May 18 – Various Artists – 30 Songs Of Peace (CD)

30 Songs Of Peace is a compilation of 30 mostly instrumental tracks previously released by artists signed to the Green Hill label. Artists include saxophonist Sam Levine, Mark Lowry’s touring pianist Stan Whitmire, alto singer Kathy Troccoli, pianist Jim Brickman, Smoky Mountain instrumentalist Craig Duncan, jazz singer Jaimee Paul, pianist/former first call record producer Michael Omartian, and several others.

The song selection comes from a variety of backgrounds including traditional hymns (“Softly And Tenderly”), spirituals (“Precious Lord, Take My Hand”), worship music (“Shout To The Lord”), classical (“Ave Maria”), and a few original works composed by the featured musicians.

As you’d expect with the word “peace” in the collection’s title, most of this music is understated and might rightly be described as “background” music. The quality is excellent, though, and useful for more than simply setting a mood while some other activity is taking place.

I confess that I generally find easy-listening albums boring and lacking in variety. 30 Songs Of Peace compiles tracks from various artists, so there is (thankfully) an adequate change of pace from one track to the next. The occasional song featuring a vocalist also helps to sustain interest. Even so, I doubt I would ever listen to all 30 tracks from this recording in one session.

Check out a few tracks for yourself using the Spotify player embedded below.

Rating: 4 Stars