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Number of Legacy...Hymns & Faith (2002) Reviews: 1
Reviewer: John Fitzgerald, Human resources staff database assistant January 22, 2003 It could just be that I am not as familiar with Grant's more recent works but as I
understand that the way in which Grant now attempts to "please both crowds (Gospel &
pop)" is by releasing a more "traditional" album and then a "pop" one, instead of trying to
do both on one album. This being the case, "Legacy...hymns & faith", is very good and
true. It kind of harkens back to some of Amy's earliest outings with an intimate setting
such as the two "In concert" volumes, especially on the acoustic numbers such as on
tracks like "Fields of plenty/Be still my soul" whereas the first part is an instrumental
acoustic guitar piece and then the guitar is accompanied by vocals and some light fiddle on
the latter section which works well, it does get in to a "preach/talk" feel halfway in but it
doesn't hurt the ambiance of the track. As for the other "multi part" tracks, "I need thee
every hour/Nothing but the blood" is the one that has Bekka on it and she can be heard
well on the second part (with some others) and this part of the song is given a slow country
type tempo and it works extremely well. The first part is a pretty vocal and light electric
guitar flavor, expertly handled. "It is well with my soul/The river's gonna keep on rolling"
starts with a piano & vocal only arrangement and then goes in to a nice electric piano and
guitar with brushes feel, this also clicks. "Imagine/Sing the wondrous love of Jesus" has
bongo type rhythms and is an acoustic guitar & vocal builder with strings & electric guitar
and then we end with an echoy piano & vocal arrangement, this also works good though
the second part is preferable to the first. However, considering there are three parts to
"What a friend we have in Jesus/Old rugged cross/How great thou art" this "medley"
sounds bland in comparison as they seem to have chosen to have the piano, vocal & light
electric guitar arrangement woven in with the lyrics to all three tunes, you end up
expecting more than what this one actually delivers. The rest of the album does work for
the most part to pull it through though. "This is my fathers world" is a pleasant mid
tempo number with light electric guitar & piano which compliment each other. Z"My Jesus
I love thee" features a fast strumming mandolin sound while "Softly and tenderly" is better
here than it was on Rebecca Lynn Howard's recent outing "Forgive" (though it does work
on both albums, it's got the edge here) with it's cool echoy electric guitars and piano, it's a
nice atmospheric piece. "What you already own" is a mid to slow paced song with electric
guitar fills and light acoustic guitar strumming. "Do you remember the time" is a mid
tempo clave & acoustic guitar tale that also has some surprising harmonica intertwined
within the mix. "Come, thou fount of every blessing" has a slow country type tempo but
interestingly still has that echoy electric guitar sound on it (which was not expected)
though the acoustic guitar features more throughout the track. "Fairest lord Jesus" is
another strumming builder, it's fairly fast but strangely they've used the guitars for the
heavy rhythms here more so that instruments one would think they would use for rhythms.
"Holy, holy, holy" features a Spanish acoustic guitar sound and strings and the closing
"Marching to Zion" is a choral type jig with bagpipes and marching style drums (which
one would expect from such a tune). Overall, this is an effective sounding record and
some editions of the CD come with a "bonus" DVD with a half hour documentary on the
making of the album which is quite interesting once you get to know the songs, (though
unfortunately there is no Bekka involvement in that film), this is still a nice addition to the
CD rack.
