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About Amy Grant
If you want to know Amy Grant's story, all you really have to do is listen to her songs. From the first time she picked up a guitar as a teenager and sang for her school friends, to the albums she's recorded that have racked up multiplatinum awards, Amy's always found a musical way to share her life. And in the process, she's not only become an icon in Christian music (and could, in fact, be credited with launching the genre) but also one of the most celebrated artists in pop music today.
Music was always a part of Amy Grant's life. She can still recall the thrill of a cappella singing at her family's Church of Christ services and later, as a teenager, discovering a freer musical expression with the young people in her school and church. In fact, one of Grant's first performances was at a chapel service for her fellow students. The event was pivotal for Amy -- it unveiled not only a musical talent, but a true gift of connecting with her peers. From that day on, Amy Grant was marked as an artist, a role model, a kindred spirit and a seeker. Through the next 25 years none of those titles ever faded away.
Although Amy Grant is truly a daughter of Nashville, she was actually born in Augusta, Georgia in 1960 during her father's doctor's residency there. Amy was still a baby when the family returned to Nashville. The youngest of four daughters, Amy and her sisters (Mimi, Kathy and Carol) grew up in a home of privilege, strong family loyalty and fervent religious faith. In church she learned the hymns and stories that would inspire both her life and her music. During her years at Nashville's most prestigious private schools, those inspirations found a home and an outlet as Amy began dabbling with songwriting and performing.
A Star Is "Discovered"
Like a Hollywood story, Amy's break into music came while she worked part-time sweeping floors and demagnetizing tapes in a Nashville studio. Her friend, producer Brown Bannister, allowed her to use the studio to duplicate a tape of her original songs that she wanted to give to her family. A Word Records company producer heard the music and, charged with finding new talent in Nashville, felt he had just "found it" and played the tape over the phone for his company executives. The seventeen-year-old was signed almost immediately.
Amy's first album, the aptly named, AMY GRANT, introduced the world to a fresh-faced and fresh-voiced young woman with a contagious faith and engaging spirit. Contemporary Christian music was still an undefined amalgam of gospel music, church hymns and the more provocative Jesus Music movement, but somehow this new foray that seemed to combine all three elements found a quick home. AMY GRANT the album, was a hit. And so was the woman who recorded it. Amy soon found herself traveling and singing across the country in churches, festivals, camps and schools. More albums followed in her burgeoning new musical career. FATHER'S EYES in 1979, introduced her to Gary Chapman, the title cut's songwriter and soon her opening act on tour for the following album, NEVER ALONE. Gary and Amy married in 1982. Two live albums (the second recorded with popular gospel rockers Degarmo and Key as her backup band) pushed Amy's musical envelope from her folky, singer-songwriter style into an edgier pop/rock category. It didn't matter to listeners. Christian music was growing. Amy Grant was the leader and fans were following every step of the way.Setting a New Standard
The year 1982 saw the release of what was to become Amy's signature album, AGE TO AGE. Record company execs stepped up the production and marketing of both the album and the artist, and the investment paid off. AGE TO AGE won Amy her first Dove Awards including Contemporary album of the Year and Artist of the Year, plus a Grammy win for Best Gospel Performance. Age To Age was the album that brought the songs "Sing Your Praise to the Lord," and "El Shaddai" to the modern church's hymnbook and sent Amy Grant on her most ambitious tour yet. The album's success led to the quick turnaround follow-up album, STRAIGHT AHEAD, which brought more sales records, radio #1's and Dove and Grammy wins, including a performance of the album's hit, "Angels" on the Grammy Awards national broadcast. It was a first for Christian music and for the Grammys, and certainly not the last time Amy Grant made news and made noise.In 1985, Christian music was a formidable force, but still a world within itself. Enter Amy Grant and a new concept, sort of: crossing over. Some early Jesus Music folks had tried to take their music to the broader mainstream world. In truth, most of them had begun in mainstream music and used that platform to introduce their faith-based music. Amy Grant was different. She was firmly entrenched in the gospel world and was ready to take her message to the outside world. UNGUARDED was the vehicle for that dream--an album made with "crossing over" definitely in mind. It also marked the beginnings of tension between those who thought crossing over was tantamount to "selling out the gospel" and Amy's desire to share her heart, her music and her faith in any arena that would listen--even if that meant pop stardom.
