Worship & Faith (CD - 2003)

Personnel includes: Randy Travis (vocals, acoustic guitar); Brent Mason (acoustic & gut string guitar); Bryan Sutton (acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin); Larry Beaird (acoustic guitar); Jerry Douglas, Paul Franklin (dobro); Larry Franklin (fiddle); John Mock (tin whistle, concertina, bodhran); Eric Darken (percussion); Wes Hightower (background vocals).

Personnel: Mac Powell (vocals, background vocals); John Anderson (vocals); Krystle Ochsner, Paige Lackey Martin, Nirva Dorsaint (soprano); Craig Watkins, Jason Eskridge, Shannon Sanders (tenor); Brent Mason (acoustic guitar, gut-string guitar); Bryan Sutton (acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin); Mark Lusk, Larry Beaird (acoustic guitar); Jerry Douglas , Paul Franklin (dobro); Craig Duncan and the Smoky Mountain Band (hammer dulcimer); David Davidson , David Angell (violin); Larry Franklin (fiddle); Kristin Wilkinson (viola); Anthony LaMarchina (cello); John Mock (tin whistle, concertina, bodhran); Jelly Roll Johnson (harmonica); Tony Harrel (accordion, harmonium); Dennis Crouch (acoustic bass); Eric Darken (hand claps, percussion); Casey Wood (hand claps); Chip Davis, Pastor Matthew Hagee, Christina Ketterling, Billy Davis, Sandra Hagee, Joy Lynn White, Wes Hightower, Liana Manis (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Kyle Lehning.

Liner Note Author: Randy Travis.

Recording information: Stepbridge Studios, Santa Fe, NM; The Compound, Nashville, TN.

Photographer: Eric Swanson .

Arranger: Randy Travis.

This may be Randy Travis' second gospel album in three years, but that doesn't make it redundant. Travis, like George Jones, Merle Haggard, and George Strait, could sing the back of a can of peas and make it sound inspired. When the material he takes on is the absolute core of country gospel and public domain spirituals, the result is nothing less than soul-stirring, powerful, honest, and truly beautiful. Here Travis takes on the reverential hymns such as "How Great Thou Art," "Peace In The Valley," "Room at the Cross For You," and "In The Garden," and makes them sound fresh and new. They are startling in their intensity and bare bones homage. In addition, the great nuggets of country gospel, such as "The Unclouded Day," "Will The Circle Be Unbroken," and "I'll Fly Away," are taken back to the country church where they came from. From the bluesy, honky tonk alleyway, Travis sings songs from the cannon like "He's My Rock, My Sword, My Shield," and "Just A Closer Walk With Thee." He reports from the dancefloor as the barroom clock is crossing over from Saturday night into Sunday morning. This is direct, unfiltered, hard-line gospel at its best, by a master. ~ Thom Jurek

Randy Travis was a charter member of the coterie of country artists that earned the term "New Traditionalists" in the 1980s, and he's remained true to that appellation ever since. Consequently, an album full of religious material, which might have turned into an overproduced affair in lesser hands, turns out to be a tasteful, pleasingly economical outing, based around simple, organically acoustic arrangements and plainspoken-but-heartfelt vocal performances.

It's clear from the outset--with a jazzed-up, Western-swing-style version of "He's My Rock, My Sword, My Shield"--that the listener is in for a pleasant ride. And from the bluegrass feel on the old chestnut "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" to the lazy stroll of the redemptive "Peace in the Valley," Travis proves that he's able to invest spiritual standards with new life, while remaining respectful of their collective weight. minimize