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Randall Goodgame's album The Hymnal is an eclectic mix of differing arranged hymns--some old and some written himself. This collection begins with Charles Tindley's "Leave It There." Kick started with a fiddle, this song is a delightful bluegrass feast. Backed beautifully by harmonies from his wife Amy with Loretta Brank, they sing "If you trust him when you're down / He will surely bring you out / Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there."

The next song is "This is My Father's World," and a new term can be pinned here. You may have heard of the "No Depression" crowd, but here is an example of a piece from the "40 Acres" crowd. That term would refer to the group of musicians who are derived from the members of Caedmon's Call. Be it tour mates, producers, artists on Cliff Young's "Watershed Records," songwriters, co-performers on albums. Nevertheless, there seems to be a whole family of artists who have come out of this movement. This song is a perfect example. Randall is joined here with Andrew Peterson, his wife Jaime on vocals; Andy's right hand man Gabe Scott on hammered dulcimer; and from Caedmon's Call, Todd Bragg on drums and percussion--easily the highlight of the album. The dulcimer is simply amazing, joined with very artful percussion, a joyful penny whistle, all forming the music under a chorus of beautiful vocals declaring "This is my Father's world / Why should my heart be sad? / The Lord is King, let the heavens ring / God reins, let the earth be glad!" A delight that alone is worth the cost of admission.

Next is an offering from Randall's own songwriting called "John 11." This song illustrates how we are dead and hopeless like Lazarus, but when we cry out to God, He calls us out of the grave. Next is "I Need Thee Every Hour." On this track Randall is joined by a choir, comprised of some of his friends. This gives it a warm uplifting feel, assisted again by the penny whistle. This song is followed by Hank Williams' "House of Gold," performed acapella. "Guide Me O' Thou Great Jehovah" is a very familiar hymn, led by a hand drummed snare and banjo, giving it a great folk feel. Up next is "In the Cross," a raw reading. It produces the feeling of being in the corner of an old church, singing from a dusty hymnal. The listener can even hear the pedals from the piano and the buttons on the French Horn.

The album ends on two songs from Randall's own songwriting. "The Wind" is about God continuing to chase him though he knows he hasn't been faithful. He sings "I was standing at the gates of hell / with a heart as black as coal / and you saved my soul,/ so I sing...." Here it's just Randall on the piano, singing at the top of his lungs. This style continues in "Jerusalem," the best of Randall's own, really showing that he has great songwriting ability. This one is about how Christians are considered the New Jerusalem. It declares "I am Jerusalem, I am the temple of the Lord / Holy of Holies, the Lord dwells within / Lord God Almighty, maker of men."

The final track is the audio from a video recording from Randall's grandfather's 80th birthday. His grandfather sings the hymn "Sweet Story of Old," and his aunt explains how the song is special to the family. This really captures how intimate an album this is. It fits in like the Sunday family lunch after an old country church service.

This album does a good job on putting together a collection of hymns, involving a wide spectrum of arrangements. Randall's own songs manage to mix very well with the old, but the main drawback would be the project's length, only about 30 minutes of actual music. Nonetheless, this will be one of the best albums to be released this year. A delight.

Matt Kilgore 6/2/2002