Customer Reviews

Gospel Favorites

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This disc is not what it seems to be at first glance. First of all there are 3 previously unreleased tracks which seem to be from the Feb. 9 1978 session (Just a Closer Walk With Thee, Hold to God's Unchanging Hand, and What a Friend We Have in Jesus). These sessions from 1977 and 1978 are desireable since they present the Smoky Mt. Boys as they really were at the time. If you went to see them at the Opry then, this is what they sounded like. Roys voice may quaver at times, but he still nails it at times. The second point of interest is the tracks from the 60's "Hand Clapping Gospel Songs" lp. I've always had mixed feelings about these. They feature spirited vocals from Roy and great gospel guitar picking, but everything was buried under annoying group vocals from the Jordanaires and everyone else at the session. Here the mono mixes are used and all the backing vocals seem less intrusive. This is a much more satisfying collection than "Good News According to Roy Acuff". Not that that one is a bad CD at all, I just think that this has more to offer a real fan. Every Acuff fan must add this disc to their collection.

Gospel Favorites

Every song is awesome, especially The Great Speckled Bird .

This is a poor re-recording in that the voice of Roy Acuff is extremely subdued and over come by the steel guitar being overly amplified during the stereo adaptation of old monaural recordings. Maybe I should return it. But I don't know if there is anything better.

Al Martin