Customer Reviews

Gospel Duets With Treasured Friends

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Little Miss Dynamite's latest album is wonderful. She sings some great gospel songs with some really great artists. Some of the participants are Martina McBride, Allison Kraus, Kix Brooks, Ronnie Dunn, and Emmylou Harris. All the tracks are great, but a couple stand above the rest. They are the first and last on the album too. The duet with Dolly Parton "This Ole House" is wonderful, and it gets the album off to a great start. Then Huey Lewis helps Brenda close it with the excellent "Oh Happy Day." This album is definitely a must for fans of great music.

Brenda Lee rarely records new material these days, but she has no need to. With a lifetime of achievements to her credit, Brenda has provided plenty of great music for her fans to enjoy. As I write this review, most of her fifties and sixties music has been re-issued on CD, but Brenda's country music fans still await similar treatment for her music of the seventies and eighties. Meanwhile, this selection of gospel songs will provide those fans in particular with a lot of pleasure.

Brenda was into her sixties when she recorded this album, but still in fine voice. Yes, the voice is a little different from how it used to sound, but it is still recognizable as Brenda Lee. Most of the songs are country gospel classics, while most of the guest singers are much-loved country singers, though in both cases there are surprises.

Among the songs, the biggest surprise to me was the inclusion of This ole house, which provides the perfect album opener. I remember it as a bouncy, up-tempo fun song as performed by Rosemary Clooney in the fifties and Shakin' Stevens in the eighties. Both of those covers were UK number one pop hits in their time and deservedly so, but I never thought of it as a gospel song. My research revealed that writer Stuart Hamblen wrote it as a memorial to somebody who had died, leaving the house unoccupied, so he didn't intend it to be a gospel song either. However, a gospel group eventually recorded the song with (it seems) modified lyrics, so I listened closely to Brenda's version, but I think she and Dolly sing the original lyrics. Sill, it's a great song, they sing it superbly and it's my favorite among the tracks here, all of which are excellent.

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George Jones joins Brenda to maintain the upbeat tempo with Have a little talk with Jesus, then the pace slows for In the garden, a superb duet with Alison Kraus. Many other fine duets follow featuring a variety of guests on mostly familiar gospel songs. A high standard is maintained, closing with Oh happy day, on which Huey Lewis is Brenda's duet partner. Huey has previously guested on country albums,, appearing on among others, so his appearance here is not a total surprise, but he and Brenda sing this song well.

There is no original material here, not even any obscure songs. Every song here is likely to be familiar to anybody considering buying this album, It is the performances that make the album worth listening to, because it is clear that Brenda and her guests enjoyed recording these classic songs.

Prime Cuts: This Old House (with Dolly Parton), In the Garden (with Alison Krauss), I Saw the Light (with Vince Gill)

To hold a CD of newly recorded material by Brenda Lee is itself a miracle. Despite the copious re-recordings of her greatest hits, the last full -length studio CD by Miss Dynamite has been her 1991 eponymous Warner Brothers debut. After all these time, Lee has not lost a single iota of her textured and resonant voice that first awarded her the appellation "Miss Dynamite." Albeit this is a cover-album of 10 familiar hymns of the Christian church, Lee imbues each song with her unique emotional cadences that demands attention--something that will not disappoint fans who have had grown up with her lifelong stretch of hits. Much more impressive this time round is that Lee has sat comfortably on the producer's chair and her ability to garner 10 of Nashville's hottest artists to duet with her is staggering. This really testifies to what a commanding presence this former CMA multiple-winner still is in today's musical landscape.

Opener, "This Old House," is a compelling gospel number about the effect of Christ's second coming on our present life on earth. A track that grooves along an infectious melody, Dolly Parton and Lee sound on the top of their game. Sounding an octave higher than we are accustomed to, Parton beautifully echoes Lee in the chorus as if to affirm every syllable Lee is trying to articulate. Emmylou Harris, with her delicate and controlled falsetto, adds a matured but affirming presence to sparse unbridled ballad "Jesus Loves Me," making it simmer with an affecting palpability that bespeaks to not just kids but adults. While Vince Gill kicks off the sawdust a little by adding a spirited honky-tonk semblance to "I Saw the Light" that really gives the whole album a more uplifting feel. On the other hand, Alison Krauss' dreamy almost ethereal read gives "In the Garden" a contemplative tactility that makes this devotional call to walk, reflect and mediate on the Lord's even more engaging. A more surprising coadjutant is rock artist Huey Lewis who brings an almost fresh urgency to "O Happy Day" and his uncouth delivery (which calls to mind a little of Bryan Adams) certainly adds grit to this collection.

However, the major fault of such a covers of over-familiar hymns is the lack of imagination vis-à-vis through an almost pew-like rendition of them without much ingenuity from the artists. Though Martina McBride has formerly recorded an album's full of evergreens, her take of "Uncloudy Day" is so religiously faithful to the point of her dictation that it comes across as pedantic. Likewise, George Jones sounds so lazy and laidback that he seems to sniff out Lee's firey performance making "Have a Little Talk with Jesus" a long bore of a conversation. Even Ronnie Dunn, who usually is one of the most animated singers in country music, sounds sedated on "Where Could I Go But to the Lord." Perhaps due to Lee's unfamiliarity in the helm's chair, maybe a few less familiar choices might be the panacea. Further, after almost 16 years since her last disc, maybe a couple of originals might not be too much in the asking.

Overall, albeit the album's weaknesses, this CD is still a welcome return for Lee. With a disc full of today's hottest stars, this album attest to the respect the Music Row community still attributes to Lee. Rightly so--Lee does not disappoint all the way through these 10 paeans. Her grasp for the emotional fervor of each note coupled by her ability to bring to expression her heartfelt love for the Lord are reasons to crown this effort with superlatives such as "stellar" and "great." In short, she is still Miss Dynamite but this time exploding with a contagious affection for her Lord.

Brenda Lee still has the pipes and shows it with her friends on this CD. I thoroughly enjoyed it and do every time I play it. If you're in the mood for some good gospel music from a well established singer with some top notch friends, then this is the one to pick. It's definitely a winner.

Brenda Lee is a master of many music genres --- rock, pop, country --- and now this gospel album, sung with other major stars, adds to her repertoire. Highly recommended!!!

Enjoyed the Brenda Lee Gospel Duets. Don't know much about her but know all the songs, and enjoyed the mix of singers. Songs were peppy and fun to sing along with.

Brenda Lee your the best - after going to your concert at Busch Gardens I purchased this album you spoke about. Even my grandchildren love it.

I have all of Brenda's gospel cd's she sells one of just her at her concerts. It is a wonderful cd and I love listening to the hymns especially the way she sings them. IT is great!!

THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST GOSPEL DUETS I HAVE EVER OWNED. IT CAME AT A TIME WHEN I HAD JUST LOST MY HUSBAND AND WAS SUCH A COMFORT. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT AND THINK BRENDA LEE SINGS AS SWEET AS EVER. THERE IS NOT A BAD SONG ON IT.

Well done renditions of old favorites by established artists. These are gospels that everyone is familiar with and can sing along with them. Its a feel good experience.