Breaking More Ground
And that's exactly what it did mean. UNGUARDED opened doors that Christian musicians could only dream about before. Her first single, "Find a Way," found its way onto mainstream radio and even birthed a video for MTV. The album charted in Billboard and Amy made her way through the maze of national publicity opportunities, including morning television talk shows, late night talk shows, afternoon entertainment shows and a host of specials, including her own CBS Christmas outing.
In her personal life, Amy became a mother with the birth of Matthew Garrison in 1987, while recording her next album, LEAD ME ON. The album passionately reflected the new turns her life had taken. Its unmistakable folk leanings and stark vulnerability of lyric marked it as a decided departure from UNGUARDED, yet the album seemed a very natural progression for this always surprising and innovative artist. In fact, it became Amy Grant's most critically acclaimed album. Her ever-present vulnerability, both in her music and her life, seemed even more poignant and her new maturity as she began the adventure of motherhood permeated the songs.
Two years later, Amy welcomed Gloria Mills ("Millie"), her first daughter and the inspiration for what was to become Amy's trademark and breakthrough song, "Baby, Baby." Recorded for HEART IN MOTION, the now multiplatinum album that made Amy a mainstream pop star, "Baby, Baby" was the first "Christian" music song to reach the coveted number one spot on Billboard's chart. A video for the song that celebrated the romantic over the motherly translation of the tune landed lauds from the MTV crowd, but controversy from some of Amy's older fans, who again saw her courting of a mainstream audience as a sell-out of her faith. Nothing could have been farther from the truth, but Amy didn't let the criticism rule her. As her celebrity grew, so did the opportunities. As Christian music's most well-known export, Amy became an ambassador for the faith and for the musical tradition that celebrated it. Amy Grant put Christian music on the map and was having no trouble keeping it there.
Two years after the birth of her second daughter, Sarah Cannon (named for beloved Grand Old Opry star and Grant family friend, Minnie Pearl), Amy's 14th album, HOUSE OF LOVE released. The album included the hit title cut duet with country superstar Vince Gill. Although not the multiplatinum blockbuster of its predecessor, the album hit double platinum and continued the trail that HEART IN MOTION blazed. Lighthearted love songs mingled with straightforward songs of devotion to God in a pure pop package proved again to be a winning combination.Life's Hardest Stretch
Three years later, life became very different for Amy Grant. Her 15th album, BEHIND THE EYES, released to critical acclaim, but lacked the upbeat quality of previous releases. Fans noticed and critics noted the "darker side" of Amy Grant and her music and soon the news of an impending divorce brought context to the brooding lyrics and music. The album very much showcased the natural ease with which Amy always poured her life into her songs, but for many the news of her divorce superseded any artistic catharses and led to rumors, speculations and chastisements. Amy weathered the storm, taking time to sort through the changes and recharge her family and musical callings. Amy did not enter the studio or hit the road again for two years.
Becoming a Holiday Tradition
They say the third time's the charm, but for Amy Grant, the release of her third collection of Christmas music, CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER, in 1999 was really just the continuation of an already grand tradition. Amy first stepped into the seasonal spotlight back in 1983 with the release of A Christmas album, a holiday offering that birthed her now classic and signature song, "TENNESSEE CHRISTMAS." Seven years later, Amy did it again with HOME FOR CHRISTMAS, a Yuletide ride that put another classic into everyone's holiday repertoire: the haunting and elegant "Breath of Heaven." Back in 1993, with two holiday albums under her belt, it seemed only natural to take the magic on stage. That year Amy, together with her hometown Nashville Symphony, started what became an annual tradition--Amy Grant's TENNESSEE CHRISTMAS--a live concert event filled with music, nostalgia, friends and the spirit of the season. To date, the annual tour has raised millions for many of the countless charities Amy supports.
It was also in 1999 that Amy tapped into her other talents and took a turn at television. She not only hosted her own prime-time network television Christmas special, Christmas to Remember, but she starred in the made-for-TV movie, A Song from the Heart. In the movie Amy played a blind music teacher searching for and finding love and meaning. In her own life, Amy did the same. In March of 2000 Amy Grant married Vince Gill, and a year later the family grew with the welcome addition of daughter Corrina Grant Gill.Celebrating The Journey
Today Amy is happily settled into another round of motherhood and celebrating the comforts of home and family. Approaching the anniversary marking her 25th year in the business of making music, Amy Grant has finally come full circle. A 2002 release, LEGACY HYMNS & FAITH, brings Amy both in her music and her faith back to her roots. A collection of favorite hymns (and some newly penned tunes) provides a nostalgic look back at the songs that, as Amy recalls, truly shaped the woman she is today and the truths she holds in her heart. Produced by long time friend and producer Brown Bannister, together with Vince Gill, the music is a comfortable mix of Americana, folk, bluegrass and gospel. Critics might call this musical move a departure for Amy, but in reality, it's a returning. Amy Grant is home again. And happy. And it is these songs that have provided the soundtrack for her life all along its journey.
