CD Review: Bigger Than Sunday (Triumphant Quartet)

Did that CD title catch your attention? Mine too! I'll explain in a bit, but for now, I'll explain who Triumphant is. David Sutton sings tenor, Clayton Inman sings lead, his son Scotty sings baritone (and writes quite a few of their songs), and Eric Bennett sings bass. Actually, I have also reviewed their previous album, Yes. Anyway, let's talk about the songs on this album.

1: Best Thing—Scotty co-wrote this song, which talks about how Jesus is the best thing that happened to Christians. I am afraid that description might not do the song justice, but I don't really know how else to describe the song's message so I guess you will just have to listen to the song and find out for yourself! The guys all trade solos on this song. It's mid-tempo and a great way to start off this CD.

2: He Walked Out—Another Scotty co-write. He also takes the lead on this one and proves why he is, in my opinion, the best baritone in the industry! This song is about the resurrection and power of Jesus. It's a fast one in a minor key, which makes for a very interesting listen in the best way possible!

3: How Saved I Am—Yet another Scotty co-write and a very interesting look at salvation. It reminds Christians of what they've been delivered from and how their lives have changed. It is slower than the first two tracks but still not extremely slow. It features Clayton on the first verse and Scotty on the second. It's a neat perspective! The bridge also contains a line from the chorus of "Blessed Assurance."

4: Bigger Than Sunday—Speaking of Scotty co-writes and interesting perspectives... :) This is the title cut on this album (obviously) *ahem*… so basically it's about how God is always with us and is good throughout the week, not just on Sunday or while we are at church. The whole group sings the chorus before Scotty sings the verse, then they sing the chorus again and the bridge, then they repeat the verse and then the chorus a couple times. It's mid-tempo and definitely has an "anthem" feel! I love creative songs, and this one sure is that!

5: Don't Miss Jesus—You're surely noticing a theme now with Scotty co-writes. Keeping up this trend, this one features Clayton and is an extremely thought-provoking song reminding listeners not to get so caught up in differences or silly arguments in church that we forget the whole reason we're there because Christians are all brothers and sisters in Christ. This song is more progressive than the last few ones and is mid-tempo. I want to say don't miss this song, but is that bad? Sorry! Anyway, as you'll see from this track as well as the preceding ones, Scotty is an incredible songwriter.

6: Way Maker—Here Triumphant deviates from the aforementioned trend, but with good reason. This one is a CCM hit that you have probably heard, but if not, it is a great song praising God for who he is and what he does. This one features David, which gave the song a different sound than I'm used to... I guess I'm used to hearing a woman featured on it! Oops. It's a great version anyway. :)

7: Sing Hallelujah—Returning to the Scotty-cowrite theme, this is a bouncy song that recognizes God's goodness. The guys alternate lines on the verses and all sing the chorus together. Stylistically I'm not sure if it's country or contemporary, but either way it's really cool! Great beat, great message... great song!

8: Goodness of God—Turns out there's another trend in this album! This song is another CCM hit, originally from Bethel Music. Again, you've probably heard it. This time I probably don't need to explain what the song's about because even if you haven't heard it, the title probably gives it away. The Triumphant version of this song features Eric and showcases his impressive upper range. I have loved this song since I first heard it in church a while ago, and this version is awesome! They also included the chorus of "God Is So Good" as somewhat of an interlude leading into the bridge. Love it! In fact, they actually started the CCM trend a couple recordings ago with "Awesome God," which was almost entirely comprised of CCM songs. Triumphant has also recorded other CCM songs since then, one of which they revisited in this album (I'll point it out when we get there) and two of which were on the Yes album.

9: Hope Is Holding Me—And we're back to the Scotty co-write theme. This one is more laid-back than some of the other songs on this album and features David. It's somewhat contemporary in style and it talks about how God brings us through trials we face and gives us hope and, ultimately, a home in heaven. Another amazing song!

10: Triumphant Medley—As the title implies, this closing track is a medley of hits Triumphant has recorded over the years. Since you're reading this review, I assume you have heard all of these songs so I will not go into too much detail on them. The track opens with "When The Trumpet Sounds," with an updated intro which, appropriately, features lots of trumpet! The guys repeat this song's chorus a few times. Interestingly, they end this song a half-step lower than they normally do before going into the next song, "Chain Breaker." This is one of the CCM songs I mentioned earlier and was a MASSIVE hit for Triumphant a few years back. It was #1 on the Signing News chart for TWO MONTHS STRAIGHT and also won Song of the Year in the Fan Awards that year. Scotty sings a verse before the guys join him for a chorus, which doesn't quite end before Scotty sings the bridge of "Somebody Died For Me" and the rest of the guys join him for the chorus. Next up is the last chorus of "Amazing God," which I know is the last chorus because they sing it in the key of E-flat, which is the key the song ends in. From there, the guys pick it up a bit with "Saved by Grace," which they also ended a half-step lower than they have in the past. With that, they close out this track and this album.

So there you have it! An awesome recording from an awesome quartet. As I noted before, the songs they chose for this album had quite a few things in common! I love it! You'll definitely want to add this album to your "to-listen" list if you haven't heard it yet!