In late 1992/early 1993, the Greenes signed a distribution deal with Riversong Records for their “Safe in Christ” recording, and while the Greenes were still under contract with Riversong, during the latter half of 1993, the group released what I consider to be their best recording during the “Amy Era” titled, “It’s a Sweet Life”. From beginning to end, “Sweet Life” was a truly “sweet-tacular” recording, highlighting that amazing Greenes harmony, soaring melodies and truly exceptional songs.

Produced by Tim and Tony’s sister, Kim Hopper, along with Shannon Childress (pianist and vocalist with the Hoppers), with strings arranged by Steve Mauldin, “Sweet Life” was recorded and mixed at Tim Greene’s “The Loft” Recording Studio in Boone, NC. With Dirk Johnson, Shannon Childress and Art Bain playing piano/keyboards, Mark Fain on bass guitar, Kenneth Smith playing drums, Chuck Tipton playing guitars and harmonica, Jimmy Edmonds on fiddle and mandolin and Eddie Trent playing steel guitar, the guys provide some excellent music tracks behind the Greenes, creating a truly memorable and “sweet” recording. I love the cover shot of the Greenes, as well as the overall color scheme and artwork, which I thought was very complimentary, giving off a very “sweet” vibe!

The recording kicks off with the light, airy feel of the title song, “It’s a Sweet Life”, which was written by Tim. This was such a wonderful song and was a great opening number for the recording. I absolutely love the strings on this song, and I also love how the song starts off with Amy taking the melody for the first chorus and then switches to Tim on the melody for the second run before going into the first verse. I always felt that this song would have been a neat and unique single release for the Greenes.

Slowing the tempo down with some nice steel guitar and fiddle highlights, Tony sings the Kirk Talley penned, “Precious Savior”. Featuring some of that trademark Greenes harmony during the second half of the second verse, as Amy chimes in with some high harmony and then also on the chorus, which is exactly what Kirk Talley wanted with the song! Funny story relayed to me by Kirk…Tony would say to Kirk, “write me a hit”, to which Kirk replied with “what do you wanna say?”, with Tony’s saying, “something about Jesus”! So, Kirk worked to write a song with good heartfelt phrases that he could hear Tony taking the lead on, and he heard exactly what the Greenes did with the song with Tony’s unique country tones, coupled with the Greenes classic harmony escalations on the chorus. Several years later, The Trio (Anthony, Kirk and Ivan) recorded the song on their 2001 recording, “Back By Popular Demand”, and though it’s not as dynamic as the Greenes rendition, it’s an excellent performance of the song.

With a musical intro on the keyboard giving the allusion of bells ringing (which also gives you the Christmas feels as well), we come to the enjoyable, convention feel of the song, “Hear the Bells Ringing”, which picks the tempo back up. Featuring and written by Tim, and accented with synthesized brass embellishments, this was a popular concert favorite for the Greenes and a highlight of the recording. I love the vocal embellishments toward the end of the song, as Tim, Tony and Amy sing “ring”, simulating chimes, creating a unique and fun listening experience.

Tony is featured next on the emotionally tinged, “I Talked to Him Today”, which was written by a gentleman named Phil McHugh, writer of such classic CCM tunes “People Need the Lord”, “For God and God Alone” and “In the Name of the Lord”. McHugh mostly wrote for CCM artists, but Rusty Goodman first recorded this amazing song on his 1987 album, “To Be Honest with You”, and Tony, being a big fan of Rusty Goodman, wanted to record the song, and he made it completely his own, adding his own folksy delivery as he sang, “his mama and some friends came to carry Him away…”, rather than the original, more formal lyric, “his mother…”. Tony was an “original”, and he always had an amazing knack for making a song truly unique, as if it was written just for him.

Shannon Childress (who was an outstanding songwriter, penning such Hopper hits as “Milk & Honey”, “One More Time” and “Anchor to the Power of the Cross”) and Robert Griffith (another excellent songwriter penning such classics as “God Himself the Lamb” by the Cathedrals and “Under His Feet” by the McKameys) penned the easygoing feel of the next song, “Till the Breeze Blows By”. Featuring some nice steel guitar and fiddle highlights, as well as some wonderful harmony moments by the Greenes, this rather unassuming tune is an enjoyable listen, rounding out the first half of the recording.