Amy’s much-anticipated 2003 release, “Simple Things” was three full years in the making. Was it worth the wait? You bet. Emotional, honest songs, glistening productions, arrangements that sweep through fields of strings and settle into a nest of solo acoustic guitar—every detail of her seventeenth album exceeds the her standards, which are as high as standards come in this business.
Which brings Simple Things into full circle. From the personal to the global, from the playfulness of "Happy" through the impassioned duet shared by Amy and Vince on "Beautiful," Simple Things is perhaps the most intimate glimpse ever offered into her heart. With tracks brilliantly produced by Keith Thomas, Brown Banister and Wayne Kirkpatrick, this music seems to rush through storms and sunlight before coming to rest in "After the Fire," a summary of all that we've experienced on our own and heard on this disc—simple, soft, and quietly triumphant.
In the fall of 2004, the first “best of” collection from Amy to span her pop career, Greatest Hits 1986-2004 (A&M/UTV/UMe), was released featuring two new recordings, “Come Be With Me,” featuring Keb’ Mo’ and co-written by Beth Nielsen Chapman (Faith Hill’s “This Kiss”), and “The Water,” co-written by Grant and with husband Vince Gill on electric guitar.
Following on the heels of the GOLD certification of "Legacy...Hymns and Faith," Amy again released in May of 2005 a CD of hymns, “Rock of Ages.” The new recording contained several classic hymns such as, “Sweet Will of God,” “Abide With Me,” “Joyful, Joyful,” “I Surrender All,” as well as the title track, “Rock of Ages,” which is a duet with Vince Gill.
Today following 25 years of sharing her music around the world, Amy hosts her first primetime network television series “Three Wishes” on NBC. Wishes come true in the series providing the hopes and dreams of deserving people in towns all across America.
It seems a lifetime ago that a young Nashville girl picked up her guitar and her heart and decided she had something to say to the world. Today Amy Grant would tell you she never meant to leave a legacy, she was just doing what she loved. But those who have been touched by her and her music know differently. Amy Grant knows how to capture a heart. She's been sharing her life, her music and her faith for decades--and somehow, through that amazingly graceful and vulnerable spirit she's caught up thousands in her circle. And that's been the story of Amy Grant's life.
2008
interview with amy grant
Amy Grant's Advice to Young Stars: 'Stay Out of the Limelight'
The Christian music superstar says she made mistakes when she was younger--they just weren't shown on YouTube.
It may be hard to believe, but Grammy Award-winning music star Amy Grant is celebrating her 30th year of making music. Although some may know her best for her crossover '90s radio hits "Baby Baby" or "Heart in Motion" or her short-lived TV career hosting the reality show "Three Wishes," for most fans she is simply the Queen of Christian Pop. She recently published a collection of poetry, memories, song lyrics, and photos entitled, "Mosaic: Pieces of My Life So Far" as well as a compilation of her biggest songs, "Amy Grant: Greatest Hits." She also appears on Ann Murray's new album, "Duets: Friends & Legends," along with Carole King, Nelly Furtado, Shania Twain, and many other top female artists.
Grant, whose beauty seems to strengthen with age, sat down with Beliefnet to talk about her marriage to country singer Vince Gill, advice for today's female celebrities, battling depression, and her Christian faith. Watch video of the interview or read a longer version below.
In today's day and age, high profile couples don't seem to last long. How do you and Vince keep your marriage strong?
Vince and I both work hard. But what matters to us is being home and spending time together. We're not out chasing the places to see and be seen. The way that we protect our relationship is to communicate. That's the most important thing. And to try to not let very many days go by—hopefully not a day go by, but at least not more than a couple of days—without really talking. "How do you feel? What's going on?" When you're married, you start a good visit and that really can lead to great romance. That's the way that you connect with somebody—we talk and enjoy that friendship and that relationship. It keeps you [both] strong.
You handled success well when you began your career—much differently than a lot of today's young, troubled female celebrities. If you could sit down with some of these girls and give them advice, what would you say?
I'd say, "Stay out of the limelight." I mean, trust me, I had my own troubles. But it was a different time then. There wasn't YouTube. There wasn't some mistake that was played over and over and over again. I made mistakes and I made bad choices, but I was protected by people who weren't using my celebrity status.
