On Sunday, July 7, 2013, Randy Travis was admitted to a Texas hospital because of viral cardiomyopathy.  A few days later, he had a stroke with ensuing surgery following; and as of today, he is still in critical condition.  Towards the family and friends of Travis, we want to say, we are praying for him.  As a way to encourage fans and family of Travis, we want to take a moment to appreciate one of Travis' best albums to date.  Years ago Randy Travis used to canvass the country chart with hits such as "I Told You So," "Look Heart, No Hands," "Whisper My Name" and "Three Wooden Crosses."  However, after a time of portentous dry spell, Travis released "Around the Bend" in 2008.  Ushering in the album is the lead single "Faith in You;" this is a gorgeous string-laden ballad that testifies to love's instigative prowess to those downtrodden by the wails of life's cares. Brimming with religious overtones, "Faith in You" can function also as a love song to Jesus. Throughout his career, Travis has never been afraid to weave his faith into his paeans giving them a spiritual depth and dimension.

Despite its morbid sounding title, "Dig Two Graves" is a story song coming from the pens of Bob Regan and Ashley Gorley about the blissfulness of marital love. "Dig Two Graves" is a solid ballad with spades of emotional investiture from Travis' sensitive delivery. Strangely, Travis has decided to cover Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright." Boasting a lilting feel with its jazzy overtones, producer Kyle Lehning has transformed this rocker about a man who is set to leave his no-good paramour into a gentle fiddle drenched delight that would certainly set your feet tapping.  If "From Your Knees" sounds like a song from George Strait's repertoire, it's because it's written by one of Strait's favorite writers, Leslie Satcher. Another Nashville's scribal dignitary Hugh Prestwood who penned Travis' "Hard Rock Bottom of My Heart" gets an entry here with "Love is a Gamble." Refusing to settle for any dicey moral stances, this understated acoustic guitar-driven ballad is a clarion call to open our hearts to love others unconditionally.

In keeping with all of Travis' country CDs, there's always room for some raucous laughter and fun. Refusing to take life too seriously, the infectious "Everything I Own (Has a Dent)" is littered with humorous lines such as "I guess her heart's like that old dead goldfish I forgot to feed."  For some exceptional fiddling extravagance, take a listen to Larry Franklin's bullet train fiddling on "Til I Am Dead And Gone," which is a exhibition of Travis' session players in their glory on an otherwise average uptempo. Despite using his baritone to great effect, it's hard not to notice that middle age has caught up with Travis vocally. On various tracks, such as the title track and "Faith in You," Travis has not been able to hit the higher notes as well as he used to.

Despite the quibbles, "Around the Bend" is consummate Randy Travis. He does not betray the neo-traditional path he has had blazed all those years ago for today's country music. With fiddles, steel, and acoustic guitars at the fore without sacrificing an iota of its contemporary edge, Randy Travis' "Around the Bend" is still a formidable CD to reckon with.