He Keeps Me Singing - Fast, fun song. The first part of the verse bears a striking resemblance to "In My Heart There Rings a Melody." 4 stars
It Is Well - Most of the tracks on this CD are fast and jazzy, but this is one of the few ballads. I think it would have sounded better with some runs, and stuff like that. But he plays it pretty "generically." A key change would have sounded good. 2 stars
The Old Gospel Ship - This is one of the best fast songs that Trey played. It's very jazzy, with fun organ and piano work. 4 stars
Farther Along - Personally, I like Kim Collingsworth's arrangement of this song, from the CD that came with the piano book An Artist's Soul, better. It was jazzier, and was more advanced than this one. The music with this version has a slow country feel, and I don't think that it goes as well with this song, as does jazz. 2 stars
Leaning On the Everlasting Arms - This track beats "The Old Gospel Ship." It starts out slow, and then suddenly gets fast. It doesn't haven't orchestration, just piano and percussion, but it's still very good. And it's here that you hear Trey open up more probably than on any other song. He does some fast piano work, which is fun and sounds really good. 5 stars
Amazing Grace - Slowing down the pace, with no orchestration or drums, which I'm not criticizing. This would have been a perfect song to open up on, but unfortunately Trey played it, again, very generically. The key change sounded good. 2 stars
Heaven Medley - Comprised of the songs "Heaven's Jubilee," and "When We All Get to Heaven," with basic accompaniment, fast, and fun to listen to. The drums are perfect, and this song might remind you of "Leaning On the Everlasting Arms" minus the cool fingerwork. 3.5 stars
In the Garden - "In the Garden" is one of my favorite hymns to hear on the piano. Like "Farther Along" there's a slow country flavor. Also like "Farther Along" I think I enjoy Kim Collingsworth's version better. Perhaps this is partly because I don't care for the light country swing. (One of my readers told me that perhaps it isn't fair to give a song a lower rating just because I don't the music. So, I'll say this: if you like slow country style, you might immensely enjoy Trey Ivey's version) :) 2 stars
The Unclouded Day - I don't have anything particularly special to say about this track. Fast, with nice strings accompaniment, and fun percussion. At times you can hear a touch of jazz in the chords. 3 stars
Jesus Medley - "What a Friend We Have In Jesus," and "Jesus Loves Me" are the songs that make up this medley. No orchestration, drums, guitars. Just piano, which is fine since this is a piano CD. :) Trey does some cool stuff on "Jesus Loves Me" which makes this the best ballad. One personal preference would have been adding another song to the medley. 4 stars
Comments:
Trey Ivey is a talented pianist. You can tell from a couple of the songs that he was not playing on the scale that he could have. If he had opened up and played to the best of his ability, it would have improved his project immensely. It's still a good album, a good CD to listen to on Sunday morning getting ready for church when you want something lighter. (My mom does that sometimes)
If you're in the mood for a lighter, simpler, project get it. If you want something more advanced, with an orchestra, runs and all kinds of fancy pianowork, I'd have to recommend something else. It all depends on your personal preferences and your personality.
CD Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Song Selection: 3 stars
Favorite Songs: He Keeps Me Singing, The Old Gospel Ship, Leaning On the Everlasting Arms, Heaven Medley, Jesus Medley
Performers: Trey Ivey (Pianist), Ron Fairchild (Additional Keyboards, Bass Guitar), Joel Key (Acoustic Guitar), Rex Wiseman (Steel Guitar), Fred Satterfield (Drums)
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