The Rock
Artist: Tracy Lawrence
Label: Rocky Comfort
Website: http://tracylawrence.com/
  
It's nothing new for contemporary country musicians to record a personal gospel album. In fact, throughout music history country music's close kinship with gospel is well-documented. What makes Tracy Lawrence's The Rock, a departure is the lack of any gospel-style influence on this collection of likable, appealing songs. Not a single song carries a sanctimonious feeling of 'this is a Christian' song kind of feeling.  The album will be dismissed by most country purists for it's tasteful use of rock-influenced instrumental arrangements, but, like the prodigal son, Lawrence always returns the album to his country-roots. While the style is country-radio friendly, the center of each song is on the influence of Christ in the life of the writer and singer. For example, "I'm Done" takes the usual drinking, cheating and prison themes, but adds personal salvation through the Christian faith as the solution. A beautiful and unique song tells a cross-generational epic story of the journey of one Bible in one family, "The Book I've Never Read." It's song like these which call us to a deeper drink of this artist's first and hopefully not his last, album of Christian themed country-rock songs.   

Terry Roland