Search - Old Old Story :: The Old, Old Story - Traditional Hymns In Modern America

This mediocre collection of classic Christian hymns is sung in 2001 not particularly enthusiastically by the congregants of two churches in Missouri. Producer Dale Wiley's liner note to The Old, Old Story: Traditional Hymns in Modern America sheds some light on the reason for this particular collection. Wiley believes that "the church has moved away from the hymns that were once the most universal touchstone among many fractured denominations." This is a lovely sentiment, though it is a shame that these performances are so utterly banal and poorly recorded; there are "field" recordings from 50 years ago that sound better. If you really want to experience that old-time religion, may we suggest the performances collected on How Can I Keep from Singing, Vol. 2; E.C. Ball with Orna Ball and the Friendly Gospel Singers; Sacred Harp Singing; and, for the adventurous, Fred McDowell's Amazing Grace: Mississippi Delta Spirituals by the Hunter's Chapel Singers Of Como, Mississippi. --Mike McGonigal