Song Title		MP3 Price
1	Psalm 90 (Before the Mountains Were Born)	Listen	.99	Buy MP3
2	Psalm 146 (The Lord Shall Reign Forever)	Listen	.99	Buy MP3
3	Psalm 40 (As For Me)	Listen	.99	Buy MP3
4	Psalm 16 (Preserve Me O God)	Listen	.99	Buy MP3
5	Psalm 63 (Because Your Love is Better Than Life)	Listen	.99	Buy MP3
6	Psalm 128 (Blessed is the Man Who Fears the Lord)	Listen	.99	Buy MP3
7	Psalm 118 (Give Thanks to the Lord)	Listen	.99	Buy MP3
8	Psalm 27 (The Lord is my Light)	Listen	.99	Buy MP3
9	Psalm 33 (Rejoice in the Lord)	Listen	.99	Buy MP3

Joe Hand explains the reason for "Psalms":

If you are wondering why I chose to do a "Psalms" project, I'll tell you. I was sitting in Church one day, listening to a cantor sing a truly miserable Psalm. It was AWFUL. She had the most beautiful voice... but the setting for this Psalm was dreadful. No earthly voice could save that song. I know of a couple of nice versions of psalms, but by and large, there aren't many. Most only take a couple of lines from the Psalm itself, and then the songwriter takes EXTREME liberty with the rest of it. It was time for a different approach. After conquering my fears about venturing into the political minefield that is Bible territory, I picked up Psalm 16, and it REALLY SPOKE TO ME. The line "I have no good apart from you" just blew me away. The song was done in 20 minutes. The recording took months, but the song itself was done quickly. If it matters to you, I compared various texts: the NIV, NRSV, ESV and the Ignatius Press Bible. These seem to be the most common, and the incredible thing is… the Psalms in each are dangerously close in translation. For all the differences in these texts, the Psalms had tons of common ground. So I embarked on my Psalms journey. My goal was to get as much of the text as possible into each without taking any "interpretive license". I hope the Lord is pleased with my attempt to set these ancient texts to modern music. This has been an incredible challenge, and (I believe) great success for me, musically and spiritually. On a personal note, I will say that if you have any issues with the text, please take it up with someone smarter than me. Ask lots of questions, but beware of anyone with answers.

I was really impressed with Joe Hand’s last release in 2004, Everything and Nothing. In it you could hear how his songwriting and his guitar playing have grown through the years. (I was privileged to see him and Tony Melendez together and the guitar playing was excellent then.) Hand has the kind of talent that in the secular world would make him a pop star and bring in the big bucks. But God had other plans for Joe Hand and he is following them with a true Catholic ministry. He's sharing God’s word. What a better way to do it than to take the "songs" from the Bible. In the Old Testament the Book of Psalms is a collection of 150 ancient songs. King David wrote them and Hand has adapted several of them into a collection simply titled Psalms. These psalms are adjusted only slightly to give the wording a more friendly feel, but the meaning that was intended so long ago is still there. The CD opens with the smooth Psalm 90 (Before The Mountains Were Born). Highlighting Hand’s singing talent, this song reminds us that Our God is alive and always will be. We can always go to God wherever we are. He'll be with us if we ask. We hear in Psalm 27 (The Lord Is My Light) that we should not fear because God is with us in the good times and the bad. It is thought that this psalm may have been written right after David defeated Goliath, and Hand echoes that in the chorus: “The Lord is my light and my salivation, whom should I fear...” I promise you that you will get goose bumps the way I did when I heard Hand play on Psalm 63 (Because Your Love Is Better Than Life.) In this song about being thirsty for God, Hand proves that he is truly a talented musician. The haunting guitar speaks in its own language through his hands. I can't wait to see what Joe Hand comes up with next.

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More than a CD-a true devotional! 11/30/2005 -

Reviewer: Pattie C. - Franklin, TN