Alan Jackson: Precious Memories : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Nashville megastar Alan Jackson sings in a rich, restrained baritone that helps give even his rowdier songs a touch of classic-country elegance. That voice is at its most sensibly sturdy on Precious Memories, a collection of fifteen gospel hymns Jackson originally recorded as a gift to his mom. These graceful acoustic renderings avoid any hint of CMT flash or CCM ickiness: Take the God out of "In the Garden" or "I Love to Tell the Story" and they could work as spare change-of-pace ballads on another Jackson record, and even with the God left in, the gently rollicking "I'll Fly Away" would have fit nicely on the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack. Still, most of the material packs as much churchy tedium as simple charm, and Precious Memories is likely of limited interest to anyone who's not a fan of the originals, a Jackson devotee or the singer's mama.