Amy Grant - 'Rock of Ages, Hymns & Faith'

• Style: hymns
• 12 classic hymns and worship songs
• Released May 3, 2005

Pros

Hard to not like Amy Grant, isn’t it?

Cons

The hymn thing is getting crowded, with like 10 so far this year

Yes, there has been a lot of these hymn projects this year. At last count, I believe there were 10, some of them quite good. On the other hand, it’s hard not to enjoy Amy Grant’s signature sound, isn’t it? And these hymns are not all the more well-known choices covered on the other projects. Producers Vince Gill & Brown Bannister give us, as you would expect, an impeccable offering, with that amazing voice floating over perfect instrumentation and nice arrangements. Gill joins his wife for a duet on the title cut, nicely done. The opening cut, “Anywhere With Jesus,” is equally sparkling and the “God Moves in a Mysterious Way” is pure Grant gold. Closing track “O Love That Will Not Let Me Go” burns with great organ backup and an outstanding horn section. What’s not to like?

Grant recently showed up on our TV screens in the NBC project, “Three Wishes.” She’s paid a lot of dues over the years; she deserves to enjoy these hard-won successes.