I need to preface this with saying I had just got done listening to most of TobyMac’s new album, which has a very hiphop flavor, so transitioning to this took a few songs and I had to go back and start over. While I do like TobyMac, this album is far more my style. Overall, I liked it alot. As you can see, I mention an 80’s sound frequently and I mean that as a very good thing.
Fall From the Grace of Love – Suits his voice, a kind of music I like, somewhere between 80’s pop and today’s country. Nice harmonies. A good sing-along song.
Girls in Black – More of a rock sound, kind of predictable. Very much an 80’s rock sound.
Wash Away – Talks about moving on from yesterday. Good lyrics with a nice rock track, nice combination of electric and acoustic guitar. Again, has an 80’s rock/pop sound. The ‘wash aways’ just before the three minute mark aren’t doing it for me, and seem to be synth-enhanced. The rest of the song is pretty good.
I Believe In You – Nice rock ballad. More nice harmonies. Again, an 80’s rock ballad sound. I like the lyrics. He has the voice for it. Another good sing-along song.
You Don’t Have Me – Another predictable rock track (not necessarily a bad thing). Almost an 80’s Hair band sound. Other than that, no comment.
Money – ‘Never easy come, just always easy go’. You got that right! Definitely lyrics most people can relate to. Nice guitar.
Someday – Not as good of a match for his voice, but he still does a good job with it. I can’t decide what I think of this song. I concentrated on the lyrics a lot. Lyrics a person can relate to, but on the other hand, it seems like one of those situations where sitting around and waiting for ‘someday’ is a waste of time and a person just needs to move on. (Yes, I did learn that the hard way).
Heal Me – I like the percussion. Song has some soul to it and some sort of tribal thing going on. Nice guitar, too. A very different song and not at all predictable. I read a review that said this was the best song on the album, but I prefer FFTGOL. This one had a lot of work put into it, though, and it shows.
Over You – Heartfelt is the word that comes to mind. He just kinda lays it right out there. There were moments where I thought I might cry. If you have anyone in your life that you aren’t over yet and should be, have a tissue handy. It’s a nice acoustic number. I would like to hear this one live.
Road To Forever – Nice harmonies. Great acoustic beginning, then some serious guitars and drums kick in. Definitely hard rock and again with an 80’s flavor.
Life’s Lullaby – I like hearing a great guitar player show off on acoustic. I guess growing up listening to Roy Clark will do that. It’s an interesting song. At first I wondered at his odd breathing ‘break’ in the middle of the word ‘lullaby’, but after a while I could see it was very intentional. It was hard to really follow the lyrics because I was concentrating on the guitar.
Give My Life – Some serious rock and roll and right after the above song, a bit of an eye-opener. Interesting lyrics, even if they are repetitive. Who you might be giving your life to as you sing along is open to your own interpretation. I can see myself singing this song in the shower a lot. Don’t worry, my neighbors are far away
She Runs Free (Bonus Track) – Another perfect 80’s rock sound.