Good News

Good News

I guess you would say I have eclectic tastes in music. I love big band swing, dixieland jazz, George Strait, and Lou Rawls, but I never paid any attention to Southern Gospel until I heard my first Bill Gaither and the Homecoming Friends CD. Now Gaither is at the top of my list, and this CD is among my favorites. As with most Gaither CD's, this one makes you tap your toes one minute and contemplate matters beyond our real understanding the next. Four tracks always get a replay when I listen to this CD. Tanya Goodman Sykes does a marvelous job on the smoothly swinging version of "That Old-Time Religion" on track 4. This might be the best Tanya Goodman Sykes presentation I have heard. Russ Taff brings down the house with a lot of help from his friends on the stunning "When He Set Me Free" on track 10. Stephen Hill does his usual magnificent job on "Thank You, Jesus" on track 11. Lillie Knauls, Jessie Dixon, and others accept the challenge and keep the good times rolling when Hill relinquishes the microphone. Then, the Martins, after Michael English changes the mood to a more sombre one on track 12, bring the listeners to their knees with the hauntingly beautiful "Except for Grace" on track 13. Gaither fans already love this music. If you haven't yet experienced it, this might be a good CD to try first.