SOMEWHERE DOWN THE ROAD
Amy Grant CD Review
(by John DeGroff)
Amy Grant's new project, "Somewhere Down The Road", could almost be called a compilation. It's loaded with a sort of "collection" of almost unrelated tunes. Of the album's 12 songs, six are new, 2 are previously unreleased, there's a new recording of "Arms Of Love", and the project is fleshed out with three of her better known story songs.
I remember being given a copy of Grant's very first album-on vinyl, no less. She was a teenager when it was released, but since then, she has gone on to sell more than 30 million albums, and take home 6 Grammys in the process.
At this point, she could easily keep dong danceable pop stuff along the lines of "Baby, Baby". Thankfully, "Somewhere Down The Road' doesn't do that. Grant takes a shot at revisiting some of her past work, and presents new material loaded with depth and intelligence, proving she's a true artist, and not just another chick singer (albeit a well known one.)
The album begins with the laid back "Better Than A Hallelujah". Written by Sarah Hart and Chapin Hartford, Grant says of it, "I've loved this song since I first hear it. The honesty and vulnerability of the lyric reminds me to pray..." It's one of the new tunes on the project, and is definitely a thoughtful lyric:
God loves a lullaby in a mother's tears in the dead of night
Better than a hallelujah sometimes
God loves a drunkard's cry, the soldier's plea not to let him die
Better than a hallelujah sometimes
(also)
Beautiful the mess we are, the honest cries of breaking hearts
A woman holding on for life, a dying man giving up the fight
Tears of shame for what's been done
The silence when the words won't come
Are better than a hallelujah sometimes
(produced by Dan Muckala)
This is followed by "Overnight", another new tune where Grant sings with her 17 year old daughter Sara Chapman. The tune itself is somewhat Beatlesesque in it's back tracks, and is very dynamic. Written by Natalie Hemby, Luke Larid, Audry Spillman and Grant, she says of the tune, "I've been trying for sometime to find a song to sing with my daughter Sara. At 17 and 49, she and I see life from different perspectives. What I appreciate about this song is its simple perspective: if the good stuff happened over night, you wouldn't understand the value of it."
One of the project's first real stand out tracks is "Every Road", written by Grant and Wayne Kirkpatrick, who also produced. This is probably the most radio-friendly track on the album, and definitely shows the "pop" side of Grant's music she's best known for. I really like the chorus on this one:
Every road that's traveled
Teaches something new
And every road that's narrow
Pushes us to choose
And I'd be lying if I said
I had not tried to leave a time or two
But every road that lead me
Leads me back to you.
"Unafraid", the next stand out track, is done acoustically, is very laid back, and Grant sings it in a very husky voice that almost doesn't sound like her. Another one written by Grant and Kirkpatrick, the song is a sort of coming of age tune about the p
ower of love. It's the simplicity of presentation that makes it work. Some of the best lines are probably also the most personal for Grant:
My lovely mother is getting on in years
And the way her body's aging brings her girl to tears
The way she trembles with each effort she makes
She just says heaven's getting closer each day
(produced by Grant, Mike Brignardello and Greg Morrow)
If this song doesn't touch your heart....well, forget the doctor; have someone call the coroner on your behalf.
Another stand out track that's almost kind of unexpected is "Third World Woman", written by Grant and Chris Eaton. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you", is Grant's only comment on the song. Given the fact that at any moment in time, there's no shortage of tragic situations in the world...there but for the Grace of God go I. Personally, I feel this is the album's deepest lyric, simple but piercing.
"what if I were that mother staring from my TV
What if that were my brown eyed baby
Hungry as she could be
What if that were my family
What if that was my world
Waiting on water, waiting on a vaccine
Waiting on someone to bring me a bag of beans
Lord have mercy on me....
(...the last verse really hits home...)
I was born in Georgia where i could do as I pleased
And I cam get my hands on just about anything I might need
Who's that third world woman maybe she could be
Could be mother, could be daughter, could be sister to me
(produced by Ian Fitchuk and Justin Loucks)
The aforementioned previously unreleased tracks are "What Is The Chance of That", a good country rock type tune written in 1996, and "Come Into My World", also from '96, presented acoustically and laid back. The album's title track, "Somewhere Down The Road", from 1995, is one of the better produced tunes on the album and is presented with a gospel music feeling. Other tracks include "Hard Times", which has a great chorus; and "Find What You're Looking For", another of the more laid back tunes on the project.
Grant's updated version of "Arms Of Love", written by Grant, Michael W. Smith and Gary Chapman, is produced by hubby Vince Gill."It's been 30 years since I first sang 'Arms Of Love'," Grant said. "What a treat to rerecord it in my 50th years. A little lower, a little slower...and still true."
The album closes with a medley of "Imagine/Sing The Wondrous Love Of Jesus". This is a great way to close an album and the medley is probably the best produced moment on the project. The "I can only imagine" theme, segues into a very mellow "Sing The Wondrous Love...", done with piano and voice. Produced by Brown Banister, and Vince Gill, it has a beautiful ending.
In mentioning Brown Banister as a producer, I think it's relevant to point out that he is the first producer who Grant worked with at the beginning of her career. It says a lot for her as a person and as an artists that she has maintained relationships with people who were there when she started.
It's also interesting that of all the producers listed on this project (Dan Muckala, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Mike Brignardello, Greg Morrow, Ian Fitchuck, Justin Loucks, along with Bannister, Gill, and Grant herself), there is a continuity that's practically seamless in recording quality, song quality and overall enjoyment and listenability.
Amy Grant's "Somewhere Down The Road" can stand along side anything else she's ever released, and in some ways the album surpasses her hits because of it's moments of simplicity and sincerity. Any Grant definitely knows who she is as a person, as an artist, and as a Christian.
