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Group Name: One Voice
Website: www.onevoicetrio.com
Album Title: “Haven Called Heaven”
Song Titles:
1. Pearly White City
2. I Believe In Miracles
3. When I Rested In The Lord
4. What Only Mercy Could Do
5. Haven Called Heaven
6. Give Me Some Of That Water
7. How Can This Be?
8. What A Good Time
9. Where My Sin Met Grace
10. Oh Bless His Name

Based out of Hickory, NC, the One Voice Trio has been singing Gospel music for nearly 10 years.  Current group members include Chris Powell (baritone), Brenda Grasty (alto), and April Wingler (lead).

“Haven Called Heaven” is the group’s latest album.  It’s a collection of 10 songs from various writers, including the likes of Greg Lindsay, Jeff Pearles, and Chris Binion.  This is the second album from this group that I have had the privilege of reviewing, so I know that there’s not many song styles that they aren’t willing to try.  Overall, though, they can be classified as traditional/slightly progressive Southern Gospel.

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

The album starts off on an up-tempo note with “Pearly White City”.  The first thing that you notice is the tightness of the group’s vocal blend.  I always like it when a group starts off an album with a song that features the overall blend- it gives me a basic group sound to listen for and work from as I evaluate the rest of the songs.  Song #2 is a slower ballad called “I Believe In Miracles”.  Because of the fact that this song was written by my father, Jeff Hayes, I asked well-known Southern Gospel historian and fellow SGM Radio contributing writer John Crenshaw to offer comments on this song for my review.  Here is what he said, “This song has a lovely melody with a beautiful message.  I can't help but being a bit prejudiced because the trio is from my hometown and a local pastor, Rev. Jeff Hayes, wrote the song.  The lovely vocals by this fine trio portray a beautiful setting for these inspiring lyrics.  Chris takes the lead on the song with Brenda and April providing the harmonies.  This song isn't fancy, but the music and message are a great encouragement to those of us who believe in miracles.”  The tempo speeds back up for the third song, “When I Rested In The Lord”.  This toe-tapper contains some nice harmonies, and it has quickly become one of my favorite songs on the album. 

The fourth song is the first radio single from this album.  “What Only Mercy Could Do” is a softer, medium-tempo ballad featuring some beautiful singing.  The group shows their understanding of the dynamics required for a softer song, making sure that they don’t “oversing” at any point in the song.  Song #5, the album’s title track, is a slower Jeff Pearles song that he just recorded with the King’s Heralds on their “I Just Can’t Wait” album.  One Voice gives it a lighter touch than the King’s Heralds did, and I have to admit that I think it fits the song much better.  It’s not often that you find a group cover a song and actually improve on it, but, in my opinion, One Voice has done just that here.  This leads into an up-tempo song called “Give Me Some Of That Water”.  While I like the song, I did notice that the instrumentation did tend to overpower the vocals just a bit on the choruses.  Next up is another slower power ballad called “How Can This Be?”.  This is another song that ranks as one of my favorites.

Song #8 is a medium-to-up-tempo number entitled “What A Good Time”.  This one has some nice chord progressions in the vocal arrangements that are fun to listen to.  The ninth song is a slower ballad called “Where My Sin Met Grace”.  Finally, the album ends on an up-tempo note with “Oh Bless His Name”.  Having started with an up-tempo song, ending with one kind of brings the album full-circle.

From beginning to end, I greatly enjoyed this album.  I find it interesting that, even though April is listed as the group’s lead vocalist on their website, the person who took the lead vocals most often on this album was Chris.  In truth, however, it doesn’t matter who has the lead vocals.  The group has a tight, solid sound no matter what vocal arrangement they’re using.  And as individual soloists, each member of the group is very talented in their own right.  I enjoyed their sound when I first heard them several years ago, and I enjoy it even more now.  If you are a fan of good Gospel music, then you need to get your hands on this album.  Overall, I would give this album a 9.5 out of 10 microphones!

Favorites: “I Believe In Miracles” (Yes, I’m a bit biased! J  However, that’s not the only reason this song ranks on my favorites.), “When I Rested In The Lord”, “Haven Called Heaven”, and “How Can This Be?”