Reviewed by Dave Brassington

To my knowledge Bill Gaither's vocal ensemble have never recorded a country album as such, but whether by accident or design they sure have come close here! Perhaps the clue comes in the album's title, as in keeping with this there is no orchestrated accompaniment and with Ben Isaacs as one of the co-producers, it seemed a country type feel was inevitable as we get mandolin and fiddle backing on a couple of tracks. What is also a joy for me is to hear 15 new, original and very good songs, making it very hard to pick a favourite. The current Gaither Vocal Band lineup is Bill Gaither, Michael English, David Phelps, Mark Lowry and Wes Hampton and each is a top quality vocalist. The album opens with the very catchy "Rasslin' Jacob" ,before we are treated to a whole slew of great and new songs such as "Come To Jesus", "Do You Wanna Be Well", "The Old Rugged Cross Made The Difference" and the very moving and graceful "Sow Mercy". If I was asked to pick one favourite it has to be "Glorious Freedom", with a very powerful lead vocal by lyric tenor David Phelps with a very simple acoustic background. A truly outstanding release from one of gospel music's all time great groups.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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