| Paradise Sky; Just Love; Shari Addison; Stand |
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| Written by Cameron Conant |
| Friday, 16 January 2009 03:52 PM America/New_York |
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Stonehill pays tribute to late Christian music pioneer Larry Norman, his friend and occasional producer, with an album of re-recorded songs for Fallen Angel, a documentary about Norman’s life that releases later this year. The songs Stonehill has reworked (“Norman’s Kitchen,” “King of Hearts,” “Keep Me Runnin’ ” and more) are from four of his classic albums, including Welcome to Paradise and The Sky Is Falling. What’s surprising is how fresh these songs sound.
Stonehill’s influences are clear: Bob Dylan, James Taylor, The Eagles, Gordon Lightfoot—all geniuses, but not a recipe for a hip-sounding record in 2009. Just Love Wilson gives listeners a collection of pop, R&B and jazz-infused gospel songs that never pull any punches. On “No Other”—an icy cool R&B song—Wilson admits, “I want to be cool, sing a song in a video, pretty girls by the pool,” and later, on “Simply Redeemed”—a gentle piano tune with pop influences—Wilson sings: “I am a Christian, do you know what that means? It means I’m far from perfect, simply redeemed.” But it’s not just Wilson’s transparency that’s admirable; he’s also a pretty strong performer. Take, for instance, “I Need More,” a catchy song with an urgent club beat that Wilson pulls off with aplomb, or the aforementioned “No Other” on which his vocals are silky smooth. Shari Addison And it’s true: when Addison lets her hair down and performs some of these up-tempo gospel numbers, she really shines. But preferences aside, her versatility is impressive, and when she sings “It’s Your Time,” Addison proves she can not only channel Turner, but also Sandi Patty when the moment calls for it. Unfortunately, many of the songs are meandering and fail to live up to Ingram’s impressive catalog. Nevertheless, there are some inspiring moments, particularly his straightforward rendition of “Blessed Assurance.” Also worth noting is “No Place Like Home,” which sounds like an upbeat Israel Houghton praise song. There’s also a rendition of Ingram’s “Yah Mo Be There” that sounds much like the original. Ingram is really good, and one need only listen to the last song, “For All We Know,” to be reminded of that fact. In spite of this album’s problems, Ingram’s vocals are as strong as ever, making this album, if nothing else, intriguing, especially for his longtime fans. Creating Freedom From Poverty The Watoto Children’s Choir from Uganda shows up, as do well-known British and Australian artists, giving the album, if not a global feel, then at least one that reaches beyond North America. These familiar artists—including Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith—do what they do best, sometimes with brilliant results. Take “Come to the Water,” which begins like an Austin Powers dance number but somehow turns into an uplifting, clean-sounding pop ballad with Smith on lead vocals, cajoling from Kirk Franklin and big refrains from the children’s choir. Not all of the combinations are as successful, but many are. Even the songs that are just so-so are hard not to like. Olesen’s syrupy vocals are perfect for this sort of music, and most of the songs are electric. There are a couple of kitschy departures from the cool Duran Duran sound during which the band tries on glam rock. The best songs include “Be Mine” and “Love’s Taken Over.” Vota shows its writing chops here, reminding listeners of God’s love and redemptive power, making this a strong debut. Now + Forever While White’s vocals are sometimes shaky, that’s typical only when he’s forced to carry a song that still needs work. On the more developed tunes, he at times resembles Jon Foreman of Switchfoot. The band isn’t in Switchfoot’s league just yet, but they do show promise on some of the acoustic numbers. Most of the big guitar numbers—with the exception of “Great Love,” which has some zip—sound a bit too familiar. But when the band sings “Double Doors,” it’s as if we’re experiencing Mark White Band 2.0 |
Paradise Sky 