Jimmy Fortune - "I Believe"

With the announcement of the Statlers being inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame, I thought now would be a good time to review Jimmy Fortune's gospel CD, I Believe.

From a production standpoint, part of this CD kinda sounds like an indie release (which it was until Song Garden released it), but that is part of what gives it its charm. The mixing is rather tight (more so than When One Door Closes, Fortune's debut solo release), and while the overall sound is somewhat tinny at times, it's very clear and clean for the most part. My only complaint would be the overuse of the Antares on a couple numbers (in particular, "He Touched Me," in which his voice actually is "bent" a little to make the note), but overall, a very professional-sounding project.

The song selection was also surprisingly strong. Unlike his previous project, only two songs were composed by Fortune; the rest were either pulled from other catalogs or are covers of standards. Of the two songs written by Fortune, one is a blatant SoGo Quartet number ("He's Gettin' Me Ready") which could easily be done by, say, Legacy Five or Gold City. The other is a somewhat generic (if not still moving) testimony, "I Believe." While not necessarily the strongest song on the project, it still is a nice effort. The string intro is a nice touch, but I would've preferred live strings as opposed to the synths.

The two best songs on this collection, however, were written by Tony Brower. "Be With Me" is somewhat remeniscent of "Rise Again," in that it tells the story of Christ's crucifixion in the first person, but rather than addressing the crowd, He is speaking directly with the Father. The details are what makes this song work so well. Lines like, "It's just like You said it'd be/Kinda strange to finally see it all unfolding," make everything feel so real. It is quite the hidden gem. "I Wrote It In Red," while not necessarily the most original idea, once again gets its strength in the details. What could easily fall into the trap of red-letter euphemisms instead gets is power from describing the doubt that we feel as Christians, the trials we endure, and how no matter what, God will be there for us; it was so important that he "wrote it in red." The production on this track is almost a throwback to the mid-to-late-80's country ballads (especially with the electric guitar voices), but given that this is where Fortune really made his name, this is not necessarily a bad thing.

It seems like Jimmy is trying his best to carve his own niche as opposed to following on the Statlers' coattails. The opening song, "Take Me There," lends itself more to contemporary Christian than, say, "Noah Found Grace In The Eyes Of The Lord," and his arrangement of "Amazing Grace" sounds quite similar to Billy Ray Cyrus' rendition on his The Other Side project with a blues/rock feel. "That's What I Call Love" has a modern country feel to it (and probably the most commercial sound of project).

As for the other covers, "He Touched Me" is pretty much like any other version - rather vanilla, typical modulation, not all that bad, but unremarkable nonetheless. "How Great Thou Art" is a stripped-down arrangement with just Fortune and a piano. While this is a good version, songs like these have been done so many times that it's hard to get enthused when someone else records it. That's not really the artist's fault; there's only so many ways someone can do these songs!

That's not to say that all of the cover songs don't work. "I Fly Away" is pretty much pure Southern Gospel, with slight bluegrass overtones (and a lightening-fast dobro solo). "Over The Sunset Mountain" is done beautifully in a straight-ahead bluegrass arrangement. The harmonies, simple acoustic arrangement, and restrained vocal performance make this quite a nice change of pace. It may seem slightly out of place among songs like "Take Me There" and "That's What I Call Love," but given Fortune's versatility, it works nicely.

The only track that left me scratching my head was the inclusion of "The Lord's Prayer." It is nothing more than Fortune, for lack of a better term, reciting the prayer on melody acapella. It's a strange choice compared to the rest of the project; it would be like someone dropping a Catholic mass in the middle of a Pentecostal service.....it just doesn't mesh. While his intentions I'm sure were good, from the aspect of an entire album, it brings an otherwise enjoyable project to a screeching halt. It's no wonder he followed it up with "I'll Fly Away," any other song, and the project may not have recovered.

It's a shame that this project just isn't getting the attention it so rightly deserves. As I stated before, the only way I've been able to get a hold of this CD is by ordering it through jimmyfortune.com. I haven't seen it in stores (for whatever reason), and it's a shame, because it could be quite a seller, especially given the Statlers' recent induction announcement.

If you get a chance, order yourself a copy of this CD. It's well-worth a listen!