Traveling Light: Songs from the 23rd Psalm

Description

Traveling Light: Songs from the 23rd Psalm is a multi-artist project inspired by the writings of Max Lucado, released on Creative Trust Workshop in April 2002. The album was co-producer by Brown Bannister and Steve Hindalong of The Choir fame.

The parlaying of best-selling literary compositions into albums seems to be a fairly proliferative practice as of late, with texts as varied as Oswald Chambers’ classic devotional My Utmost for His Highest and Bruce Wilkinson’s contemporary best-seller, The Prayer of Jabez, receiving musical makeovers. Traveling Light, the fifth book by inspirational author Max Lucado to be set to music, stations veteran pop producer Brown Bannister and alternative Christian music mainstay Steve Hindalong at the songwriting helm. Given the duo’s critically lauded, and commercially successful, back catalog of songwriting, performance and production work, expectations surrounding the joint effort run understandably high. To that end, Sara Groves and PFR’s Joel Hanson lend their sparkling vocal talents to the infectious, acoustically-driven leadoff title track. In the same way, Jaci Velasquez’s breathy and ethereal singing is the ideal decoration for the shimmering pop of «In Green Pastures». And Bryan White and Michael Tait hold back neither enthusiasm nor grit for their heartfelt respective cuts, «I Shall Not Want» and «Following Me».

But if the more upbeat tracks, by and large, hit the mark, the slower offerings fare less admirably. Amy Grant’s «Gentle Shepherd» and Russ Taff’s «Let it Flow», although agreeably-tempered, nonetheless lack a certain distinctiveness, while the Derri Daugherty and Ellie Bannister lullaby «Rest in Me» is similarly pleasant but forgettable. Likewise, the pairing of alternative pop/rock duo Fleming & John with the classic hymn «Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us» falls just short of forming a comfortable fit. To their credit, Hindalong and Bannister offer up a well-thought collection of lyrics, and their considerable production savvy ensures that Traveling Light features no lack of candidates for singles radio airplay. But, in the final analysis, the collaboration lacks the endearingly quirky individuality of Hindalong’s previous efforts and the unrelenting pop sensibility of Bannister’s top works, making it a worthwhile, but ultimately unessential, acquisition. [Bert Gangl, The Phantom Tollbooth, 3/24/2002]

CD tracklist:

01. Joel Hanson (of PFR) and Sara Groves – Traveling Light
02. Amy Grant – Gentle Shepherd
03. Bryan White – I Shall Not Want
04. Jaci Velasquez – In Green Pastures
05. Mac Powell (of Third Day) – Mountain Of God
06. Christine Glass Byrd and Marc Byrd – I Will Not Fear
07. Fleming & John – Savior Like A Shepherd Lead Us
08. Russ Taff and Jenna Lucado – Let It Flow
09. Michael Tait – Following Me
10. Derri Daugherty (of The Choir) and Ellie Bannister Holcomb – Rest In Me