Amy Grant, Vince Gill - Rock of Ages: Hymns & Faith
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Free Music Notes for Rock of Ages: Hymns & Faith
Free Music Review: A great way to start or end the day!
Hit: 5 Stars
This is simply wonderful gospel; comfort food like gingerbread cookies or homemade macaroni and cheese. Listen to track 2; this one alone is worth the buy...Free Music Review: Classic Amy
Hit: 5 Stars
Like a fine wine, Amy's voice only get better with age. There are some old favorites, and some new favorites. This is an album that anyone will love.Free Music Review: One of Amy's best yet
Hit: 5 Stars
We bought multiple copies to give to friends after hearing this great CD. You won't be disappointed.Free Music Review: Amy Grant succeeds again in updating hymns with great music
Hit: 4 Stars
Follow-up projects don't always measure up to the originals, but this effort surpasses 2002's critically acclaimed Legacy...Hymns and Faith. According to Grant, Rock of Ages "is a little more developed musically" and has bolder production. They spent more time on it, making it less sparse than Legacy. The result is a more polished recording.
That's evident right from the start with the opening "Anywhere With Jesus." It doesn't just dabble with the blues; it dives in making it a full-sounding blues number.
The next song "Carry You" is a sweet mid-tempo song that is written from God's perspective. Grant was not satisfied with an earlier version from another recording. Here it succeeds in conveying comfort as she sings, "Lay down your burden / I will carry you / I will carry you my child, my child."
"Sweet Will of God" opens with a youthful-sounding Grant leading a choir of female a cappella voices on a 1986 recording. It comes from a tape of hymns that she recorded as a Christmas gift for her mom and dad. The first verse and chorus from that tape are joined with a new recording, which picks up on the second verse.
Some of the more popular hymns have been sung so often that they can lose their vitality. "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee," "I Surrender All," and "Rock of Ages" might fall into that category. Thanks to some great arrangements and music, they sound fresh on this recording. "Joyful, Joyful" includes some wonderful Bruce Hornsby-sounding piano, while the energetic "I Surrender All" is set to new music making it sound better than ever. "Rock of Ages" is a duet with Vince Gill that has a simple blues arrangement and the deep-voiced background vocals of the Fairfield Four.
We can thank those who emailed Amy Grant's website asking her to record the concert favorite, "The Jesus Medley." This blends the songs "Jesus Loves Me," "They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love," and "Helping Hand," a song taken from 1994's House of Love. This well-arranged mixture of pop and light country is a definite highlight.
Another medley, "God Moves In a Mysterious Way/The Lord Is In His Holy Temple," was a bit of a disappointment for me personally. The words to "God Moves" by William Cowper are lyrically rich, and I have never heard a recorded version of the song. Here it only serves as a brief classically-styled instrumental intro to the beautiful "The Lord Is In His Temple." It works well, but I would have enjoyed hearing at least a few lines from Cowper's classic.
Do you realize that there is more to "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" than the chorus? On this stripped-down acoustic version Grant sings the stanzas and members of her family join in on the chorus. Her Dad even gets a small speaking part.
Last year, Grant, accompanied on guitar by Vince Gill, performed "El Shaddai" at a Christian Booksellers Association breakfast session. Midway through the song she nodded to Vince to take a solo. It sounded so beautiful that she kept nodding her head so that he wouldn't stop. She was so moved by the experience that she decided to recut the song with the same feel. It's a good update to a great song.
The recording ends with a blues version of "O Love That Will Not Let Me Go." This is the much-loved hymn written by George Matheson, the blind Scottish preacher. Aside from the blues arrangement, what makes this version even more unique is a couple of sax solos by Jim Horn. One of them takes the song to its end.
One of the highlights of this CD is the new recordings of lesser-known hymns like "Abide With Me" and "O' Master Let Me Walk With Me." The latter features a pennywhistle and accordion, giving it a Celtic flavor.
Amy and producers, Vince Gill and Brown Bannister, make hymns sound so good that it would be great to have them continue to breathe new life into lyrics that have fallen out of use. These lyrics are a rich source for meditation and the great music just adds to their appeal.
Free Music Review: Good but I wonder if it's as good as Legacy?
Hit: 4 Stars
Anywhere With Jesus - Country fried but great. I think this song is well..not bad. I catch myself patting my foot on the ground and singing along at times. I like the twang at the beginning of the song.
Carry You - I really enjoy the song Carry You. I liked the original. At first I thought that I didn't really like this version but now that I listen to it...well it's different. It is great but I can see how it would have needed to be redone to fit the "atmosphere" of this CD. I really like Vince's background vocals on this song too.
Sweet Will of God - The beginning sounds a little bit similar to the setup from a song in Legacy but not really sure which at this moment. It seems like Amy is straining at times to hit the notes or something.....maybe it's just the music of the song? I guess this is tolerable...It seems I like the music without the singing...I know that sounds terrible...but I don't like that straining thing that she does in this song.
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee - I enjoy the intro...that sounds great...even w/ the country twang...I think the music and Amy's voice works well and blends well in this song....even if there isn't enough of that rusty soulful Amy sound that I love so much...music is great.
Jesus Loves Me / They'll Know We Are Christians / Helping Hand - Oh...I love this part where Amy goes "know we are Christians...by our love by our love" umm that's good. This one is getting a good feeling. I love how it works together...and Amy's voice sounds awesome...damn...Can a person's voice sound sexy in a hymn? Amy...you little harlot! I think this works out great...When I first heard there was such a "mix"...well I didn't think it would work...but I think it does...but at times I feel Helping Hand seems out of place...but for what it is...it works.
Rock of Ages - This one doesn't impress me very much. I don't know...I really don't have all that much to say about it. Nothing I guess I hate...but not all that much I like. :(
O Master, Let Me Walk With Thee - I have a similar feeling as with Rock of Ages...I guess it's fine...but nothing really makes me think "wow"...
Abide With Me - I like the music as it starts...It reminds me of a Jann Arden son...Maybe Amy is doing that straining thing w/ her voice in this song but it seems to work out okay...and I like it but I feel there is too much Vince in this song...
God Moves In A Mysterious Way / The Lord Is In His Holy Temple - *yawn*
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus - This song reminds me of when I was a child and we sang hymns at church. I think that the only reason it will work is if it reminds people of similar memories... :) This one is okay...
El Shaddai - The opening doesn't really sound like it's going to be El Shaddai at all...but I'm now beginning to wonder how many versions will Amy come up with? I think it's good...I can always listen to this song...and it fits well with everything else...even though it has a bit of a different feeling to it...or is that just because I am used to the other versions???
I Surrender All - This is a great sound...at least I hear Amy giving more power into a song...I always enjoy hearing that...and the music is great too. She seems a little edgy with this song...great! I like the "I" in the "I Surrender All"...sounds great...
O Love That Will Not Let Me Go - I don't really like this song either...so slow...and drags out. Yawn.