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Group Name: Mark Trammell Trio
Website: www.marktrammellministries.com
Album Title: “Always Have A Song”
Song Titles:
1. I Know That I Know
2. Loving The Lamb
3. Called In, Called Up, Called Out
4. What Good Would A Crown Be
5. Safe On The Glory Side
6. If God Said It, I Believe It
7. At The Whisper Of  His Name
8. I Always Have A Song
9. If Only Just A Few
10. Coming Out And Moving In

"Mark Trammell” is a name that is very well-known in Southern Gospel music.  As a baritone vocalist, he has been a member of some of the top groups in the industry- the Kingsmen, the Cathedrals, Greater Vision, and Gold City.  However, in 2002, he resigned from his position with Gold City to begin a new ministry that involves both singing and preaching.  Thus, the Mark Trammell Trio was born.  Current group members include Trammel on baritone, Eric Phillips on tenor, Dustin Sweatman on lead, and Steve Hurst on piano.

“Always Have A Song” is the group’s latest album.  It comes on the heels of what I personally consider to be one of the group’s best-ever albums, 2007’s “Once Upon A Cross”.  I like the cover shot of the three vocalists “all decked out” in tuxedos- a very classy picture that makes for a classy album cover.

Now, let’s take a look at each of the songs on the album.

The first song is an up-tempo number called “I Know That I Know”.  No one vocalist is featured here.  Instead, this song focuses on the overall group sound and blend.  It’s a good sound- the same sound that we’ve become used to hearing from this group.  Next up is a slow, smooth ballad called “Loving The Lamb”.  The powerful message of this song is probably what made it the choice to be the album’s first single.  Mark Trammell gets a feature on the second verse, and his voice is as strong and distinct as ever.  The tempo then speeds up a bit for Song #3, “Called In, Called Up, Called Out”.  Trammell handles the solos on the verses while tenor vocalist Eric Phillips handles the pickups on the chorus.  Those who are familiar with the group’s sound the past few years will notice for the first time here that there’s something a bit different about Phillips’ vocals.  I’ll comment more on that later.

Lead vocalist Dustin Sweatman is featured on the fourth song, “What Good Would A Crown Be”.  I have to admit that I was one of those who really liked the group’s sound with former lead vocalist Joseph Smith, and I wondered how the addition of Sweatman would affect it.  Well, I needn’t have worried.  Sweatman has a different sound than Smith, but it’s a quality sound that fits very well with the other two voices in the group.  At any rate, this medium-tempo song has a very thought-provoking message and might be another good one to consider for release to radio.  Next up is a hard-driving, up-tempo song called “Safe On The Glory Side”.  This is Eric Phillips’ first true feature on the album.  I mentioned earlier that there was something a bit different about Phillips’ vocals, and here you can finally nail it down.  He has improved tremendously over the past two albums.  When he first started with the group, he was a good young tenor with potential.  Here, however, he has taken a big step towards realizing that potential.  His vocals are fuller and more powerful, not just extremely high.  In fact (and this may sound like high praise), after listening to the arrangement of this song and Phillips’ rendition of it, my first thought was that it sounded a lot like a Gold City-style song with Jay Parrack on tenor vocals.  Song #6 is a slightly up-tempo number called “If God Said It, I Believe It”.  It’s a good song, but it’s a bit of a let-down coming immediately on the heels of the previous song.  However, I do like the arrangement of the song, especially the parts where they go back and forth between unison and harmony.

Song #7 is a slow-to-medium-tempo song called “At The Whisper Of His Name”.  This is a song with somewhat of an old western feel to it.  Eric Phillips is once again featured here, and it’s a pleasure to hear him tackle a smoother song than his previous feature.  He handles this one easily as well.  The eighth song is the album’s title track.  “I Always Have A Song” is an up-tempo, convention-style song that the group performs very well.  The next song is a slower ballad entitled “If Only Just A Few”.  Finally, the album ends on an up-tempo note with “Coming Out And Moving In”.

Overall, this was not a bad album.  However, for some reason, with the exception of 2 or 3 songs, nothing really “grabbed my attention”.  It’s not as though the vocals, arrangements, songs, etc., were in any way bad.  It just seemed like most of the album was “more of the same”.  It’s almost as though the Mark Trammell Trio has started to fall into that trap that Greater Vision was in for so long where every song sounded similar.  This is something that the group needs to guard against.  As a follow-up to last year’s “Once Upon A Cross” album, it was a bit of a letdown.  Still, it’s a quality project that I would recommend having in your Southern Gospel collection.  I would give this album a 8 ½ out of 10 microphones!

Favorites: “Called In, Called Up, Called Out”, “What Good Would A Crown Be” and “Safe On The Glory Side”