Group Name: Needhams
Website: www.theneedhams.com

Album Title: “Streams”
Song Titles:
1. The Anchor Holds
2. Faith Is The Victory
3. Follow His Heart
4. Freedom Is Not Free
5. Give It All To Me
6. Good God
7. Hollow Of His Hand
8. I Have The Rock
9. Looking Ahead
10. Songs In The Night
11. Streams Of Living Water

The Needhams are a family group based out of Murfreesboro, TN.  Members of the group include David and Eileen Needham, their son Dave Needham and his wife Corina, and their daughter Diane Needham Mummert and her husband Steve Mummert.  Their grandson, Steve Mummert, Jr., also travels with the group playing the acoustic guitar.  Not all of these members travel with the group at all times.  Due to various health issues and family obligations, David, Eileen, and Corina only appear at select dates.  The current touring group consists of Diane, Dave, Steve, and Steve, Jr.  However, all of the group members, with the exception of Steve, Jr., appear as vocalists on recordings.

“Streams” is the sixth album by this group.  Most of their songs are original material written by group members, but they do throw in a few familiar favorites as well.  The album cover features only the current touring members of the group with the album name at the bottom right corner, and I must admit that I find it a bit odd that the group name doesn’t appear on the front of the album cover.  The song lyrics are included inside the cover, but it’s a bit frustrating to find that they are not in the same order as the songs on the CD.  This is also the case with the song listing on the back cover- it doesn’t match the song order on the CD.  However, it was a help to find a listing of which members were singing on each song inside the cover.

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

Starting things off is the familiar Ray Boltz song, “The Anchor Holds”.  Diane, Dave, and Corina sing on this song, with the lead vocals being done by Diane.  Her voice is solid and smooth, and their blend is tight and easy to listen to.  The second song is one that you will find in most any church hymnal- “Faith Is The Victory” by Ira Sankey.  However, this is not your everyday version of this song.  The Needhams give it a up-tempo, Latin/Salsa-type feel that, surprisingly, is a lot of fun to listen to.  Steve, Dave, and Diane sing here, with Steve taking the lead vocals.  It’s a slightly different sound than the previous song.  Steve has a good voice, but he tends to be a bit overshadowed on the harmony parts done by the others. 

Song #3 is a medium-tempo song written by Diane entitled “Follow His Heart”.  Eileen, Dave, and David are the vocalists, and Eileen is featured on the lead vocals.  This is a good song with a nice arrangement and lyrics, but the vocals are a bit weaker than on the previous songs.  Still, the sound is solid.  David penned the next song, a patriotic ballad called “Freedom Is Not Free”.  Dave, Diane, and Steve tackle this song, and Dave is featured on the lead vocals.  I personally love patriotic songs, and Dave’s baritone-range voice handles the lead part very well.  The fifth song, “Give It All To Me”, was written by Diane.  She takes the lead vocals here, with Dave and Corina on the harmony vocals.  This medium-tempo song sounds very smooth and tight.

Diane also wrote the sixth song, an up-tempo offering entitled “Good God”.  Once again, we hear the Corina-Dave-Diane arrangement, but this time Corina takes the lead vocals.  She has a rich alto voice whose soulful sound fits this song perfectly.  This song ranks as one of my favorites on this album.  Song #7 is another one written by Diane.  “Hollow Of His Hand” features David on lead vocals, with Dave and Diane supplying the harmony vocals.  David has a tenor range to his voice, and his blend with his son and daughter is good.  The tempo speeds up for the next song.  Diane penned the up-tempo “I Have The Rock”, and she is featured on the lead vocals.  Dave and Steve bring the harmony vocals, and this is one of the strongest songs on the album.  It’s another one to add to my favorites list.

David and Diane collaborated on the ninth song, a medium/up-tempo number entitled “Looking Ahead”.  Dave and Corina share the lead vocals, and they are joined by Diane for the harmonies.  Dave keeps the lead throughout the song, and Corina drops to harmony on the choruses.  Dave gets a chance to show some power vocals that we haven’t heard yet, and the overall sound gives this song a spot on my favorites list. 

Diane also penned the last two songs.  Song #10 is a medium-tempo number entitled “Songs In The Night”.  Diane, Dave, and Corina can be heard here, with Diane taking the lead.  The song ends with the up-tempo, bluegrass-sounding “Streams Of Living Water”.  I’ve always been a lover of bluegrass music, and this song caught my attention immediately.  Diane and Corina switch off on the lead vocals, and Dave joins them on the harmony parts.  There is no other bluegrass-style song on the album, and I think that the difference in the sound makes this song a fitting one to close with.

Overall, this is a solid album by The Needhams.  I like the variety of styles and tempos represented throughout the album, and the variety of vocal personnel arrangements definitely keeps listeners on their toes.  I also think that Diane Needham Mummert is a talented songwriter.  The original material she contributed to this album was very strong, and I’m looking forward to hearing what songs the Lord gives her to write in the future.  I personally think the vocals are the strongest when Corina is somewhere in the mix.  Her rich alto does wonders for their sound.  However, the overall vocals were solid.  I think that listeners will enjoy the progressive sound of this group, and I would give this album a rating of 8 out of a possible 10 microphones!

Favorites: “Good God”, “I Have The Rock”, “Looking Ahead”, and “Streams Of Living Water”