The second half kicks off with the Tim Greene penned, “In the Twinkling of an Eye”, featuring both Tim and Amy. This was the only single from this recording, soaring all the way to the #1 position for 3 months in a row, in the March through May 1994 Singing News chart! Once again, the Greenes are joined by the Woodland Baptist Church choir from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Unfortunately for me, when the time came to cut the song with the Greenes, I had left Bible college and moved back home to Durham, North Carolina, so I wasn’t part of the choir and missed the opportunity to be a part of this amazing song! Nonetheless, this remains one of my favorite tunes by the Greenes and was a hugely popular concert favorite for many years to come!

Picking up the tempo, Amy sings the highly enjoyable tune, “You Make Me Feel at Home”, which was written by Marcia Henry & Ronny Hinson. Filled with nice fiddle and steel guitar highlights, I always thought that this would have made a great radio single for the Greenes, as well as the perfect song to sing in concert! It’s a highlight of the recording and probably my favorite song from “Sweet Life”, before Amy steps up to the mic once more, as she delivers a tender performance on the comforting song for the prodigal entitled, “All is Forgiven, Come Home”, which was written by Candy Hemphill and her dad, Joel Hemphill. This beautiful song of reconciliation was a perfect fit for Amy, and it’s one of my favorite Amy features. The song was originally recorded by Heirloom (which featured Candy, along with Tanya Goodman-Sykes and Barbara Fairchild) on their 1990 recording, “Apples of Gold”, and Candy would also eventually record a phenomenal performance of the song (my personal favorite rendition) on her 1999 solo recording, “No Turning Back”.

Tony is featured next on the upbeat, “Have You Made Your Reservation”, which was written by Joel Hemphill. The Hemphills originally recorded the song on their 1985 album, “Excited!”, and the Greenes presented an enjoyable arrangement filled with harmonica, piano and mandolin highlights (giving it a hint of bluegrass), which also includes the classic hymn, “When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” as a bridge, adding another layer to the overall excitement of the song.

Finishing out the recording with a warm acoustic arrangement, featuring mostly just piano and guitar, Tony, Tim and Amy each take a verse, on the classic hymn, “The Ninety and Nine”. Nicely arranged by Tim and featuring some beautiful harmony by the Greenes, this hymn was written back in 1868 by Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane, with Ira Sankey providing the melody. With its beautifully descriptive lyric describing the love Christ has for His sheep, it’s long been a favorite hymn for many believers (including myself!). I remember the very first version I ever heard of this classic hymn, which was the powerfully majestic performance by the Singing Americans from their 1986 album, “Hearts of Praise, Songs of Majesty”, and by contrast, the Greenes deliver a very delicate and stunning rendition of the song with its simple acoustic track, and it’s an amazingly powerful highlight of the recording. As a side note, the Kingsmen just recently recorded an outstanding rendition of this hymn as well, on their latest recording, “Still Jesus”, that was released earlier this year!

As I already stated, I have always felt that “It’s a Sweet Life” was the best recording during the “Amy Era” of the Greenes, as the recording has a very crisp and clean sound and feel. The overall quality of the music tracks, vocals, song selection, arrangements, production, etc. all came together beautifully and sweetly (if I may be so cheesy!), creating a fantastic recording that ranks as one of my personal favorites by the Greenes. Producers, Kim and Shannon really brought out the best in the Greenes with this release, and though only one song made it to radio, I do think it was probably the wisest choice as their first single, which ultimately handed over to the Greenes a major #1 hit song with, “In the Twinkling of an Eye”. That said, I do feel that there were several strong possibilities for radio singles, but unfortunately, those great songs never really saw the light of day!

“It’s a Sweet Life” was a highly popular recording for the Greenes, and they seemed to have settled into a really nice groove by this point. The Greenes were definitely living the “Sweet Life”, as they’d enjoyed several major charting songs and hit recordings, picked up a few industry awards, kept a full schedule filled with major concert dates and large churches across the country, and they maintained a large fan base. The Greenes had been consistent with their live presentation, sound and style, and the fans were eating it up, as their set list was packed with signature classics! Very early in their career, the Greenes found the formula that worked for them and they pretty much stuck with that formula. From a musical standpoint, they also knew how far to stretch themselves to expand their overall sound, while maintaining that classic “sweet” Greenes sound, and I think the fans deeply appreciated them for that!

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