Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Gospel greats strum the soul; Compilation, Cash release give gospel genre its due as country’s muse
From the National Catholic Reporter
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and New Haven Records have compiled what they believe are the 20 best country gospel tunes. This compilation, “Country’s 20 Classic Gospel Songs of the Century,” is dense and storied, with insightful liner notes and an impressive roster of American music pioneers.
The Hall of Fame and New Haven personnel, with input from country radio professionals, narrowed the list to the 20 tracks contained on this album. Many deserving pieces hit the cutting room floor, but these 20 are not too shabby. The museum’s senior historian, John Rumble, said: “It wasn’t really that hard to come up with great performances and great songs. The hard part was deciding which 20 we were going to present.”
Red Foley’s version of “(There’ll Be) Peace in the Valley (For Me)” is reason enough to buy the record. The Carter Family’s “Can the Circle Be Unbroken” and Hank Williams’ “I Saw the Light” are low-fidelity gems from country’s early years.
Connie Smith’s vocal magic on “How Great Thou Art” is majestic, and Patsy Cline nicely understates “Life’s Railway to Heaven,” with accompaniment from the Jordanaires.
Earlier this year, a new (Johnny) Cash gospel record, “My Mother’s Hymn Book,” hit store shelves, featuring some of his last recorded work.
Cash, who left the earth in September 2003, did not hesitate a moment to declare his greatest work. “You asked me to pick my favorite album I’ve ever made and this is it, ‘My Mother’s Hymn Book,’ ” Cash wrote in the liner notes. “On that album I nailed it. That was me. Me and the guitar, and that’s all there was in it and all there was to it. I’m so glad that I got that done.”
Read the article
national Catholic Reporter
New Haven Records
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and New Haven Records have compiled what they believe are the 20 best country gospel tunes. This compilation, “Country’s 20 Classic Gospel Songs of the Century,” is dense and storied, with insightful liner notes and an impressive roster of American music pioneers.
The Hall of Fame and New Haven personnel, with input from country radio professionals, narrowed the list to the 20 tracks contained on this album. Many deserving pieces hit the cutting room floor, but these 20 are not too shabby. The museum’s senior historian, John Rumble, said: “It wasn’t really that hard to come up with great performances and great songs. The hard part was deciding which 20 we were going to present.”
Red Foley’s version of “(There’ll Be) Peace in the Valley (For Me)” is reason enough to buy the record. The Carter Family’s “Can the Circle Be Unbroken” and Hank Williams’ “I Saw the Light” are low-fidelity gems from country’s early years.
Connie Smith’s vocal magic on “How Great Thou Art” is majestic, and Patsy Cline nicely understates “Life’s Railway to Heaven,” with accompaniment from the Jordanaires.
Earlier this year, a new (Johnny) Cash gospel record, “My Mother’s Hymn Book,” hit store shelves, featuring some of his last recorded work.
Cash, who left the earth in September 2003, did not hesitate a moment to declare his greatest work. “You asked me to pick my favorite album I’ve ever made and this is it, ‘My Mother’s Hymn Book,’ ” Cash wrote in the liner notes. “On that album I nailed it. That was me. Me and the guitar, and that’s all there was in it and all there was to it. I’m so glad that I got that done.”
Read the article
national Catholic Reporter
New Haven Records
# posted by Dave Sichak @ 2:45 PM 
