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Label: Spring Hill
Website: www.springhillmusic.com
Song Titles: "Revive Us Again," "Jesus Saves," "Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing," "What Wondrous Love Is This," "Footsteps Of Jesus," "There Is Power In The Blood," "Redeemed, How I Love To Proclaim It," "Great Is The Lord God," "All Creatures Of Our God And King," "Bringing In The Sheaves," "Jesus I Am Resting, Resting," "A Hymn To God, The Father," "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," "Rock Of Ages," "How Deep The Father's Love For Us," "River Of Refreshment," "Leaning On The Everlasting Arms," and "Shall We Gather At The River"

Buddy Greene 's latest project is three parts folk music, one part bluegrass, and a fifth part of random surprises. I'm writing this review of Hymns & Prayer Songs  with a bit of a disadvantage. I'm listening to a pre-release version with no liner notes to tell who played, sung, or produced. My copy may vary slightly from the retail version you'll find in stores, so please overlook any discrepancies. 

I recognized Russ Taff  singing the second part in a duet with Greene on "Jesus Saves." Greene's solo harmonica is featured on a short version of "Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing." A bit of Chet Aktins  style guitar picking is spotlighted on "There Is Power In The Blood." (Maybe it IS Atkins playing that guitar.) I'm also guessing that it's  Chuck Leavell  playing the piano on the same song, since Leavell played similarly on Greene's 2002 recording Rufus .

OK, enough of that. I'm not going to spend the entire review guessing who played what!

The nice thing about this project is how it strikes an even balance between a cohesive concept (hymns, in this case) and musical variety. At no point does the CD bog down in the pit of sameness, yet there's not  an excess of  contrast either...a couple of elements do stick out a bit, but there are no real sore thumbs here.

The musical elements aren't too crowded and therefore remain interesting to the ear. A saxophone gets a few prominent passages on "Bringing In The Sheaves," for example. It's significant enough for the listener to note that an excellent sax player was on hand for the recording sessions, but by the next song it's another instrument's turn to be noticed. The only notable distraction on the CD is a children's choir at the beginning of "All Creature's Of Our God And King." While it's arguably charming to hear kids singing slightly out of tune, the organ pedal tones supporting them and the subsequently awkward segue to acoustic guitar accompaniment feel out of character. Otherwise, each song offers something the previous song didn't while  making logical sonic transitions .

Another nice thing about Hymns & Prayer Songs  is the length. With 18 tracks, the total playing time for Hymns & Prayer Songs  is  just over a full hour . When most CDs would be wrapping up, Greene's is hitting its stride. My favorite track is number 11. It's a mid-tempo number blending piano and acoustic guitar with a touch of B3 organ called "Jesus I Am Resting, Resting." After that nice number, an accordion gets center stage for "A Hymn To God, The Father." A series of reflective songs are offered next, followed by an up-tempo version of "Leaning On The Everlasting Arms." Let the CD continue to play after the final notes of "Shall We Gather At The River" die out, and you'll hear a jam session  type reprise of "Bringing In The Sheaves." 

Rufus may have alienated some gospel fans due to the abundance of non-gospel songs on the CD and a lack of marketing in the Christian industry. Hymns & Prayer Songs is pure gospel from beginning to end and has the backing of Spring Hill Music. This music has a special charm. If nothing else, it demonstrates that there's a lot more to Buddy Greene than being the co-writer of "Mary, Did You Know?" and a musician for the Gaither Gospel Series. 

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