Songs Of Inspiration

Performer: Alabama
Engineer: Ed Turner; Alan Maggard; Mark Capps; Mike Bradley
Producer: Randy Owen; Randy Owen
Distributor: Sony Music Distribution (

Notes: Alabama: Jeff Cook, Randy Owen, Theodore Gentry. Personnel: Randy Owen (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Nathan Isaacs, Isaacs Bowman, Rebecca, Nathan Young, Jeff Cook, Melinda Doolittle, Ralph Stanley, Theodore Gentry, Ben Isaacs, Kim Fleming (vocals); Larry Paxton (guitar, electric guitar, nylon-string guitar, acoustic bass, electric bass); James Alan Shelton (guitar); Mark Casstevens (acoustic guitar, dobro, banjo, harmonica); Randy Kohrs (acoustic guitar, dobro); Steve Sparkman (banjo); Aubrey Haynie (mandolin, fiddle); Nathan Stanley (mandolin); Connie Ellisor, Carolyn Huebel, Mary Kathryn Vanosdale, Pamela Sixfin, David Davidson , Alan Umstead (violin); Dewey Brown III (fiddle); Bruce Christensen, Christopher Farrell, Gary VanOsdale (viola); Kirsten Cassl, Anthony LaMarchina (cello); Joey Miskulin (accordion); Gary Prim (piano, organ, synthesizer); Eddie Bayers (drums, percussion); Bailey Barnes, Belinda Wallace, Griffin Horton, Sawyer Burt, Carson Burt, Kensley Brewis, Emma Lutz, Karstin Brewis, Alexis Lutz, Jesse Lutz, Tyler Newton, Abby Fraebel, Ella Fowler, Kaden Horton, Michael A. Curtis (background vocals). Audio Mixer: Bart Pursley. Liner Note Author: Judy Forde Blair. Recording information: Maggard Sound Studio, Big Stone Gap, VA; Sound Shop Studios, Nashville, TN; The First Methodist Church, Fort Payne, AL; The Tracking Room, Nashville, TN. Arranger: Randy Owen. On their first full-length album devoted entirely to gospel music, country superstars Alabama stick to their familiar sound. Combining a handful of originals and new songs with a selection of beloved standard hymns, the band also makes room for the children's song "Jesus Loves Me," the Christmas carol "Silent Night," and, oddly, Red Foley's dead-dog weepie "Old Shep." SONGS OF INSPIRATION also features a duet with Dr. Ralph Stanley on his own "I Am the Man Thomas." By and large, 2006's Songs of Inspiration, Alabama's first foray into gospel music, is quiet and respectful, a record made with care and precision but certainly not without heart. The reverent tone may be reminiscent of Alan Jackson's spiritual album Precious Memories -- released eight months before Songs of Inspiration -- but where Jackson sought out unfamiliar traditional tunes, Alabama stick with the familiar, singing such standards as "His Eye Is on the Sparrow," "In the Garden," "Amazing Grace," "How Great Thou Art," "Jesus Loves Me," and "Rock of Ages," even finding ways to work "Silent Night" and Red Foley's "Old Shep" into the mix. Their arrangements are straightforward, slow, and spare, emphasizing their still-strong harmonies, and they serve the songs well, even if they do wind up sounding a bit samey. Naturally, this means that when they pick up the tempo, those songs tend to boldly stand out, which the rip-roaring duet with bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley on "I Am the Man Thomas" and Randy Owen's surging original "Rain" -- the song here that comes closest to the patented Alabama sound -- certainly do. These songs are so strong that it's hard not to wish that there were just a couple more like them, since that would give Songs of Inspiration a variety that would be welcome, but even without them this is a fine record, one that's expertly executed yet also clearly heartfelt. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The most successful country band of the 1980s and '90s, Alabama are notable for the fact that they ARE a band; before their advent in the late '70s, the idea of a self-contained mainstream country group was almost unheard of. Hailing from Ft. Payne, Alabama, the group parlayed its mix of country, pop, and Southern rock into 20 years of chart success, including a record-breaking string of over 40 number-one country hits. Along the way, Alabama blazed a trail followed by subsequent country/pop bands like Restless Heart, Diamond Rio and Lonestar.

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