Rise and Shine

1	Raise Him Up 4:03
2	Rise and Shine 3:02
3	When Mama Prayed 4:42
4	I'm Ready 2:56
5	Three Wooden Crosses 3:21
6	That's Jesus 2:57
7	Pray for the Fish 3:01
8	Jerusalem's Cry 3:56
9	Keep Your Lure in the Water 3:02
10	If You Only Knew 4:13
11	Everywhere We Go 2:32
12	The Gift 3:11
13	Valley of Pain 4:04

Barnes & Noble

Country traditionalist Randy Travis released one of the finest records of 2000 with Inspirational Journey, his first official step into the gospel field. On Rise and Shine, he again uses his wonderfully expressive baritone to weave tales of faith, redemption, and salvation. The characters that populate Rise and Shine are ordinary folks whose stories resonate as powerfully as they do because they're so genuine, like the four passengers in a fatal car wreck on "Three Wooden Crosses." Their stories, and the testimony of the lone survivor, are more gut-wrenching than most anything heard in Christian music these days. Surrounding this richly textured landscape of humanity is some fine country twang, from the rollicking title track, "Rise and Shine," to the gently uplifting "That's Jesus" and even the bluesy "Valley of Pain." Travis again works with longtime producer Kyle Lehning, maintaining a stellar partnership that has yielded plenty of winners in the past. Add Rise and Shine to that list. Lisa Zhito

All Music Guide

On his second gospel album, Rise and Shine, Randy Travis professes his faith within a traditional/contemporary Nashville setting. As steel guitars keen and fiddles whine, he delivers the message clearly, in his familiar unforced, relaxed style. Aside from "Everywhere We Go," a rousing call to resist secular efforts to "take your Commandments off the schoolhouse walls," these songs generally stick to the rusticities long associated with country Christianity, with evocations of Mama and fishin', a whiff or two of brimstone, and unsubtle wordplay ("The Son/sun's gonna rise and shine). The music is appropriately sentimental, though the slow-drag, saloon shuffle of "I'm Ready" sounds a lot more like Saturday night than Sunday morning. It adds up to a strong performance, presented with flawless studio clarity and persuasive, understated feeling. Robert Doerschuk