CD Reviews

Dec

2007

Brenda Lee – Gospel Duets with Treasured Friends

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Label: Provident Label Group
Producer: Brenda Lee
Website: http://www.brendalee.com

“Little Miss Dynamite” Brenda Lee, a member of both the Rock and Roll and Country Music Hall of Fames, has made her first venture into Gospel Music with this new project. She is joined by a who’s who of music legends

Dolly Parton joins Brenda on the first cut, the classic Stuart Hamblen tune, “This Old House”. This is an interesting combination. “The Possum” George Jones helps her with “Just a Little Talk with Jesus”. This old quartet number takes on a new twist and they pull it off.

One of the purest voices in any genre is Allison Krauss. She and Brenda do a beautiful job on the old hymn, “In the Garden”. The blend of Allison’s soft, laid back style and the power vocals of Brenda Lee make this song a highlight of the project. “I Saw the Light” is a perfect selection for the voice of Brenda Lee. Vince Gill lends his voice to this great old Hank Williams song.

We all learned the next song as children growing up yet its simple message is still powerful today. Brenda and Emmylou Harris do a wonderful job on “Jesus Loves Me”.
“Precious Memories” features the voice of second generation Country Music artist, Pam Tillis. The added harmony vocals on this song make this a special cut. There is a lot of feeling in this song.

Kix Brooks joins Brenda on the old spiritual, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”. This song was another great choice for Brenda’s strong voice. Kix adds a lot of energy as well. “This Little Light of Mine” joins Brenda with Charlie Daniels, who is no stranger to Gospel Music, as he has produced several Gospel recordings over the last several years since his conversion.

If there is a voice in Country Music that may match Brenda Lee for power, it may be Martina McBride. These two ladies collaborate on the great song, “Unclouded Day”. The unmistakable voice of Ronnie Dunn is featured on “Where Could I Go but to the Lord”. No stranger to duets, Ronnie makes a great partner on this bluesy style song. Perhaps the most interesting choice of duet partners on the project is Rock and Roll legend, Huey Lewis. They team up to close the album with one of the songs that ushered in CCM, “Oh Happy Day”. His soulful voice complimented this song well.

Reviewing this CD was somewhat intimidating. When you are trying to critique such an incredible array of International stars, it can be kind of overwhelming. This project is a must have for Brenda Lee fans. What I liked about the project most is that it was balanced with up tempo material and ballads. This is one of the best projects that I’ve heard from an artist crossing over into the Gospel field.

Song List:

This Old House
Have a Little Talk With Jesus
In the Garden
I Saw the Light
Jesus Loves Me
Precious Memories
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
This Little Light of Mine
Unclouded Day
Where Could I Go But To the Lord
Oh Happy Day

Reader Comments

I'd rather listen to Snoopy, Marmaduke, and Scooby Doo team up for a rap music CD.

--Making hay while the sun shines--
sgnforum@musicscribe.com - BLOG - SGHistory.com

Commented by David Bruce Murray ** On 12/08/2007

I did this review on it's own merits. While this won't be a regular on my personal play list, I think that fans of Brenda Lee will enjoy it. The list of artists on this project is a whos who in the secular music world. For my personal tastes, I prefer to listen to Southern Gospel as that's been my passion for my entire life. However, as you well know, we have to review the projects that are presented us. Based on Gospel projects done by secular artists, I will stand behind the review. Does it compare to a great Southern Gospel project? That is, as always, up to the listener.

Gary O'Neal

Commented by ** On 12/09/2007

Gee, David, did you even listen to this CD? People who are fans of Country music will love this CD. There are STILL a ton of Brenda Lee fans running around out there. It might not be your cup of tea, but I did see Brenda Lee on one of those Gaither videos.

Deon Unthank
SoGospelNews.com
My Blog

Some people are like Slinkys… Not really good for anything, but they
still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs - Author Unknown

Commented by ** On 12/23/2007

Deon,
Her Gaither performance of "Just A Little Talk With Jesus" was low quality in just about every possible way imaginable. Gaither doesn't hit a home run every single time.

