Ronnie Milsap – Then Sings My Soul
Apr 6, 2009 CD Reviews
Ronnie Milsap
Then Sings My Soul
Star Song Music
Grade – A
As a child, my father was the master and commander of the radio, whether it be in the house or the car. Therefore, I grew up listening to country and western music, or what I would now call “classic” country. The kind of country that often sang of the Gospel. One of the artist I remember listing to during this time was Ronnie Milsap. When I first saw Milsap on TV promoting his new CD, Then Sings My Soul, it brought back a flood of memories from that time. I thought immediately how awesome it was that Milsap was now recording a Gospel album.
Like I said, many a country singer would sing the Gospel while their private lives were either contradictory or not really known (or promoted). I do not remember anything negative about Milsap’s lifestyle so that kind of puts him in the second realm of my statement. With this release, Ronnie is professing that his faith has always remained an important part of his life.
In his bio, Ronnie recalls an interesting story of how his parents would take him to revival after revival hoping to have him cured of his blindness. When the intervention did not cure him, his parents assumed that it was a lack of faith on his part. However, as I noted, Ronnie states that his faith was “unwavering.”
While the new CD contains classic hymns the arrangements are new and interesting. This is evident from the start of CD 1 with “I’ll Fly Away” which has been recorded at a much slower tempo than usual. There are also a couple of mainstream songs that show up on the album including “What a Difference You Made In My Life,” and “Stand By Me,” the later of which has new lyrics tagged to it that make it a fitting praise song. There are also at least three newer songs, including “Up To Zion” which has a revival type sound.
Overall I love the traditional songs and the new arrangements. The combination of the vocals of legendary Ronnie Milsap, the new songs, and the new renditions of the two secular songs, all together add character to the album that in turn reignites the classic hymns in a new and interesting way. For more information check out www.ronniemilsap.com.
- Ken W.
Tags: Ronnie Milsap
