Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Jason Crabb, Debut


For several years, Jason sang with his family as part of the Crabb Family. The group disbanded a couple of years ago, and split off into solo and other group ministries.
Jason, the oldest boy, went solo, and though he has done a couple of CDs since then, including a Christmas CD, this is his first for a major label to be distributed nationally, and a very impressive debut CD.
To be honest, at times Jason has more or less screamed and strained his voice, so I wasn't sure how he would do solo, but I am impressed.
The CD starts out with the best song on the disc, in my humble opinion: Somebody Like Me. Upbeat, great vocals, and the message that we need to reach out to the undesirables who may cross our path.
Following in order of appearance, and also quality of song, is Walk On Water. Neat song. Points out that we all have messed up at some point, but we can make it right. That the path we take, the steps we take, that is who we are, and you don't have to walk on water - it is how you walk on land that matters. How true.
Daystar has been recorded by several groups - either the Gaither Vocal Band or Cathedrals did it first, to my knowledge. It is an awesome song, and Jason brought in the Gaither Vocal Band to sing back-up vocals on this song, and he pulled it off very well. Definitely among the top songs on the CD.
The uptempo song Worth It All reminds us that no matter how rough the journey is, it will be worth it all when we get to Heaven. Another song with great lyrics and enjoyable to listen to.
I Will Love You is a pretty song trying to verbalize our love for God, and promising to love Him with others, or all alone. A keeper, and helps to remind us that we do owe God our love.
One of the greatest Southern Gospel songs done in recent years by any group, is Through The Fire. Written by "Daddy Crabb", and featuring Jason, the family recorded the song several times, including once with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. I am partial to the original recording, but this version stands out on its own also. And the message of the song bears repeating - God doesn't promise an easy road, but He will be with us as we go through the fire.
Hope For Me Yet is the first of two romantic songs on the CD. A cool song, even though it doesn't relate to me..... :-) - gist of the song is that there is hope for the person because of loving the other person. Nice tune and lyrics.
Though it bears the same title of the familiar song known for years, One Day At A Time has a similar message, but totally different song. Reminds us again that we have to trust God and He will help us make it one day at a time. Great song.
The tenth song is different. I won't say I don't like it, it is just different. Ellsworth paints a sad picture of an elderly woman who has hit the stage in her life where her mind is going. She can't remember tomorrow what she did yesterday, but ask her about Ellsworth, Texas, 1948, and she remembers.
The slow No Love Lost has the message we all need to hear. That no matter how far we go, no matter what we do, God will never stop loving us. Very pleasing to the ear, and excellent lyrics.
Ending out the 12-song CD is another romantic song, Forever's End. Giving the idea of a relationship in trouble, it asks the other to meet them at "Forever's End" to try again. Neat idea.
Overall, this is a great CD, and one I will listen to often. Even if you don't like Southern Gospel, you may like it too.

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