Even bad news is good news. I feel protective of young women who are celebrities today because somebody makes a decision, and then the whole world discusses it and it's a top story on the news. And I want to go, "Would you do that to your child, Mr. Anchorman? Would you want the whole world discussing your young 20-something when they screwed up?" Because we all did it. Who has not made a bad decision?
So I wish I could provide each one anonymity. And just [tell them to] take a deep breath, try to surround yourself with people who you trust, and surround yourself with people who make good decisions.
Is it wise for us to celebrate these young celebrities as much as we do? We want to know all about them and then the media covers them—and their public troubles. Isn't it sort of a vicious cycle?
I know. It's a weird cycle because we all have way too much access to each other. But I don't think you can live any life at all and not have some understanding that life is a journey.
I was coming up right when Madonna did. Of course, I sang in churches and she was really pushing the envelope as far as being a young woman in her sexuality. But we were coming up side by side. I got so sick of people asking me how I felt about Madonna's decisions. Even as a young women, in my 20s, I would say, "From what I understand, we're all on a journey. And she may or may not look back on this as a great time in her life. But, in 30 years, she's not going to be the same woman. I'm not going to be the same woman." But that was a sheltered time.
It's strange—I mean, here I am doing an interview that's going to be on the computer, but I think we're all better to turn off the technology and turn off the TV and turn off our cell phones and, instead of watching other people live their lives, live our own lives.
Get outside. Watch the sunrise. Watch the sunset. How does that make you feel? Does it make you feel big or tiny? Because there's something good about feeling both. I think the more that we think we're in touch with everybody and everything, on some very basic level, we're becoming so disconnected from our humanity. And I think that that will run its course, just like every cycle has run its course, and then it'll swing somewhere else.
Do you think that there's a home for wholesome, inspiring reality TV?
TV is part of the American way of life. And from the short run I had doing the show "Three Wishes," even before an episode was ever aired, everybody on the crew would come to work and say, "Whew! It feels so good to have a job that I don't feel guilty about." We're not humiliating anybody. It created such a great environment on the set.
I think there was a great place for a show like that. That one came and went because the network, I guess, believed in it and then didn't believe in it. But I personally got a lot of response from people walking through airports or even now—and it's been a couple of years [since it went off the air]—families will come up and say that they loved watching a program that inspired them to get involved.
What's your weirdest memory being a Christian recording artist?
I'm married to a performer. He's in country music. He spent all of his teenage years singing in bars across America and finally made it to a big stage. I started my teenage years singing in churches across America, and finally wound up on a big stage.
We talk about it now and realize we were singing to all the same people. Because at every point in our lives, we find ourselves either pursuing faith or running from it. And all of us are all those people.
What always feels weird, what makes anything weird, is when you walk into a situation and you realize there's another agenda at work there that you didn't know about.
When I was young, I would show up to sing at a church and the young pastor would pick me up and take me out to dinner and I'd think, "Oh, gosh, he hasn't had a date in five years. I'm paid to be here, so I've got to go have dinner with this guy." Or to go to a music business meeting, and you walk in and you think it's going to be a bunch of songwriters and it turns into an Amway sales pitch.
In the book you say that in many aspects of your life, you're "not a good follower." How do you free yourself up enough to follow your Christian faith?
Following when it has to do with faith, has everything to do with a relationship with Jesus. That's how we get to God. You're following nothing if you're not communicating with whoever you believe in. I feel like the older I get, the more I want to follow. When I was younger, I just thought that my plans were probably going to be more exciting than my parents' plans or the establishment. I sort of got by on being a little bit of a rebel.
I've seen a lot of life. I've traveled the world. I've met interesting people. I've had great food. I've had great sex. I've had great emotional experiences. I've had incredible art experiences. I've had incredible music experiences. And at some point, there is nothing new under the sun. The spiritual realm and the spiritual frontier is the one thing that is never, "Oh, yeah. Been there, done that."
The Bible says, "Deep calls to deep." And I feel like anybody that just gives a passing glance to faith and says, "Eh, I'm not really ready to go there yet," it's because they got all this other stuff to try. And they're going, "I think the answer is in all this other stuff." I think that it was a benefit for me to have so many doors opened so young, and to get to experience so many of the good things in life, because it made me realize that's not where the answer is.
In the book, you talk about battling depression off and on. What do you do to help yourself come out of a slump?
