Name: A Bluegrass Gospel Songbook
Brand: Rounder Records
SKU: 21615412
Price: 13.8 USD
Availability: InStock

A Bluegrass Gospel Songbook

Rating

Album: A Bluegrass Gospel Songbook
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Crying Holy - J.D. Crowe & the New South	More Info...
2)	Gospel Plow - Nashville Bluegrass Band	More Info...
3)	Power In The Blood - Weary Hearts	More Info...
4)	Wayfaring Stranger - Tony Rice	More Info...
5)	Hewed Out Of The Mountains - Phyllis Boyens	More Info...
6)	Garden In The Sky - James King	More Info...
7)	Swing Low, Sweet Chariot - IIIrd Tyme Out	More Info...
8)	Give Me Jesus - The Grascals	More Info...
9)	The Model Church - Bluegrass Album Band	More Info...
10)	River Of Jordan - Ricky Skaggs	More Info...
11)	Wondrous Love - Blue Highway	More Info...
12)	I'll Be No Stranger - Dry Branch Fire Squad	More Info...
13)	Amazing Grace - Dailey & Vincent	More Info...

Album: A Bluegrass Gospel Songbook
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Crying Holy - J.D. Crowe & the New South	More Info...
2)	Gospel Plow - Nashville Bluegrass Band	More Info...
3)	Power In The Blood - Weary Hearts	More Info...
4)	Wayfaring Stranger - Tony Rice	More Info...
5)	Hewed Out Of The Mountains - Phyllis Boyens	More Info...
6)	Garden In The Sky - James King	More Info...
7)	Swing Low, Sweet Chariot - IIIrd Tyme Out	More Info...
8)	Give Me Jesus - The Grascals	More Info...
9)	The Model Church - Bluegrass Album Band	More Info...
10)	River Of Jordan - Ricky Skaggs	More Info...
11)	Wondrous Love - Blue Highway	More Info...
12)	I'll Be No Stranger - Dry Branch Fire Squad	More Info...
13)	Amazing Grace - Dailey & Vincent	More Info...

Performer Notes

Liner Note Author: Marian Leighton Levy.
Few record labels are as well situated as Rounder to put out a top-notch bluegrass gospel compilation, given that it has been recording some of the best artists in that genre for over four decades now -- which makes the hit-and-miss quality of this collection kind of puzzling. (Also puzzling is its 39-minute length, which seems pretty stingy even at mid-price.) There are some stone classics here, of course: J.D. Crowe & the New South open the program with the joyfully raucous "Crying Holy," and the Bluegrass Album Band's "The Model Church" and Ricky Skaggs' "River of Jordan" are timeless as well -- but those tracks have also appeared on several similar collections before, and they tend to cast the relative mediocrity of the Nashville Bluegrass Band's "Gospel Plow" and the Grascals' pedestrian "Give Me Jesus" into pretty stark relief. There are other high points on this album, though, and some of them come from further out in left field: Dailey & Vincent's "Amazing Grace" is utterly gorgeous, and IIIrd Tyme Out's setting of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is even better. And Blue Highway take the beloved shapenote hymn "Wondrous Love" and give it a unique and stunning a cappella arrangement. For those who like their gospel music to swing a little bit, there's a very jazzy Tony Rice rendition of "Wayfaring Stranger." All in all, this is a solid but slightly frustrating collection that could easily have been outstanding with just a bit more attention and care. ~ Rick Anderson