t like patriotic songs on Southern Gospel albums, but I am one who very much likes it now and then.  Plus, the group does a fine job with it.

Song #8, “We Are Your Symphony”, is another medium-tempo ballad featuring bass vocalist Will Lane.  Then, the tempo picks back up with a song called “I Can Feel My Mountains Move”.  Lead vocalist Jason Funderburk gets the feature here, and he has good power and range in his vocals.  The album ends with a slower ballad called “The Story Of My Life”.

I think that this is a group with a good future ahead of them.  Individually, each vocalist is very talented.  The overall group blend is pretty tight, but there is some more room to make it even tighter.  This, I think, will come with more practice and time to “gel” together as a group.  The song selection is a strong point to this album, in my opinion.  In short, I am looking forward to hearing what this group does in the future.  Overall, I give this album a rating of 8 out of 10 microphones!

Favorites: “Between The Rock And The Hard Place”, “Lost And Found”, and “I Can Feel My Mountains Move”