This CD just gets better each and everytime I listen to it. I find a new 'favorite song' everytime I listen to Duets. This CD is the perfect gift for the holiday season! The Duets CD is a rewarding mixture of superb contemporary musical artists.

I’ve often said that only two good things ever came out of religion: art and music. The Blind Boys of Alabama have proven the former to be true with their Grammy-winning gospel. Collected on this anthology are fourteen tracks of the group’s collaborative work. Most of the tracks have already been released on the albums of other artists; however, there are three previously unreleased tracks, including a great song titled “Jesus” which finds the fellas teaming up with Lou Reed. Most of the tracks hit (“None Of Us Are Free” with Solomon Burke; “Take My Hand” with Ben Harper; etc.), but there is a miss or two (“Nothing But The Blood” with Jars of Clay). Still, those couple of misses are because of the collaborator the Blind Boys are working with, not because of the work the guys themselves are contributing to the track. The rest of the album is such a solid collection that it almost makes me want to believe.

The new Blind Boys album Duets is a great listen - with so many great artists contributing to the project with varying degrees of backgrounds. Never thought I would see Lou reed and Randy Travis on the same album but it totally works. The Blind Boys put their stamp of gospel into each of the artists appearing on the disc. The Toots track is not to be missed!