Randy Travis: Glory Train

Released in 2005, Glory Train is Randy Travis' second worship album, following up 2003's Worship & Faith. Travis first worship CD featured a blend of classic hymns, camp meeting songs and contemporary worship songs. Glory Train expands on that by adding some traditional spirituals to the mix.

The CD opens with "This Train," the first of five songs by Sister Rosetta Tharpe. This song is fantastic, and gets the album off to a great start. "This Train" and "Up Above My Head (I Hear Music in the Air)" are my two favorites among the Rosetta Tharpe songs. The other three, which are also very good, are "Precious Memories," "Down by the Riverside" and "Nobody Knows, Nobody Cares."

My overall favorite track on this disc is a cover of "Through the Fire" by the Crabb Family. The Crabbs provide backup vocals on this song, which was written nearly a decade ago by their father, Gerald Crabb. "Through the Fire is a beautiful song about trusting God to lead us through life's trials. Travis also covers another Crabb classic in "Oh Death," about Jesus Christ conquering the grave and how we no longer need fear death. The Blind Boys of Alabama also make a guest appearance backing up Travis on two songs: "Swing Down Chariot;" and "Up Above My Head."

Glory Train also includes three contemporary worship songs covered by Travis. My favorite of the three is "The Heart of Worship" by Matt Redman. This is a beautiful song about getting back to what worship is really all about: loving Christ and remembering that it's about Him, rather than about ourselves. Travis also delivers lovely renditions of "Shout to the Lord" and "Here I Am to Worship." I love the idea of crossing over songs between different styles, whether it's Contemporary Christian artists covering classic hymns and southern gospel songs, or southern gospel and country artists adapting the contemporary worship songs to their own style. Randy Travis has done an admirable job of covering the contemporary songs on both of his worship albums.

Among the five hymns featured on Glory Train, my personal favorite is "Precious Lord, Take My Hand," the album's closing track. This song offers a humble plea for God to pick us up when we fall and lead us home. What a great way to end this album. I also love "O How I Love Jesus," which was one a huge favorite from the church I grew up in, and we sang it frequently. Travis also delivers excellent renditions of "Since Jesus Came Into My Heart," "Nothing But the Blood" and "Are You Washed in the Blood?"

Glory Train features a lot of great acoustic arrangements on these songs, as did Worship & Faith. One notable addition on this album is the inclusion of some orchestrated strings which bring a little added beauty to an already lovely CD. I just love the strings on the intro to "Here I Am to Worship."

Randy Travis has delivered a great worship album in Glory Train. This is an excellent follow-up to Worship & Faith, and a fun stop on Travis' inspirational journey. This is a great album for lovers of country music, gospel/Christian music and good music in general. I look forward to another worship album from Randy Travis, hopefully in the very near future.

Here are reviews of other releases you might be interested in:

Randy Travis: Worship & Faith CD and DVD

Alan Jackson: Precious Memories

Michael Sweet's Worship Album: Him

Jeff Deyo: Surrender