There are Country music artists such as the Oak Ridge Boys that have grown better and better with age. The music put out by the Oaks in the past five years is some of the best quality music they've ever recorded. You can't say the same for Brenda Lee. Listen to her early recording of "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" to hear her in her prime. She doesn't have the vocal ability to sing that well any more.

To hear a good quality Christmas CD by a singer from the same generation of Country singers, find a copy of Anne Murray's _What A Wonderful Christmas_.

Gary,
It is the job of a reviewer to say when a CD doesn't measure up...not make concessions based on unique "merits." Besides, I think that if you took a serious look at other Christmas projects by secular singers like Martina McBride, Kathy Mattea, etc., you would be hard pressed to give Brenda Lee's effort a rating this high. She can't sing. (For the record, I'd have given it 2 1/2 Stars at most.)

To Gary, Deon and anyone else reading this,
Granted, that's merely my opinion. Gary generally does a decent job with his CD reviews, but he totally missed the boat on this one and someone needed to say it. May as well be me! :o)

--Making hay while the sun shines--
sgnforum@musicscribe.com - BLOG - SGHistory.com

Commented by David Bruce Murray ** On 12/28/2007

By the way, I don't know why I got hung up talking about Christmas CDs in the comment above. I guess I just have the season on my mind at the moment.

I do realize the CD by Brenda Lee isn't a Christmas CD, though. The point still stands...listen to gospel recordings by Randy Travis (usually hitting 4-5 star quality), the Oaks (same territory), Alabama's two gospel CDs (hitting a notch or two below Travis and the Oaks), etc. and compare the quality to Brenda Lee's.

--Making hay while the sun shines--
sgnforum@musicscribe.com - BLOG - SGHistory.com

Commented by David Bruce Murray ** On 12/28/2007

Oooops, Brenda Lee was in her heyday in the 50s and 60s, Anne Murray was in the 70s, not a good comparison. Must be an "I was there" thing.
Now, I am a huge Oak Ridge Boys fan, however, let's be honest here, they are not putting out the quality of music that they were in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Age has taken a toll on the Oaks also. I couldn't disagree more with your statement that the Oaks have put out their best music ever in the last five years. No, their best music was in their earlier years, that's just common sense. I think you're having a problem just betting past the fact that she isn't your cup of tea, but that doesn't make it as poor a quality as you're trying to make it. Brenda Lee fans are STILL going to love this CD.

Gary, I agree with your all the way on this review, you are right on the money.

Deon Unthank
SoGospelNews.com
My Blog

Some people are like Slinkys… Not really good for anything, but they
still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs - Author Unknown

Commented by ** On 12/28/2007

David,

I appreciate and respect your opinions. I have read many of your reviews and have not agreed with every one. We all have different tastes in music. Where you might give an artist a 4-5 star review, I may listen to the same project and only give it 3 1/2 stars because I may not enjoy that artist as much as you. Does that make either of our opinions wrong? Absolutely not!

Deon,
I agree that the Oak Ridge Boys best music, in the Gospel genre, was the late sixties and early seventies, with the lineup of, Duane, Bill, Willie and both Herman or Noel. Their early country recordings were carried by Duane Allen. Joe has grown as a singer and is doing some of his best singing now. His early vocals were weak.

When I listened to this project, I heard a lot of great singing from a lot of other vocalists besides Brenda Lee. Huey Lewis, Ronnie Dunn and Pam Tillis did some phenomenal singing on this project. Remember this was a duets project.

I will stand behind my review and it's rating. I have given some 2 1/2 star ratings recently on other projects.

I often struggle to review secular artists singing Southern Gospel as I feel that it is difficult enough for our own artists to find airplay without having to compete with established secular performers. Every time that artists outside our own genre get played, it keeps one of our own from getting that air time. That being said, based on it's own merit, I will stand behind the review.

Gary

Commented by On 12/29/2007

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