Ricky
Skaggs & The WhitesSalt Of The Earth
Skaggs Family Records
BY PAUL KOPTAK
Ricky
Skaggs & The Whites
Salt Of The Earth
Skaggs Family Records
BY PAUL KOPTAK
Salt of the Earth is a true Skaggs family record, the two
families related by Ricky and Sharon’s marriage in 1982. Everyone takes their
turn in this gospel meeting: Buck White brings his rough-hewn voice to Roy
Acuff’s Wreck on the Highway while Cheryl White belts out Don Gibson’s
Big Wheel. Sharon White leads out on Blessed Assurance, and Ricky
covers Wings of a Dove. As moving as the solos can be, the harmonies are
the real treat, sometimes floating above lone piano or guitar as if the family
were singing in the living room. I’m more drawn to the classic gospel songs and
hymns than the more contemporary Salt of the Earth, and Let it Shine,
but every song has its appeal, and the liner notes make it clear that each comes
from the heart. BMP