My Gospel Hymnal

This stunning collection is the perfect recording for fans of country and gospel who usually have to seek out music in each genre separately to satisfy their various spiritual needs. Like her more famous sister Reba McIntyre, Luchsinger has a powerful crystalline (and just a bit twangy) voice and benefits from wonderful arrangements and simple production choices by producer Billy Aerts. Luchsinger reminds you in her liner notes that she simply loves hymns, that "Next to the Bible, hymns are the best testimony of God's love and provision." She brings that sort of conviction to each performance, surprising the listener with her choices to do some songs in unexpected ways. Rather than overdramatize "Amazing Grace," for instance, she jumps into it as a speedy little banjo-fiddle ditty. Perhaps the power of the message is diluted a bit this way, but the truth of salvation is certainly more engaging this way. Others are given more majestic, slower, and more dramatic readings, like "How Great Thou Art" and "Blessed Assurance." In order to cover as much ground as possible, she does two three-tune medleys; the better of these is the swampy, swinging "There's Power in the Blood" medley, which includes "Victory in Jesus," "I'll Fly Away," and "When the Roll Is Called up Yonder." Luchsinger takes these traditional hymns into new dimensions, with a combination of deep spiritual longing and joyful playfulness. Also included are historical notes on the often fascinating origins of these tunes (which, it seems safe to say, many churchgoers don't know). ~ Jonathan Widran