Artist: Paul Lancaster
Project Title: My Tribute; The Classic Songs of Andrae Crouch
Label: Daywind
Producers: Tyrone Dickerson

Southern Gospel Music would not be much without the songwriters. Of course, without the songwriters, there would be nothing for the singers to sing. Southern Gospel has been blessed with many prolific writers over the years. Writers like Bill and Gloria Gaither, Dottie Rambo, Albert Brumley, Stuart Hamblen and many others have been well chronicled in the archives of Southern Gospel Music. Another writer who made significant contributions to the industry is Andrae Crouch. Recently, Booth Brothers vocalist, Paul Lancaster recorded a project that is a tribute to this great songwriter.

The project starts out with the lively “I’ve Got Confidence.” I have always loved this song that reminds that no matter what comes our way that we do not need to worry because we can confidence that God is going to see us through our difficulties. One of my favorite songs written by Andrae Crouch is “The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power.” This powerful song about the Blood of Christ is an amazing reminder about the power in the Blood of Jesus and there is no doubt that the power of the Blood will never diminish of be lost! “My Tribute” has been recorded by a number of artists over the years and I love that song. What a glorious song of thanks to Jesus Christ for everything that He has done for us and while we could never express it fully in our own words, this song does as good of a job as I have ever heard of doing so.

“Soon And Very Soon” is an upbeat song that proclaims the coming of the Lord is very soon! Paul does a great job singing all of the songs on the project and I especially enjoyed his version of this old classic song. I would have to say that Andrae’s most known song is “Through It All.” I can only imagine the number of people that this song has touched over the years. I would include myself in that number as this song has spoken to me numerous times throughout my life. God will be there through all of life’s situations and He will guide us through them. The next song on the project is “Take Me Back” and I love the message of this song that asks Jesus to take us back to that moment when we first believed in Him. Sometimes we just need to go back to that day and start over and only Jesus can do that for us. Another of Andrae’s song that I have always loved is “Jesus Is The Answer.” What an amazing reminder that Jesus is the answer for the world today. He was when this song was written in 1973 and there is no doubt that He still is today!

Have you ever just stopped to think why Jesus would love you? I have wondered before why He would love me and why He would choose me to die for. However, I surely an glad that He did die for me and Andrae Crouch said all of that too in a song titled “I Don’t Know Why Jesus Loved Me.” Another great worship song from the pen of Andrae Crouch is “Bless The Lord, Oh My Soul.” I have loved this song for years and until this project arrived, I never knew who wrote it! The final song on the project is “Let The Church Say Amen.” This was the only song on the project that I was not familiar with. However, it is a great song as it reminds that whatever Jesus Christ has spoken, let the church just say amen!

If you take ten incredible songs written by Andrae Crouch and then add a powerful vocalist like Paul Lancaster to sing the songs, well, that is a recipe for success! I cannot even express how much I have enjoyed listening to this project and reliving some of my own great memories of these songs. My personal favorite songs from this project are “I’ve Got Confidence.” “Through It All” and “Jesus Is The Answer.” In all honesty, this entire project is full of favorites so you cannot possibly go wrong with adding the CD to your own personal collection of music. For more information on Paul Lancaster, visit the Booth Brothers website at www.boothbrothers.com.