Acoustic, 2003

This CD by Sammy Horner offers a lot to the listener. It's an intriguing blend of sounds. Several of the songs have more of a country sound to them than a traditional Celtic sound. Others tend to flow in more of a traditional Celtic sound. However, this CD offers a lot more than just the blending of styles.

The entire project comes across as raw and live sounding but this serves only to add charm. Even the cover art has a straightforward quality with a simple Celtic cross imposed over a green background. The CD takes on the feel of having friends over to your home, sitting around and playing music. Of course, in this case the friend has the considerable talent of Sammy Horner. The songs themselves offer the listener a positive, happy set as they focus on the grace of Christ and the joy of life in Him.

Some of the songs come across as a Celtic blessing being prayed over the listener. Others have a playful quality such as "Pobody's Nerfect" (spelling intentional). Horner's vocals are also interesting as sometimes there is almost a Dylan-ish quality to the work. Another track of note is "Blessed Trinity", in which Horner uses great metaphors to capture the idea of the Trinity.

I hesitate to describe this CD as "simple", because it carries with it a connotation of work that does not measure up to the standard expected. But this work has a simple quality that exceeds expectation. The combination of the live feel of the music and the direct song writing make for a great piece of work.

It took a few times of listening for me to adjust to Sammy's style but once I did, I really began to enjoy the work and for a listener who enjoys acoustic music, I recommend giving it a listen.

You can learn more about Sammy Horner at ICC Records.