Music CDs Reviews - Page 8

Gospel artists and country stars join forces for this stirring collection of old-time hymnbook standards themed around the new movie Amazing Grace, the story of William Wilberforce, a British Parliamentarian who dedicated his life to the abolition of slavery in the early 1800s. Highlights include Martina McBride’s stirring rendition of “How Great Thou Art,” Stephen Curtis Chapman’s powerful “Holy, Holy, Holy,” Grammy-winning Jars of Clay’s “I Need Thee Every Hour” and last year’s Gospel Music Association Artist of the Year, Chris Tomlin, resurrecting a long-lost verse of “Amazing Grace,” the classic hymn that anchors the CD and film.
- Neil Pond, American Profile

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The heartland rocker’s first new CD in five years finds him on a social, cultural and political road trip across the red and blue states of a jagged American landscape, plowing through the mud, slamming over the potholes and pressing for the hope just over the horizon. These 10 new songs—including “Our Country,” which takes on a new meaning apart from its commercial use in a current automotive ad campaign—balance outrage and optimism from a singer-songwriter who’s never been shy about expressing his views.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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A relaxing slide to the mellow side of 1970s and ‘80s pop, the 150 tracks on this easy-listening hit parade include 38 No.1 hits and 80 others that bubbled into the Top 10, including the cream of the AM-radio crop from Bread, Dr. Hook, Air Supply, Ambrosia, America, Elton John, Seals & Croft and dozens of others who valiantly held to the middle of the road while the rest of rock world was swerving all over the place.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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Even if you’re not a fisherman trying to while away the long months until the ice thaws and it’s finally time to dust off the trusty tacklebox, you’ll still be hooked by these 14 fishin’ songs by George Jones, Jerry Reed, Merle Haggard, Mel Tillis, Porter Wagoner, Tanya Tucker, Little Jimmy Dickens, Brad Paisley and others. All Gone Fishin’ will help you beat the wintertime blahs, forget your troubles and dream about dropping a line and waiting for that wonderful, warm-weather tug on the other end.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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Groban, the 25-year-old pop-classical phenom, stepped onto a fast-moving train to fame on TV’sAlly McBeal , became a fan favorite on the daytime talk-show circuit, blew the doors off several network specials, toured to sell-out crowds across the country and sold an incredible 14 million CDs. Now he plays Cupid with this eight-song collection of love songs and operatic ballads culled from previous CDs, plus two all-new tracks and two live cuts. (Available only at Hallmark Gold Crown stores through February.)
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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A trip back in time to an era just before country music entered the commercial, megabucks mainstream, this video companion to last year’s 4-CD box set (also titled Nashville Rebel) chronicles the transformation of Jennings from Nashville outcast to “outlaw” superstar with rare television appearances, live performances, promotional clips from the early days of music video and even a couple of TV commercials, all from the 1970s and ‘80s.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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Four CDs and a DVD, spanning performances from 1961 to 1987, capture the Chairman of the Board in his Vegas-showroom prime, belting out his hits (“Come Fly With Me,” “The Lady is a Tramp,” “My Way,” “Fly Me to the Moon”), swinging with the Count Basie orchestra, cutting up with Dean Martin and trotting out daughter Nancy to perform their hit duet “Something Stupid.” Packed with bonus tracks and Vegas period memorabilia, this lavish box set vividly transports you back to a time when the Rat Pack ran Sin City and the suave, tuxedo-clad, velvety-voiced Sinatra was the king of cool.
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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With some choral assistance from The Oak Ridge Boys, The Jordanaires, Jeff and Sheri Easter and the Southern gospel quartet Gold City, Grand Ole Opry veteran Locklin returns to his Sunday school roots with this heartfelt collection of church-hymn classics (“Amazing Grace,” “Have a Little Talk with Jesus,” “Just a Closer Walk with Thee”) and powerful, personal originals, the best of which address his victories over honky-tonk vice (“The Bottle for the Cross”) and his deep-seated spiritual renewal (“My Soul is Strong”).
-Neil Pond, American Profile

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Songs of the Year
Various Artists, CD

Don’t let your ears fool you. These country classics—all of which took top honors in years past from the Grammys, the Country Music Association or the Academy of Country Music—get an all-star makeover from a who’s who of modern hit-makers, including Trace Adkins singing the Johnny Cash hangover smash “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” Trisha Yearwood on John Denver’s “Back Home Again” and Blake Shelton sounding like he knows how to hold ‘em and fold ‘em on Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler.” (Available exclusively at Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores.)

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Bee Gees: The Studio Albums 1967-1968
6-CD box ($74.98)

For anyone who remembers the Bee Gees only from the 1970s and their contributions to the Saturday Night Fever disco explosion, this comprehensive box set—loaded with photos and other extras—offers a bountiful reminder that the British-born Gibb brothers already had made quite a name for themselves before the ‘60s drew to a close with pop masterpieces like “To Love Somebody,” “Massachusetts,” “Words” and “I Started a Joke.”
—Neil Pond, American Profile

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