CD Review: Vintage, by the Akins

Last updated on: August 26, 2014 at 2:14 am by Esther O’Reilly

CD Review: Vintage, by the Akins 2014-08-26T02:14:22-04:00 Esther O’Reilly

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Akins are some of my favorite artists in southern gospel. Their freshness, natural musicianship and contagious enthusiasm always lift my spirits. However, their country-rock flair is a tad edgier than most fans of southern gospel may be used to, so they’ve been quietly flying under the radar for a while. However, their music definitely deserves a closer look. (Pssssst, hey Ernie/Stowtown…?) This table project finds them tackling some old standards with vim and vigor. The production credits are simple: recorded, sung, mixed, and mastered by the Akins. Lucas Vaughn is the only outside contributor, playing drums. The result sounds very organic and cohesive.

Pros

*The retro album design may somewhat belie the innovative spirit of the music it contains, but I think it looks classy. I like the way the photo is purposely a bit faded and the the CD looks like a record with scratches on it.
* “Revive Us Again” is a rockin’, syncopated take on the old standard. It will certainly “revive” you if you need a little kick-start in your morning!
* “Nothing But the Blood” is a wonderful slow jam session, with excellent shredding guitar solo work from brother Eli. It stands out because of its dynamic variety—where most of the other arrangements are played and sung at one level all the way through, this one rises and falls as the spirit of the band leads.
*The piano-driven power ballad “Arise My Love” was a bold choice, but the Akins pull it off beautifully with their pitch-perfect harmonies and passionate delivery.
*Even southern gospel productions can fall into the trap of over-compression, but the Akins’ sound is the exact opposite. It’s rougher around the edges, but it’s pure and warm, and my ears like that sound better.
*The Akins prove that they can put away their instruments and sing pure acappella harmony on “He Looked Beyond My Fault” and “Sweet, Sweet Spirit.” These numbers reminds me of Diamond Rio’s acappella work. “He Looked Beyond My Fault” is especially impressive. Really good stuff. Color me impressed. Here is a live version:

Cons

*Straight-ahead, driving country/gospel is the Akins’ trademark sound, which is part of their charm. However, their up-tempo tracks can bleed together a bit, and even the ballads could sometimes benefit from a lighter touch. For example, while I love their choice to cover “Go Rest High On That Mountain” (hey, when a song is the best of its genre, I don’t blame everyone for wanting to cover it), it really didn’t need drums at all. It would have been more effective if they had turned the dial down a couple notches and just let the other instruments breathe. I would recommend doing it this way live, or at least holding the drums back until later in the song.
*Though they lack formal training, the Akins are rock-solid country singers with excellent ears, as evidenced by their ability to handle intricate harmony on the acappella numbers. However, I worry a bit about Nick and David’s belting technique (Eli mostly sings in head voice for the high harmony, so this doesn’t apply as much to him). It’s very clean-cut, which I appreciate, but Nick in particular always sounds like he’s straining his throat when he lunges for a note. 15, 20 years down the line, his vocal cords might not be so flexible and cooperative. It might be worth exploring some less stressful vocal techniques.
*Although unlike some people, I’m fine with Chris Tomlin’s additional chorus to “Amazing Grace,” I do find it a little bit sad that his version’s popularity seems to have outstripped that of the original hymn in many circles. For one thing, it’s much less rhythmically interesting. I can’t fault the Akins’ cover of his version, but I would have preferred to see them play around and see what creative things they could do with the hymn in its classic form.
*Does it count as a “Con” that I wanted to hear more than just a 30-second chorus interlude of their acappella/handclapping “There is Power In the Blood”?
Final thoughts: If you have yet to introduce yourself to the Akins, you’re missing out! They’re doing a great job keeping this music alive and deserve your attention. Check out full live performances on their Youtube channel and get thee to their website, where you can purchase this project.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Review copy provided. A positive review was not required.
For a taste of what you can expect to hear on this album, here is their opening track “Revive Us Again,” together with some “making of” footage. I love how expressionlessly David is chewing his gum while laying down a keyboard track.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_353_tmRn0?rel=0&w=500&h=315

4.5 star

CD Reviews

Previous Post

August 22, 2014

A Book a Week: America's Favorite Movies, Behind the Scenes

Next Post

August 28, 2014 Lost Soul: My Video Reflection on Robin Williams

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 3 star 3.5 star 4 star 4.5 star Anatomy of a Song Behind the Songs Blog Stuff Book Reviews CCM CCM vs. SG CD Reviews Christians in Entertainment Christmas Essential 12 Christmas Favorites Christmas Top Fives Concert Reviews Concerts Culture Devotional Thoughts Faith and Culture From the Vault Fun Gospel Singers Gospel Songs Great Music Guest Posts Harmony Master Classes History Holidays Humor Hymns Interviews Marriage in the Movies Monday Morning Humor Movie Reviews Movies Music NQC Odds and Ends Old Movies, New Eyes Old Southern Gospel News Old Stuff Open Threads Other Genres Perfect Tenor Performances Polls Questions and Answers Recently Added SG vs. The Rest of the World Sing It Again Songs Songwriting Southern Gospel Surprise Sunday The Definitive Hymns Theology Toe-to-Toe Top 10 Lists Top 5 Top 5 Lists Two Sisters Review Uncategorized Video Posts Youtube Finds

Select a Month August 2026 February 2025 August 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 October 2023 March 2023 February 2023 December 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 June 2020 March 2020 February 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 April 2018 September 2017 August 2017 May 2017 February 2017 December 2016 November 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What Christian group is known for the doctrine of purgatory?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Methodists Lutherans Catholics Baptists