Customer Reviews

Our Favorite Hymns

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It may be bargain-basement priced and only 27 minutes long, but this is absolutely top-quality Osborne Brothers, featuring their patented harmony with Bobby's piercing lead on top and Sonny's warm low tenor. The instrumental accompanyment is understated as appropriate for gospel: we are meant to concentrate on the words. Sound quality is first-rate MCA Nashville. "Medals for Mothers" is one of their all-time favourites among true country-music audiences. There's a nice bluegrass treatments of "Light at the River"; and what more can you say about "How Great Thou Art" and "What a Friend...". Warhorses all, but these are the definitive versions. Too bad that some idiot at MCA put "Will You Be Loving Another Man" here! You won't regret spending your $.

These gospel songs are some of the best of all time. I remember when I was just a child, we had an 8 Trrack tape (telling my age here) and it had many of these songs on it. This is the ultimate version of "How Great Thou Art", and I always loved "Light At The River". "Medals For Mothers" is a moving beautiful song about a mother who has gone on to be with Jesus. It says "I dreamed Mother walked up the heavenly stairs and medals for mothers were given up there" and one line in the chorus that always gets me a little choked up says "If there's medals for mothers, Mamma you'll win every one". This song itself is worth buying the CD. The only thing that bothers me is why in the world would they put "Will You Be Loving Another Man" on a Gospel CD? While it is a great toe tapper of a Bluegrass song, it doesn't belong here.

I almost wore out my cassette of this album, then bought the CD. Today I converted the songs to WAV files, and noticed for the first time what another reviewer has already described: "Crying Holy", the second song, is mis-labeled "I Fell On My Knees And Cried Holy" - a song that Michael English is noted for in the Contemporary Christian field. It was a labeling error that took on a life of its' own, as a very brief bit of Internet research revealed many lyrics sites perpetuating the error. My favorite song on this album is "Steal Away And Pray" - a song I grew up singing in the little country church where I was saved. Although Sonny got a few words wrong, the purity and fervor of the voices, plus the skilled instrumentation, make this a song that thrills me as much every time I play it, as it did the first time. "I Pray My Way Out Of Trouble" is my second favorite, but I enjoy the entire album, although the secular song is a jolt. It is well-executed and enjoyable, but should have been on some other album instead of here.

Not only did they stick a honky tonk song in a gospel album, they even misnamed the second song. "I Bowed On My Knees And Cried Holy" is an altogether different song than they are singing here. What they are singing is "Crying Holy Unto The Lord". Two different gospel songs. But that's OK, but misleading; it's not OK about the honky tonk song being here. I have to give it 5 stars but only for their singing of some fine music. Whoever put it together deserves maybe 1/2 of a star. I'm just not going to downgrade the music because of some poor judgement.

The wonderful solo's and close harmony of the Osborne Brothers applied to some of the greatest gospels ever written. Spell binding for fans of bluegrass gospels!