It's so funny what age is doing. I never thought getting older would be so great. But when it comes to depression, I have experienced less the older I've gotten. And I think part of it is, there are things that I know to look for in myself. I know winter time hits me like a ton of bricks.
My great-uncle told us when were kids, "If you're born into this family, you need to go take a brisk walk every day." He didn't know what endorphins were, but he knew that we battled that downward spiral. If I will make myself get some exercise, that always helps. And then, invest in somebody else. That's not hard when you're part of a family. Even if I'm feeling like a piece of wood, I'll wake up in the morning and I just think, "Somebody's got to put the bacon on. I will feel better about this moment if I do eggs on toast with a little melted cheese for the kids." It takes about four minutes to make breakfast for your children in the morning. You start doing little acts of getting beyond yourself. Sometimes it takes days or weeks. But you just learn there is a process to getting out of a slump.
Tiny little things that you have to do, responsibility that you can't slough off, is good when you battle depression—making lunch for your kids, or having to do laundry because nobody has clean underwear. Rather than grind your teeth over it, go, "Thank God I have got to do this little task that makes me move." And the more that [I'm] used to the rhythms of [my] own life, the more I realize, as bleak as this feels right this minute, it'll pass.
Where do you most often find God?
Either being outside or looking outside. If I can just see something that's not manmade.
There's a great window in my hotel room here [in New York City]. I wake up in the morning and I push the curtains back and just lean my face up against the glass and look at the water. You can just look up at the sky and the clouds, or look at a tree or look at a flower. Anything that's separate from human creation. If you just allow yourself to start appreciating it, you go, "This is beautiful. This compels me towards something—toward gratitude."
Tell us a bit about being the spokesperson for the “Spread the Sharing” campaign.
Spread the Sharing was launched by Country Crock. It's a brilliant campaign to get people to care about each other. You can log onto to spreadthesharing.com, and for every person that logs on and tells any storing about caring—it can be doing something for someone, giving over a parking space, sharing a smile—a meal is given to Second Harvest Food Bank of America.
What's one of the most inspirational stories you've heard on this campaign?
Well, I just love the very average [stories]. "I shared an umbrella at the track meet and had a conversation standing under the umbrella, which inspired me to share a bottle of water, which inspired me to…" There was one teenage girl and she said that she was in traffic and racing around and somebody cut in front of her and she had a negative reaction. Then she said, "I just shared a smile instead." Intentionally putting out kindness changes the world we’re in.
How do you personally celebrate the power of sharing?
I encourage sharing in myself. I'm the mother of a blended family of five. So whether or not I'm trying to be a good person, just to keep the peace you have to teach children to share. I think a life based on giving is a much more meaningful, rich life.
What are some of the challenges you have raising a blended family?
I think that in any family, the most important thing to try to do is to maintain respect for each other, respect in how you communicate. Sometimes with family, it's where you're the most comfortable that you don't put out very much effort. You let all of your dirty laundry out. "I had a bad day. I don't have to posture for any of you guys. You're going to get the barrage of how I felt today."
[Instead,] it really starts with the older people under the roof to raise the bar and be respectful. You cannot yell at your children and expect them to treat you with respect. That's really the challenge and the blessing of trying to invest good things in your family.
SOMEWHERE DOWN THE ROAD 2010
Amy Grant CD Review
(by John DeGroff)
Amy Grant's new project, "Somewhere Down The Road", could almost be called a compilation. It's loaded with a sort of "collection" of almost unrelated tunes. Of the album's 12 songs, six are new, 2 are previously unreleased, there's a new recording of "Arms Of Love", and the project is fleshed out with three of her better known story songs.
I remember being given a copy of Grant's very first album-on vinyl, no less. She was a teenager when it was released, but since then, she has gone on to sell more than 30 million albums, and take home 6 Grammys in the process.
At this point, she could easily keep dong danceable pop stuff along the lines of "Baby, Baby". Thankfully, "Somewhere Down The Road' doesn't do that. Grant takes a shot at revisiting some of her past work, and presents new material loaded with depth and intelligence, proving she's a true artist, and not just another chick singer (albeit a well known one.)
