“The Fox Sessions” has some great moments.This medley of “Wonder as I Wander” And “How Can I Keep From Singing” was recorded live for the deluxe edition of Assad’s latest album Inheritance. “The Fox Sessions,” as it is called, employs a smaller ensemble and slight alterations to arrangement to produce an intimate interpretation.
Audrey speaks about the inspiration for Inheritance on her website:
I made Inheritance in the midst of a weird and blurry and disorienting time. I have said this before, but in case you missed it, one of the reasons I even decided to make a hymns album was that, in addition to how much I love the songs, I couldn’t write a worship song to save my life back then. I was just too shaken up. I didn’t have a clue what to say, really.
Songs like “Be Thou My Vision” were like a hospital to me then. I didn’t have any idea about what to do, so I sang what I knew—I lifted up the melodies that had walked with me since childhood. Even when I didn’t know if I believed the words, I found refuge in the sounds.
They seemed like Medicine—an antidote, a tonic.
Her decision to combine these two tracks creates a little narrative of its own. The wanderer, contemplating the Mysteries of Faith, concludes, “Since Christ is lord of Heaven and Earth, how can I keep from singing?” Even though the video shows a concert, you are left with the impression of traveling through wooded hills, imagery Assad often favors.
Providing backup vocals on this track is singer/songwriter Sarah Kroger. Sarah has released 2 EPs since 2011. Her most recent is Hallelujah Is Our Song (2013).
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