Precious Memories

1	Blessed Assurance 1:56
2	Softly and Tenderly 3:17
3	I Love to Tell the Story 2:53
4	When We All Get to Heaven 1:44
5	'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus 1:52
6	In the Garden 2:54
7	Are You Washed in the Blood? 1:15
8	I'll Fly Away 2:13
9	What a Friend We Have in Jesus 2:16
10	Standing on the Promises 1:35
11	Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus 3:47
12	Leaning on the Everlasting Arms 1:34
13	The Old Rugged Cross 3:06
14	How Great Thou Art 3:32
15	I Want to Stroll Over Heaven with You 3:06

Barnes & Noble

It's not as momentous as the record Elvis Presley wanted to make for his mother in 1954, but the disc Alan Jackson recorded as a Christmas present for his mom turns out to be one of his finest moments. Here Jackson parlays his personable tenor and deep religious conviction into a 15-song revival service that is at once intimate, unassuming, and moving. Backed only by acoustic guitar, piano, and organ, with a smattering of background vocals (his wife and daughter join him on "'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus"), Jackson respectfully offers moving testimony on some landmark Baptist hymns, including: "Blessed Assurance"; the comforting hymn of invitation "Softly and Tenderly"; a spirited, acoustic guitar–driven rendition of the evergreen "I'll Fly Away"; and an emotional reading of "The Old Rugged Cross" that is as commanding in its low-key way as was Tennessee Ernie Ford's awesome, stentorian reading of nearly 50 years ago. Not the least of the treasures is a version of the oft-recorded "How Great Thou Art," heard regularly in country churches across the land -- with only a piano, lead voice, and backup singers, straightforward and stripped of bombast, its unambiguous message of devotion is made doubly potent in its stark rendering here. Tennessee Ernie's Sings 22 Favorite Hymns album, released in 1956, stayed on the Album Chart for 277 consecutive weeks. Precious Memories is unlikely to enjoy such a run, but no one who likes Alan Jackson will ever forget it. David McGee

All Music Guide

Ten studio albums into his career, Alan Jackson takes a bit of a breather with 2006's Precious Memories, his first ever gospel album. Not coincidentally, it's his quietest record to date, as hushed and reverent as a Sunday service, with each track boasting little more than a piano, acoustic guitar, harmony vocals, and maybe an organ. There may not be much musical variety to these spare, intimate arrangements, but they suit this set of sturdy traditional gospel classics, and they also suit Jackson, who always has been eager to pay respect to his idols and influences. On most of his albums, this reverence doesn't sound overly reverent since he does sing loose, rocking honky tonk and indulges in a sense of humor, two things that help illustrate his good taste. Here, every song is deliberately calm and consciously tasteful, which may make for perfect music for church, but hardly makes for a dynamic record. As the album rolls on, the similarity in tempo and arrangements gives the album a monotonous, sleepy quality; each individual track is well crafted and sincere, but taken as a whole, it all blurs together and winds up seeming twice as long as its 37 minutes. But even if Precious Memories winds up as something slightly underwhelming, there's no denying that this is precisely the album Jackson wanted to make, one that's consistent in tone and exact in its vision. It may not make for everyday listening, even an album that would be played every week, yet it would make a good soundtrack for a reflective, reverent Sunday afternoon. Stephen Thomas Erlewine