Kenny & Amanda Smith Band – Tell Someone

Kenny Smith, formerly an award-winning guitarist with the Lonesome River Band, has been performing with his wife Amanda since leaving LRB in 2001. This gospel project was made all the more poignant when Kenny’s father passed away the week before they went into the studio to record. “Shoutin’ Time” commands attention as it alternates between the minor key of the verses and the major key of the chorus. Similarly upbeat are “Stepping On The Clouds”, “I’ve Got More To Go To Heaven For”, and Wade Mainer’s “I Can’t Sit Down”. More subtle and introspective are “Tell Someone How Precious He Is” and Craig Market’s “Mary Had A Little Boy”. Clay Hess’ “I Know Why” contemplates the purpose of the crucifixion and finds the following explanation: “For me, for me, for everyone that’s ever drawn the breath of life/He could see me in His mind/He knew He had to die, if just for me.” This is not a token gospel album in a string of hard-living bluegrass records. It’s clear Kenny & Amanda Smith believe what they’re singing; this collection is a witness to their faith.