One has to scratch her head when contemplating
How Great Thou Art: A Collection Of Southern Gospel. While it's true that most of these songs have their origins in that tradition, and that the performers are southern, the title is still a bit of a misnomer. What's really going on here is that this is a collection of gospel songs by country stars of decades past. The most notable thing here is
Patsy Cline's wonderful rendition of the semi-obscure "Life's Railway to Heaven, " and
Brenda Lee's "This Little Light of Mine"; there is nothing else here close to these in either profile or performance tiers. It's true most of the names here are familiar :
Lee Greenwood (the title track), Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers (who have two selections, "I'll Fly Away," and "Amazing Grace,") to
Ed Bruce,
Bill Anderson,
T. Graham Brown,
the Jordanaires and
Holly Dunn, but these performances for the most part are generic. There's nothing wrong with them per se, but nothing really outstanding about them either. Dispensable. ~ Thom Jurek