Jadon Lavik
Roots Run Deep
BEC Recordings
Grade – A+

To pick up a church hymnal is like picking up a biography of the old church. Like the Psalms, many hymns were birthed from faith challenged and faith lived. The division between classic hymns and modern worship can both bring a church together, and sadly, tear it apart. Personally, I believe that not breaking out a hymnal every now and then is a shame.

That's not to say that any hymnal project is worth doing. As a family, we have already recorded a few ourselves and a project like ours has its place. Not every hymns project is proper for a national release. However, for BEC Recordings artist Jadon Lavik, “Roots Run Deep” is a perfect project for a national release.

“Roots Run Deep,” was self-produced by Lavik, who states that the project was birthed out of a “deep reverence for the songs.” The recoding is a subtle acoustic-style album played primarily to the guitar and piano. The arrangements that Lavik lays out stay close to the originals while at the same time they are fresh enough to give the classics a new sound. There are a couple of songs that his arrangements give the classic hymns a new bluesy sound far from the traditional sound.

The combination of a love for hymns, and the classy arrangements, make “Roots Run Deep” a favored project in my opinion. For BEC Recordings this is Lavik's third recording.

Ken W.