The album begins with the laid back "Better Than A Hallelujah". Written by Sarah Hart and Chapin Hartford, Grant says of it, "I've loved this song since I first hear it. The honesty and vulnerability of the lyric reminds me to pray..." It's one of the new tunes on the project, and is definitely a thoughtful lyric:
God loves a lullaby in a mother's tears in the dead of night
Better than a hallelujah sometimes
God loves a drunkard's cry, the soldier's plea not to let him die
Better than a hallelujah sometimes
(also)
Beautiful the mess we are, the honest cries of breaking hearts
A woman holding on for life, a dying man giving up the fight
Tears of shame for what's been done
The silence when the words won't come
Are better than a hallelujah sometimes
(produced by Dan Muckala)
This is followed by "Overnight", another new tune where Grant sings with her 17 year old daughter Sara Chapman. The tune itself is somewhat Beatlesesque in it's back tracks, and is very dynamic. Written by Natalie Hemby, Luke Larid, Audry Spillman and Grant, she says of the tune, "I've been trying for sometime to find a song to sing with my daughter Sara. At 17 and 49, she and I see life from different perspectives. What I appreciate about this song is its simple perspective: if the good stuff happened over night, you wouldn't understand the value of it."
One of the project's first real stand out tracks is "Every Road", written by Grant and Wayne Kirkpatrick, who also produced. This is probably the most radio-friendly track on the album, and definitely shows the "pop" side of Grant's music she's best known for. I really like the chorus on this one:
Every road that's traveled
Teaches something new
And every road that's narrow
Pushes us to choose
And I'd be lying if I said
I had not tried to leave a time or two
But every road that lead me
Leads me back to you.
"Unafraid", the next stand out track, is done acoustically, is very laid back, and Grant sings it in a very husky voice that almost doesn't sound like her. Another one written by Grant and Kirkpatrick, the song is a sort of coming of age tune about the power of love. It's the simplicity of presentation that makes it work. Some of the best lines are probably also the most personal for Grant:
My lovely mother is getting on in years
And the way her body's aging brings her girl to tears
The way she trembles with each effort she makes
She just says heaven's getting closer each day
(produced by Grant, Mike Brignardello and Greg Morrow)
If this song doesn't touch your heart....well, forget the doctor; have someone call the coroner on your behalf.
Another stand out track that's almost kind of unexpected is "Third World Woman", written by Grant and Chris Eaton. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you", is Grant's only comment on the song. Given the fact that at any moment in time, there's no shortage of tragic situations in the world...there but for the Grace of God go I. Personally, I feel this is the album's deepest lyric, simple but piercing.
"what if I were that mother staring from my TV
What if that were my brown eyed baby
Hungry as she could be
What if that were my family
What if that was my world
Waiting on water, waiting on a vaccine
Waiting on someone to bring me a bag of beans
Lord have mercy on me....
(...the last verse really hits home...)
I was born in Georgia where i could do as I pleased
And I cam get my hands on just about anything I might need
Who's that third world woman maybe she could be
Could be mother, could be daughter, could be sister to me
(produced by Ian Fitchuk and Justin Loucks)
The aforementioned previously unreleased tracks are "What Is The Chance of That", a good country rock type tune written in 1996, and "Come Into My World", also from '96, presented acoustically and laid back. The album's title track, "Somewhere Down The Road", from 1995, is one of the better produced tunes on the album and is presented with a gospel music feeling. Other tracks include "Hard Times", which has a great chorus; and "Find What You're Looking For", another of the more laid back tunes on the project.
Grant's updated version of "Arms Of Love", written by Grant, Michael W. Smith and Gary Chapman, is produced by hubby Vince Gill."It's been 30 years since I first sang 'Arms Of Love'," Grant said. "What a treat to rerecord it in my 50th years. A little lower, a little slower...and still true."
The album closes with a medley of "Imagine/Sing The Wondrous Love Of Jesus". This is a great way to close an album and the medley is probably the best produced moment on the project. The "I can only imagine" theme, segues into a very mellow "Sing The Wondrous Love...", done with piano and voice. Produced by Brown Banister, and Vince Gill, it has a beautiful ending.
In mentioning Brown Banister as a producer, I think it's relevant to point out that he is the first producer who Grant worked with at the beginning of her career. It says a lot for her as a person and as an artists that she has maintained relationships with people who were there when she started.
It's also interesting that of all the producers listed on this project (Dan Muckala, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Mike Brignardello, Greg Morrow, Ian Fitchuck, Justin Loucks, along with Bannister, Gill, and Grant herself), there is a continuity that's practically seamless in recording quality, song quality and overall enjoyment and listenability.
Amy Grant's "Somewhere Down The Road" can stand along side anything else she's ever released, and in some ways the album surpasses her hits because of it's moments of simplicity and sincerity. Any Grant definitely knows who she is as a person, as an artist, and as a Christian.
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