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Label: Gaither Music Group
Song Titles: "When We All Get Together With The Lord," "Hide Thou Me," "Low Down The Chariot," "I Heard It First On The Radio," "Second Fiddle," "There Is A River," "A Few Good Men," "A Brand New Song," "He Touched Me," "Good, Good News," "Alpha And Omega," "Can't Stop Talkin' About Him," "The Love Of God," "Daystar (Shine Down On Me)," "My Lord And I," "The Baptism Of Jesse Taylor," "The Star Spangled Banner," "Heaven's Joy Awaits," "Knowing You'll Be There," and "Lord Feed Your Children," "I Believe In A Hill Called Mount Calvary," "Loving God, Loving Each Other," "Mary Was The First One To Carry The Gospel," "The King Is Coming," "Singing With The Saints," "I'll Worship Only At The Feet Of Jesus," "O Love That Will Not Let Me Go," "At The Cross," "A Picture Of Grace," "He Will Carry You," "I Bowed On My Knees," "John, The Revelator," "Yes, I Know!" "Let Freedom Ring," "Oh, What A Time," "Sinner Saved By Grace," and "Mary Did You Know"

It must have been a difficult task to select tunes for a collection titled Best Of The Gaither Vocal Band . For sure, one CD certainly wouldn't cut it. Fortunately, a more for the money approach was adopted with two discs and a total of 37 selections, including four new recordings by the current group of Bill Gaither , Guy Penrod , David Phelps , and Marshall Hall . The focus is on recordings made from 1993 to the present (plus "A Few Good Men" from 1990, and "Daystar" from 1988), rather than attempting to encompass the entire 24 years of the GVB. A third of the collection comes from 1999's God Is Good and 1997's Lovin' God & Lovin' Each Other (six tracks each).

The 16 panel CD booklet is excellent, including the name and year of the recording on which each song originally appeared, a history of the group, comments about several of the songs on this collection, and photos of each lineup since 1981. Fans should enjoy viewing the various faces (and hairstyles) that came and went over the years, as well as reading about how the group came to exist. Of course, I wouldn't expect lyrics to be included in a 37 song retrospective, but production info is provided for the four new recordings.

Actually only three of the four newly recorded songs are brand new. "Can't Stop Talkin' About Him" is a remake of a song recorded by the GVB years ago, this time with more of a soulful approach. Of the remaining new tracks, "Second Fiddle" is the most adventurous. This David Phelps original puts bluegrass instruments over a pop music backdrop, and is on the borderline of being a "story song" in the spirit of "End Of The Beginning" . . . it's a bit more structured, though. Woody Wright 's "A Brand New Song" is just easy, pure blending harmony over a simple acoustic guitar based accompaniment, stretching out chords seemingly forever as only the Gaither Vocal Band can. The fourth new track is "A Picture Of Grace," a collaborative writing effort by the entire Vocal Band, plus Wright and Michael Parker . It's one of those ballads that draws you in slowly and then builds to a big ending . . . a good introduction to the singing abilities of Marshall Hall. In fact, each of the four newly recorded tracks features the new GVB member prominently.

I was very surprised to note that no songs from Homecoming are included in this collection, considering it was so redefining for the Gaither Vocal Band. Otherwise, I think they've done a great job hitting the high spots for fans who may not already own all of their CDs. This collection affirms the consistent high standards of production quality the Gaither Vocal Band has adhered to over the years. The new tunes only whet my appetite for a full length recording by the current group. I hope it won't be too long in coming.

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