Legacy Hymns & Faith

Amy Grant, Legacy...Hymns & Faith

With a career retrospective boxed set and a new CD reportedly full of new material scheduled for release later this year, Amy Grant certainly appears ready for new horizons. But first she pays tribute in fitting form to her earliest influences with Legacy... Hymns & Faith, whose limited-edition version contains a DVD with videos and interviews. There's a sprightly effervescence in tracks like "This Is My Father's World" and "My Jesus, I Love Thee," mostly due to the strong country-folk influence of new hubby Vince Gill. "Softly and Tenderly" is rendered nearly perfect by Grant as the age-old classic of redemption is laid down in a moody atmosphere. Transition seems like the motif of this release, as Grant deftly merges one classic into another, as with "It Is Well with My Soul / The River's Gonna Keep on Rolling" and "What a Friend We Have in Jesus / That Old Rugged Cross / How Great Thou Art." All in all, Grant pays homage to the hymns that have carried many a church service for decades and the music that has carried her through some tough moments in life. --Michael Lyttle