Sold first via homey, warm television commercials, and now in stores, the album features the Mayberry RFD and Matlock television star singing a slew of classic Christian hymns with his warm bear hug of a voice.
Sold first via homey, warm television commercials, and now in stores, the album features the Mayberry RFD and Matlock television star singing a slew of classic Christian hymns with his warm bear hug of a voice.
Featuring 14 tracks and part or all of 24 Christian hymns like "Shall We Gather at the River," "The Old Rugged Cross," "Sweet Hour of Prayer," "How Great Thou Art," "Softly and Tenderly," and "Amazing Grace," I Love to Tell the Story isn't likely to give Newsboys or Rebecca St. James any competition for contemporary air play. But then, contemporary Christian artists aren't singing for the same audience that Griffith is.
I Love to Tell the Story was an instant hit, a testimonial to the power of television to create lasting images and memories. Andy Griffith never was sheriff of Mayberry or the iconoclastic southern defense lawyer he portrays in syndicated reruns of the Andy Griffth Show, Mayberry RFD, and Matlock. The real Andy Griffith was a Mt. Airy, North Carolina, native who for as long as he can remember has wanted to be an entertainer so badly he gave up plans for the ministry to pursue singing. Thwarted in his attempts to succeed big in song at a handful of New York theater auditions in the early 1950s, Griffith became a spectacular success in episodic television, made-for-TV movies, and a few theatrical films including this fall's spoof Spy Hard. Yet the Andy Griffth the masses know is forever the man teaching young Opie a lesson in life, or the courtly but tough-as-nails lawyer fighting injustice. It's those images and that sell I Love to Tell the Story.
Is it a good album? Depends on how you define the question. Griffith's voice is solid, though unspectacular. There are no new arrangements here and the technique of melding two or even three songs into one track is overused. But if by "good" you mean will people enjoy it, the answer for a large number of people is yes. Perhaps they remember the good ol' days. Perhaps they imagine Sheriff Andy taking Opie to church and belting out the sacred hymns alongside Aunt Bea. Griffith's just glad for the chance, finally, to sing.
"At the ripe age of 69, Mr. Jesus let me become a singer again," he says. "I do believe my voice sounds better than when I was young -- maybe it's like old wood and wine, improved with age."
Bill Hobbs is a frequent music reviewer for Christian publications.
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