Dave's Review

The Apostle Soundtrack:
Various Artists (Sparrow/Rising Tide)

Robert Duvall financed, directed and starred in a critically acclaimed movie called The Apostle that released in a few theaters in January (1998). Since it hasn't been distributed heavily, you may not be able to catch it at your hometown theatre. The Apostle Soundtrack album is more widely distributed, available in both Christian and secular music store outlets across the country. It is a good collection of various styles of gospel music, with an emphasis on country. Artists like Johnny Cash, Lyle Lovett and Lari White are joined by folks whose work you'd typically find in the gospel section like Steven Curtis Chapman, Sounds Of Blackness, Dino Kartsonakis and The Gaither Vocal Band.

Chapman wrote the only original song on the soundtrack, a pop tune called "I Will Not Go Quietly" that sounds remarkably similar to his previous release "Lord Of The Dance." A remixed version of "There Is A River" from the original Southern Classics album by The Gaither Vocal Band and "Waitin' On The Far Side Of Jordan" by The Carter Family add a Southern Gospel element to the collection. Since he had a finger in every other part of the film, Duvall even got in on the soundtrack performing a duet with Emmylou Harris on the hymn "I Love To Tell The Story." Black gospel backing vocals are mixed with a rollicking rockabilly accompaniment on Lyle Lovett's "I'm A Soldier In The Army of the Lord."

The recording contains 13 tunes. The first three cuts have a high energy level with complex musical arrangements. The next five are stripped down and mostly slow, emphasizing vocals over musical production. Then the energy levels escalate again (sometimes reaching a "frenzy" level) with "Victory Is Mine" (Sounds Of Blackness), "There Is Power In The Blood" (Lari White), "Ain't No Grave" (Russ Taff), and "I'll Fly Away" (Gary Chapman/Wynonna). A fitting country instrumental benediction "Softly And Tenderly" with Dino Kartsonakis on piano closes the album.

For the eclectically inclined fan of gospel music, The Apostle Soundtrack is one of few choices that offers a wide variety of styles. Having seen the film, I also recommend it highly. It's the only movie I've seen where an evangelist/pastor character is presented as a believable human being, and the church scenes make you feel you're an actual participant. See the movie. Buy the soundtrack.