Amy Grant

Item: Rock of Ages...Hymns and Faith
Author: Michael Dalton

Rock of Ages...Hymns and Faith

(2005)

Reviewed by Michael Dalton

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Label Word RecordsThe Phantom Tollbooth2005

adult contemporary ccm gospel

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 here. "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 to 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 Thee." 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.

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