Sometimes I really miss the days of being a mostly full-time music journalist, traveling to private shows, eating dinner with the artists and hearing all the new music early. As my all-time favorite Amy Grant is readying her latest project, I have checked early songs released online and wished for one of those pre-release media packages of days gone by.
There are projects I do receive early copies of and I have been doing a pretty regular gig of reviews for Charisma over the past few months. Of these, which have mostly been in the modern worship genre, the familiar voice of Darlene Zschech has been my favorite. I’m an unashamed fan of the early Hillsong releases, so it was such a nice listen.
I received the new Michael English project, “Some People Change,” the other day. I love it. What a great mix of southern-influenced contemporary and traditional genres and well-written memorable songs. It’s on constant rotation in my player right now and the songs continue to play in my head through the day.
“There’s a whole lot of stubborn in this room and there’s no one here but me.” That’s the line of one of the more haunting tracks, which is oddly refreshing. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like to dwell in sorrow, but to acknowledge it on the same project that also sings about hope is, to me, a healthy balance. Adding to that, “I’m So Lonesome (I Could Cry),” the old Hank Williams staple, is very well done. Some might say it’s out of place, but I like it. Have you ever been mellow? (Thank you, Olivia).
Other tracks include a reworked “In Christ Alone,” “Come to the River” with Russ Taff, and the pop duet “I Knew You Were Waiting” with Crystal Lewis. My favorite song, however, is the title track, which is a testimony to the power of grace. It tells the story of the power of Christ redeeming people who have been broken by traditions and addictions. In Him, there’s hope for all of us, and that’s pretty exciting. Well done, Michael.
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