The Edwards Family travelled full time from 1974 to
1984. They recorded eight albums and
sold over 10, 000 copies. Later on,
father, Jim and some of his children put out three tapes. Here, I am reviewing the CD entitled THE BEST
OF THE EDWARDS FAMILY which has twenty-one tracks, with multiple songs on some
of them. It clocks in at 78 minutes and
50 seconds.
Starting things off, we have Jim’s son’s quartet, Willing
Vessel. Mark Edwards has a good
voice. ‘Faith of My Father’ is a nice
country ballad that includes these words: “Faith of my father is living in
me/Faith that God loves even me/In every song that I sing for You/There is
faith of my father in me.../There’s a day comin’ soon/When ‘Well done!’/We’ll
hear/From our heavenly Father/And we’ll never say goodbye again”. ‘Old Camp Meeting Time’ is a real
toe-tapper. It seems to be very similar
tune and sound-wise to the old Southern Gospel classic ‘Get Thee Behind Me
Satan’. These lyrics reflect on revival
in years past: “You can say what you want, you can say what you will/I’m not
crazy, I remember still/The time when gettin’ saved made some shout/And it was
old camp meeting time/It was old camp meeting time/The saints began to pray,
shoutin’ ‘Glory’ as they sang/It was old camp meeting time”.
‘Amazing Grace’ includes a great electric guitar solo and
testifies: “It’s amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like
me/And when I die I know that I will run into the arms of amazing grace”. ‘That’s Him’ speaks of Christ: “That’s Him,
He’s Sharon’s Rose/That’s Him, our Morningstar that glows/He’s Alpha, Omega,
the Beginning and the End/That’s Him”. A
dandy ragtime version, complete with horns, of ‘I Wouldn’t Take Nothing for my
Journey Now’ is next.
Track 5 on the CD begins the retro Edwards Family
material. ‘Say I Do’ was popularized by
Evie. Here, it is a nice country gospel
song that includes these lyrics: “Anybody here wanna live forever?/Say ‘I
do’/Anybody here wanna walk on golden streets?/Say ‘I do’/Anybody here sick and
tired of livin’ like you do?/Anybody here wanna home with love forever?/Say ‘I
do’”. Jim’s daughter takes the lead on
the popular chorus ‘Thy Loving Kindness’.
Here it is given the country gospel treatment. ‘Over the Next Hill’ reminds us that this
earth is not our home: “I’m sailing toward home on the old ship of Zion/I see
the lights upon the lakes across the misty fold/Angels guide my vessel till I’m
safe within the harbor/Captain guide my ship till I get home”. ‘Thank God For Daddy’ is delivered with
innocence: “I have a heavenly mansion where I’ll live forever and in that
heavenly city I shall see my dear Savior/But till I reach that place in
glory/My Daddy is with me/He’s the head of our home as spoken in God’s Word”.
‘More About Jesus’ is an old ballad that features nice
harmonies and is Christ-centred: “More, more about Jesus (2X)/More of His
saving fullness see/More of His love who died for me/More about Jesus let me
learn/More of His holy will discern”. It
is easy listening. April Joy delivers
‘Walkin’ in the Spirit’, an upbeat country gospel song of testimony: “I used to
walk with the wicked, talk with the foolish/Singin’ a song of the blues/No one
to talk to, no one to trust in, nobody gave a hoot/Well, they were too busy
even to see me and even know my name/But I was gettin’ fed up, my life was all
messed up/Thinkin’ the world was to blame/Then someone said Jesus loved me,
said He would save me/He’d come and live inside of me/Said He would help me, He
would do it for me supernaturally/So now I’m walkin’ in the Spirit, talkin’ in
the Spirit/Singin’ a song of praise/Prayin’ in the Spirit/Trust in the Spirit/
Happy all the day”.
Mark Edwards contributes ‘I Need a Friend’, an artistic rock
song. ‘Don’t Ever Let Go of My Hand’ is
a pleasant country gospel song that many will be able to relate to: “I just
came through a battle Lord and thanks to You I won/The dark clouds are
disappearing now and here comes the sun/I’ve been a long time in this valley,
but there’s a mountain just ahead/And I’ll make it with You holding my
hands”. ‘Be Not Afraid’ speaks of God’s
power to intervene in our lives: “Once my ship was sinking/’Twas the end I was
thinking/And there was no lifeboat ‘tween me and the sea/In despair I cried out
and plead/’Dear God, please save me’/’Twas then my Lord’s sweet hand of love
lifted me/He said ‘Be not afraid, ‘tis only the Master/Calmin’ the
storms/Removin’ all harm/Now be of good cheer/Your Saviour’s here now...”.
Jim Edwards sings lead on ‘Thank You Lord’, a great country
ballad that includes these thoughts: “Thank You Lord for Your blessings on
me/There’s a roof up above me/I’ve a good place to sleep/There’s food on my
table and shoes on my feet/You gave me Your love Lord and a fine family/Thank
You Lord for Your blessings on me”.
April sings lead on Track 17, ‘Born Again’. It is a cheery tune: “Born again, there’s
really been a change in me/Born again, just like Jesus said/Born again and all
because of Calvary/I’m so glad, so glad that’ I’ve been born again”. Jim sings harmony. Track 19 looks forward to a family reunion:
“Oh, there’s gonna be a meeting in the air, in the sweet by and by/I’m going to
meet you, meet you over there/In that home beyond the sky/What singing you will
hear, never heard by mortal ear/We’ll be glorious I do declare/And God’s own
Son will be the leading One/In that meeting in the air”. Track 20 is a more recent modern country
recording featuring April declaring her love.
It’s called ‘I Want You’.
Some of the lyrical themes on THE BEST OF THE EDWARDS FAMILY
include: seeking after Jesus, coming to the end of ourselves and falling into
the arms of Jesus, joy in the Lord and in being a Christian, a desire for all
to be saved, Jesus as Best Friend, loving our fellow man, Jesus as the Ultimate
Answer, and our hope of heaven as believers.
This project is family based, rated G, country gospel music. It will appeal mainly to the older
crowd. I’m rating it 85%. Jim Edwards, who will be 86 in October, plans
a tour of retirement homes in Eastern Ontario.
The Edwards Family will appear with The Torchmen Quartet on Wednesday,
June 24th, from 7-9pm at Music in Aurora Town Park on Wells
Street. For more info or to obtain a
copy of this CD for ten bucks, please contact Jim at: musicjim103@gmail.com.