It's a treat when an artist were to drop a hymns album or a worship covers record once in a blue moon. Alan Jackson has recently done that and his serendipitous effort has been handsomely rewarded as """"Precious Memories Collection"""" spent countless weeks on Billboard's Christian Album chart at #1. Such efforts often allow fans to appreciate a refreshing spiritual side of the artist while the singer gets a recess from being pushed to release a new original album prematurely. But Guy Penrod has made a career of alternating between cover albums of hymns, modern worship songs and Christmas carols. Every album this former Gaither Vocal Band's former lead singer has had done fall into one of these three categories. \\r\\n\\r\\n""""Blessed Assurance"""" is part of this cycle as Penrod again revisits 11 hymns done in his inimitable country style. There's nothing wrong with a hymns album except that this is Penrod's third one with each released only a couple of years apart. Does Guy Penrod seriously want to make his career out of merely singing hymns and songs associated with other acts? Doesn't he want to own a repertoire of his own and leave a mark in the music industry? Does he really want to be relegated as a covers artist or to put it more crassly, a professional karaoke singer?
