1. HEART AND SOUL (Gray/Lawter/Radford)
2. GOING DOWN THE ROAD FEELING BAD (Arr.
by: Gray/Lawter/Radford)
3. EYE IS ON THE SPARROW (Arr. by:
Gray/Lawter/Radford)
4. GIVE UP (Goodman)
5. MOMMA DON'T CRY ANYMORE (Gray/Lawter/Radford)
6. SINGING WITH THE SAINTS (Rowsey/Starnes/Williams)
7. THOUGH MY EYES ARE BLIND, MY HEART CAN SEE (Arr.
by: Gray/Lawter/Milner)
8. ONLY BELIEVE (Wriggins)
9. WAYFARING STRANGER (Arr. by: Gray/Lawter/Milner)
10. HE'S ALWAYS THERE (Love/Stone/Winans)
11. WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN (Arr.
by: Gray/Lawter/Milner)
12. BEAUTY OF LIFE (Milner)
Released in 1999 after several years in the making, "Gospel" pays homage to Doug Gray's roots. Several original tunes compliment traditional songs. Several have the Tucker sound while others have a real church feel. All capture the essence of Doug Gray's vocals (except, of course, the one song he doesn't sing!). Going Down the Road Feeling Bad leaves you feeling nohing but good. It's infectious riffs and vocals can't help but pick you up. This would have sounded at home on any Tucker album. Teh same could be said for Wayfaring Stranger and Will the Circle Be Unbroken. The latter is a tune Tucker closed with during the bad's hey day. The former is a haunting song; made so all the more by David Muse's flute which sent a shiver down my spine. Though this version is different from the one they did 20 years ago, it is still Tucker all the way. Momma Don't Cry Anymore is a real tear jerker that would have fit right in on "Just Us" or "Greetings From South Carolina". The highlight of His Eye Is On the Sparrow is the debut of Doug's daughter, Gabriella, on backing vocals. Appropriately, her voice is angelic. It absolutely captivates me. I hope we hear more from her in the future! Beauty of Life is perhaps Rusty Milner's best song ever. It features lead vocals by Tim Lawter, and with no offense to him, I wish Doug had sang it because it's as if it were written for him to sing.
The songs rounding out "Gospel" are moving and uplifting. Not your typical Tucker fare but delightful none-the-less! I'm especially fond of the Tucker original Heart and Soul! I think it would have been the perfect song for Christian radio. Unfortunatley, this CD received virtually no promotion and as a result amkes it a buried treasure.
- Craig Cumberland