James King “Gardens in the Sky: The Bluegrass Gospel of James King” (Rounder)

The Christian World has relied on the King James version of the Bible for centuries. Now the bluegrass world has its own James King rendition of all things gospel.

“Gardens in the Sky: The Bluegrass Gospel of James King,” was released last month by Rounder Records. It’s a generous collection — 18 tunes in all, but only six of them new. The remainder come from recordings by super group Longview, a Stanley Brothers gospel tribute CD and one from an earlier Paul Williams release.

King lives up to his reputation on almost every cut as Bluegrass’s Mr. Soul. Man, can this guy milk the guts out of a song. If the Supreme Court took a thoughtful listen to this gospel collection before rendering a ruling on a religious freedom case, who knows what could happen.

I’ve seen the tears pour down King’s face on more than one occasion during a stage performance. Sincere? Yeah, I’d have to say so. This bluegrass veteran gets deep into his songs and he pours his soul into the lyrics. It’s as if, at times, the songs consume him. So be it!

I listened a bit to a talk radio show in central Illinois last week and the topic was men who cry. What a subject, huh? Perhaps it was a slow news day, or perhaps the show’s host had his fill of yacking about gas prices, the question of honesty in the White House or the latest slug fest between Obama and Clinton. Nonetheless, one caller phoned the station with this comment: “When is it Ok for men to cry? When they feel like it!”

So there, James King, you and your tears have been exonerated — at least in one little corner of Illinois.

These are earthy soulful tunes on this CD that could have been performed by the Stanleys, the Osbornes, Flatt & Scruggs, a lot of the pioneer icons of bluegrass.

King has always taken a hard right turn to the traditional side of bluegrass, and “Gardens In the Sky” continues that trend. These are earthy soulful tunes on this CD that could have been performed by the Stanleys, the Osbornes, Flatt & Scruggs, a lot of the pioneer icons of bluegrass. Well, in fact, some of those folks did record some of the songs James King brings alive here.

I’m a huge fan of King’s long-time shadow on stage, Kevin Prater. Sure he plays mandolin fine, and he is adequate on guitar — but Prater’s strong suit is his incredible style of harmony singing. Talk about power vocals, this guy can literally generate a strong breeze (hurricane?) with his voice. So naturally, I enjoyed hearing Prater cut through loud and clear on some tracks of “Gardens In The Sky.” I particularly enjoyed “Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore,” which features a very recent lineup of the James King Band.

Another favorite is”I Just Steal Away and Pray,” penned by the great Albert Brumley. This particular version came off the earlier Paul Williams release by Rounder. This cut features long-time King banjo player Adam Poindexter and Jason Carter on fiddle.

This CD may disappoint some die-hard King fans who would have liked more new releases in the collection. But for folks who haven’t intensely followed King’s career and therefore don’t have a lot of these songs, it makes a nice addition to CD collection.