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Producer:  John Lanier/Randall Wilds/Dedra Henry
Label:  Crystal River Records
Website:  www.johnlanier.com

Since his days with Naomi & The Segos about 15 years ago, John has always had a way of interpreting a song.  With a slight tear in his voice, he can cause you to be taken in by the messages he delivers in song.  This latest release features some excellent performances by John as he croons out the lyrics to some of the timeless standards in Southern Gospel Music.

With it’s steel guitar/fiddle intro, the easy flow of “GOD ON THE MOUNTAIN” gets things underway before the tempo picks up for the classic, “JESUS IS COMING SOON”, which has actually done pretty well for John on radio.

John turns in an emotional performance on the Dottie Rambo classic, “SHELTERED IN THE ARMS OF GOD”, before turning in his rendition of the Andrae Crouch penned, “THE BLOOD WILL NEVER LOSE ITS POWER”.

Right up John’s alley is the soulful, “I’M A SOLDIER”.  Brought back a few years ago by Three Bridges, John does very well with his own version before singing the oft-recorded classic, “THE LIGHTHOUSE”.  As a side note, I love the sax track on the song.

The inclusion of “PUT YOUR HAND IN THE HAND” was an interesting addition, but John pulled it off with it’s country/rockabilly sound before moving on to one of my personal all time favorites, “I’LL SEE YOU IN THE RAPTURE”.

John has been singing, “I’LL PUT ON A CROWN” since his days with Naomi & The Segos, and he turns in a slightly different, edgier version of the song.  Naomi never sang it like this!  Cool turnaround as well.

The recording closes out with a couple of slower tunes, “THE GALILEAN” (excellent performance) and “SWEET BEULAH LAND”.

Some of my favorite recordings are those that have brought back some of the older songs and it’s great seeing some of these great songs of the past brought back to life.  While there are several songs on this recording that seem to have been recorded over and over again, it’s great seeing a few of the more obscure songs come back.  While John did a great job reviving these classics, the overall quality of the recording is lacking a bit.  Some of the songs sound like they were recorded in a barrel.  I’ll be honest in that I am not sure if this was to be a table project or a mainline recording, but nonetheless, the quality could have been a better.  But, there is still a lot to like and enjoy about this release, and those who love these songs (like myself) will probably look over the aforementioned shortfalls and will probably just sit back and enjoy each song.

Personal Favs:  JESUS IS COMING SOON; SHELTERED IN THE ARMS OF GOD; PUT YOUR HAND IN THE HAND; I’LL SEE YOU IN THE RAPTURE; I’LL PUT ON A CROWN; THE GALILEAN

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