Artist Name: Kevin Spencer
Website: www.kevinspencerandfriends.com

Album Title: “Remembering Rusty: Volume 1”
Song Titles:
1. Remembering Rusty
2. Leavin’ On My Mind
3. Who Am I
4. Look For Me
5. Family Band
6. He Chose Me
7. You Make It Rain For Me
8. Lord, Paint My Mind
9. Headin’ Home
10. I Wouldn’t Take Nothing For My Journey Now

Kevin Spencer is a name that is pretty well-known in Southern Gospel Music.  He traveled and sang with The Spencers up until 1992.  It was at this time that he started his own group, Kevin Spencer & Friends.  Kevin is also the owner and operator of the Some Dawning Music Co., Inc.

“Remembering Rusty: Volume 1” is Kevin’s attempt to honor his all-time favorite singer, Rusty Goodman.  This album contains songs either written or sung by Rusty Goodman.  It also includes one song, written by Kevin himself, as a tribute to Rusty.  Kevin uses several different background/accompaniment singers on the album, including Tanya Goodman Sykes, John Wesley Ryles, Liana Manis, Anita Anderson, and the other two members of Kevin Spencer & Friends: James and Starla Dean.

Now, let’s take a look at each of the songs on the album.

The opening song is the album’s title track.  “Remembering Rusty” was penned by Kevin Spencer himself, and it is a slower storytelling ballad that makes several references to songs that Rusty Goodman wrote during his lifetime.  Song #2 is the Rusty Goodman classic, “Leavin’ On My Mind”.  This is a slower ballad-style song that is sung very well by Kevin.  This leads into another Rusty Goodman song, “Who Am I?”  I’ll admit that this has always been one of my favorite songs.  It’s a slow song with a powerful message.

Song #4 is “Look For Me”.  Kevin is joined by Rusty Goodman’s daughter, Tanya Goodman Sykes, on this medium-tempo ballad.  The fifth song is called “Family Band”, and it’s the first uptempo song on the album.  It’s another “storytelling song”, chronicling how Rusty came to sing with the Goodman family.  The tempo then slows down for a Mosie Lister song, “He Chose Me”. 

The seventh song, written by Larry Stallings, is called “You Make It Rain For Me”.  It’s another slower song that must have been a common one in Rusty Goodman’s repertoire.  The tempo stays pretty much the same for Song #8, “Lord, Paint My Mind”.  This is another song with a powerful message.  Song #9 is another one written by Rusty Goodman.  “Headin’ Home” is one that will be familiar to long-time Gospel music fans. 

The closing song is the only other uptempo song on the album.  “I Wouldn’t Take Nothing For My Journey Now” is a favorite song of many people, and with good reason.  Once again, Rusty’s daughter, Tanya Goodman Sykes, sings with Kevin. 

Rusty Goodman was a gifted songwriter.  His songs have been sung for years, and they will continue on for many years to come.  Kevin’s renditions of these songs is very smooth.  You can tell he worked hard on this album, even going so far as to sound as much like Rusty Goodman as he could.  However, I have to point out what is probably the greatest deficiency of this album: the overabundance of slow songs.  There are only two uptempo songs out of ten on the album, and this makes it somewhat difficult to listen through.  If there is another “Remembering Rusty” album (as suggested by this one being “Volume 1”), then I hope there are several more medium or uptempo songs on it for variety and to make it flow more smoothly.  Overall, I would give this album a rating of 7 out of a possible 10 microphones!