Brandon Heath [What If We]
Posted October 07, 2008
By christianmusicreview,
[MAIN REVIEW]
Brandon Heath was one of those artists who almost appeared out of no where in late 2006. His debut CD, Don’t Get Comfortable enjoyed much success in both radio and with the subsequent Dove Awards. Heath, who is now coming off his first Dove-award win for 2007 New Artist of the Year, releases his sophomore effort, What If We. The first single from the album, “Give Me Your Eyes” has already surpassed 30,000 downloads, a remarkable feat considering those have come prior to the release of the album.
Prior to this album, I was not all that familiar with Brandon Heath other then his radio hit, “I’m Not Who I Was”, which our local station the Joy FM (Tampa) seemed to play to death. In fact when the Dove Awards came on in late April I was shocked that Heath beat out both front-runners Rush of Fools and 33Miles for ‘Best New Artist of the Year’. I think even upon his name being announced as winner, Heath himself was probably the most surprised.
Now in August 2008 comes the sophomore follow-up, which is sure to please those fans that Heath as collected along the way with his relentless touring and mission work. What If We starts out with a song that to me has a great positive and forth-right question to the Lord. You know, we are humans, all prone to error and like Solomon asking the Lord for wisdom, this day and age calls for another trait of God, the eyes that see all. I think if we had the eyes of the Lord, we could definitely avoid hardships and troubles that seem to plague us throughout life. It’s only when we allow the Lord to work through us, that His eyes to in fact become part of us with our accepting of the Holy Spirit. I think the meaning behind the song though more reflects us being able to see people like God sees them. For who they are. For the problems they face. For us to understand others, in their trials and tribulations. It’s a reminder to us, that we should always be mindful of other people’s circumstances. One thing that we need not to forget in it all is, “With God all things are possible” Matthew 19:26. I think this song starts the album off on a big positive note.
Like I mentioned above, I was not all that familiar with Heath on the exception of the one song, but one thing I did notice right off the bat was his musical and vocal style, which reminded me of Mat Kearney and Matthew West. I think lyrically, Heath could be highly favored as being just as great of a songwriter as both West and Kearney as well. Still, there is that separation and I think Heath’s vocal and songwriting abilities are what captures the attention of his listeners.
The next track that immediately caught my attention was the piano-ballad, “London”. My best guess is that it is a love song written for (someone) while Brandon was visiting London, England. “Where are you tonight? / As I sit here and cry / While I watch double-decker busses pass by”. The song is simple, but beautiful. It makes me want to sit down and right a song for my own wife. But unfortunately for her, my song-writing abilities as of recent times have been not to par with where I would like it to be. I would like to see this song become a radio single at some point in time, or who knows, it might be featured in a romantic movie someday. It could happen.
“Sore Eyes” is a song that almost sounds like something that could be found on a Matthew West album. I actually really enjoyed the music of the song too. It sounded almost similar to some of the old Beatles music I remember hearing when I was kid. Maybe it was Lennon, or even Harrison. Beatles are Beatles to me!
Another song on the CD that I enjoyed, with its bold and true message is the softer song, “Love Never Fails”. “Love will protect / Love always hope / And love still believes when you don’t”. This right here is something I can liken the love of our Savior for us to. Even when we are caught up in our disbelief, Jesus still believes in us. The chorus speaks truth with its four important words. “Love never fails you”.
Okay, now comes the Mat Kearney comparison with Brandon. This is found on the track, “Fight Another Day”. Musically the song struck me right away as being similar to Kearney. My thoughts toward the meaning of this song (which may not be what Brandon was writing about) were that of my witness to others. There are days where I have no opportunities to witness for Christ, and then I am reminded that (Lord-willing) there is another day to fight for the cause. I love talking with people about what Jesus has done for me, and often times I probably give too much information and might overwhelm someone. But for those days that I don’t get that opportunity or those days I feel my faith has been battered by something someone has said, I pray the Lord gives me another chance, another day to fight for Christ.
“No Not One” seemingly continues the message found in “Love Never Fails”. The chorus to me reflects a few well-known scriptures (John 3:16, Romans 5:8) “There has never been a greater love / Then Your Son / No not one / And there will never be a greater love / No not one / With His life you have forgiven us / Hope has come / Hope has come / And there will be a greater love / No not one”. These are words that as Christians we need to hear on a daily basis. Even the knowledge of knowing that God loved me or God loved Insert Your Name Here that He would send His only begotten Son to die on a cross so that we can be forever reconciled with the God who created us.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Overall, while What If We wouldn’t sit atop my favorite albums list, it was a solid 40 minutes of time well spent. While not totally familiar with his music prior to listening to this album, I walked away with a better sense of why Heath is as highly regarded in Christian music as he is. His obvious big-heart for ministry is what separates him from a lot of the artists out there. I’ll have to go back and listen to Don’t Get Comfortable now that my interest is peaked in this phenomenal new artist. The message was here, although not as blatant as other artists, I could discern the ideas behind his writing and what he was trying to say. You have to pay close attention in some aspects of the record.
Rating: 8.3 out of 10 (83%, B-)
Review written by: Jay Heilman | Review can also be found here.
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from ChristianMusicReview.org. Click here to visit ChristianMusicReview.org today! View All Music And Book Reviews By christianmusicreview | View christianmusicreview's Profile
|
