Leave it to CCM pioneer Michael W. Smith to give us an album that is all at once comfortingly familiar and yet surprisingly fresh.
All the hallmarks of a MWS album are there:
His trademark nasal twang, every note rich in emotion and every word seeming to tell a story in itself;
Powerful anthems of faith, unashamedly inspirational and uplifting;
Quiet reflections on love and life; profound thoughts and issues presented in a clear, heartbreaking manner.
In short, there were songs about life, death, and the only three things of value between those two milestones: Faith, Hope and Love.
I know this sounds absolutely trite. And yet MWS manages to make each song, each timeless message sound as if it were being sung about for the first time.
From start to finish, this album had me hooked. It's easy to get bored reviewing music, because after a while, songs become predictable - either in terms of lyrical content or the way the chords progress. And I'll be honest here, I usually skip through songs on my first listen, even good ones.
But not this time. This time, I found myself lost in the music, in the emotions and in the stories. I sat through the entire album without once skipping a track.
It took me a while to pen this review (I listened to the album last night) because, how do you put into words the profound and sublime experience of being drawn in to someone else's world, someone else's feelings?
When words fail, I give ratings.
That's right. Based on my first impressions, this gets a perfect score.
This will probably drop when I listen to it a few more times (look out for my full review next week).
But right now, I'm just going to bask in the afterglow of a brilliant, perfect album.
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