DOWN IN THE DELTA SOUNDTRACK (1998)

ORIGINAL POSTING DATE: May 19, 2013

I'm veering off JERICHO ROAD and heading back down to the good old South to bring you more soulfully-inspiring tunes in a weekend that's been full of them. The soundtrack to "Down In The Delta" comes about a couple of weeks after my Dad and I finally got the chance to watch the heart-warming 1998 Maya Angelou-directed film together. Featuring a star-studded cast that includes Alfre Woodard (I love all of the movies in which she acts!), Wesley Snipes, Esther Rolle (from the classic sitcom "Good Times") and Loretta Divine (loved her on the TV drama "Boston Public" as well as her supporting actress role opposite Kimberly Elise in "Woman Thou Art Loosed"), "Down In The Delta" is one of those old-fashioned, take-you-back, feel-good tales that everyone should watch with their families every once in a while on a lazy Sunday afternoon.....or just any day of the week that you prefer. If you loved the movie, then no doubt, you'll absolutely adore the soundtrack, which features an amazing star-studded cast itself! The late pop diva Whitney Houston, who left this world much too early, can be heard rendering her familiar powerful voice backing up the astounding opening track, "Believe In Love". Loved it the minute I heard the piano melody, and although I've never heard of this artist who calls herself 'Sunday', loved it even more the moment I heard her soulful voice! And, of course, Whitney's contributions simply puts icing on the cake. Fellow renowned urban pop diva Janet Jackson appears on the album's next cut, "God's Stepchild"—a warming inspirational song unlike anything I've ever heard by the sister to the late King Of Pop. I have heard of D'Angelo in my past music travels, and his offering, "Heaven Must Be Like Is", feels like another trip back to the old school with its classy, jazzed-up neo-soul sounds. Lovely instrumentals on this one, too. Then the man whom I've admired since I was a kid and who totally deserves the nickname given to him come: Stevie Wonder. His songs are always beautiful: "Ribbon In The Sky", "Overjoyed", "I Just Called To Say I Love You", and now this one—"If Ever". Stevie's soulfully-rich voice is impressive (I myself like it when he reaches the high note, as he does a couple of times on this song), and the natural outdoor ambiance is used to great effect and the contributions by the backup vocalists, which popped up unexpectedly, make it a definite keeper from this album! And the tribute he gives to Maya Angelou at the end is nice, too. I had just been thinking about the late contemporary r&b legend Gerald Levert the other day, and then I get to hear his voice tonight after so long when I listened to him performing the gripping spiritual piece, "Where Would I Be?", alongside his two siblings. This one's a keeper, too! Another legend who left this world too soon surfaces on "I'm Only Human". That would be Luther Vandross, and it's always a joy to listen to this man sing! Never knew that any of the guys from the 90's r&b supergroup, BOYZ II MEN, had ever gone solo, but then again, I hadn't been keeping up with them too much. At least one of the guys, Shawn Stockman, shows up on this soundtrack to give "Just A Little Luv". Slow jam lovers will appreciate the talents of HI-FIVE's Tony Thompson and his singing mate, Antoinette on "We Belong Together". Tony's great, but this Antoinette lady is fabulous—even showing off some of her dazzling whistle register a la Mariah Carey! There's a simple yet important lesson that soul diva Chaka Kahn reminds us all about on "Don't talk To Strangers", adding additional words of wisdom as the song comes to a close. ASHFORD & SIMPSON: I was delighted to see them on this soundtrack, as they're one of my favorite music duos from the 80's. Nicholas and Valerie always sing wonderfully together, and their rendition of "Uh Uh Ooh Ooh Look Out Here It Comes" (I'm certain I heard someone else sing this) proves why their music was and still is, to quote one of their biggest-selling hits of all time, 'solid as a rock'. The instrumental aficionado in me adored the jazzy "Family" score, which comes after the festive, astounding vocal party that erupts on the upbeat jam, "Don't Let Nothin' Keep You Down". Was also a nice surprise to hear a grown-up former "Star Search" prodigy Tracie Spencer lending a song of her own: "The Rain", which is the loveliest song I've ever heard by her (all songs about the rain ended up sounding lovely). And by the time you get to the empowering acapella number, "Patchwork Quilt", an emotional tearjerker which plays during the final moments of the movie right before the ending credits, you'll be glad to have taken that long trip back down into the delta:

1. Sunday - Believe In Love
2. Janet Jackson - God's Stepchild
3. D'Angelo - Heaven Must Be Like This
4. Stevie Wonder - If Ever
5. The Leverts (Eddie, Gerald & Sean) - Where Would I Be
6. Luther Vandross (Featuring Cassandra Wilson & Bob James) - I'm Only Human
7. Shawn Stockman (of Boyz II Men) - Just A Little Luv
8. Tony Thompson & Antoinette - We Belong Together
9. Chaka Khan - Don't Talk To Strangers
10. Jazzyfatnastees (Featuring The Roots) - Let It Go
11. Me'Shell N'Degeocello (with Keb' Mo') - My Soul Don't Dream
12. Ashford & Simpson - Uh Uh Ooh Ooh Look Out Here It Comes
13. Sounds Of Blackness - Don't Let Nothin' Keep You Down
14. Stanley Clarke - Family [Score]
15. Tracie Spencer - The Rain
16. Sweet Honey In The Rock - Patchwork Quilt

JERICHO ROAD-There Is More (2005)

ORIGINAL POSTING DATE: May 19, 2013

Yes, there is indeed more as I ride a little further along JERICHO ROAD on this Sunday night. My next stop takes me to the Latter-day Saint boyband's fifth studio album—ten more positive, uplifting tunes of encouragement and inspiration for the aching soul. And as with their "True North" album, I once again found my favorite passages within the lyrics that affected me the most. 'I want to be more like an innocent child': a moment of reflection with the singing of those words on the album's third track, for sure, and the sweet, dreamy piano/orchestra melody and the tender voices left me nearly breathless. Reminds me of one of those warming, sit-around-the-fireplace-on-a-peaceful-winter-night holiday tunes. 'There is more than you can imagine; there is more that you've ever dreamed': two of the most memorable lines from the main chorus to the album's lively rock-inspired title track that speak the real deal. And just about every line phrased on "See The Light", the beauty "What Breaks Your Heart" and the terrifically mellow piece "Don't Hide Your Face" are memorable—the somber tonality perfectly matching the earnest delivery of the lyrics as they plea for their Creator to reveal Himself to them. A truly stellar performance is given on "Think Of Me", which could be seen as the album's lone offering with a romantic love theme. It's a show-stopper of a duet performed with a guest female vocalist who's got some amazing chords! Love it when they take the pitch up a notch as the song nears its conclusion. Then the surprise hidden track that follows the silence after "Carry Me" shows that there's even more to these JERICHO ROAD guys than I thought: a festive acappella rap about the familiar Old Testament story of Noah's ark and the great flood with an intelligent hip-hop twist, which proves that gospel music can be both fun and spiritually fulfilling all at the same time:

1. Testify To Love
2. See The Light
3. Like A Child
4. What Breaks Your Heart
5. This Day
6. There Is More
7. Deeper Still
8. Think Of Me
9. Don't Hide Your Face
10. Carry Me

JERICHO ROAD-True North (2002)

ORIGINAL POSTING DATE: May 18, 2013

Staying on the path through the world of Christian contemporary music, my second stop sees me meeting up some new friends who are the four-piece Latter Day-saint boyband called JERICHO ROAD. What a great name for a religious boyband, I must say, obviously taking the famous street that runs through the famous Holy city of Jerusalem for their inspiration. They were discovered sometime during the past music travels of my Japanese friend Maro, who then recommended them to me for listening with a very 'uplifting' tune—called "Lift Me Up", of course. At least seven albums that I'm now aware of have been released since the band's inception, but I figured I may as well start with the album on which "Lift Me Up" is featured: 2002's "True North". As with their chosen name 'JERICHO ROAD', I also found awe in this album's title, as it speaks of divine Biblical reference to the heavenly kingdom above. And speaking to you further are twelve magnificent songs of praise and inspiration.....with the terrific classic boyband-style pop/r&b sound and the unified harmony making the music all the more lovely. There were so many standalone lines in the lyrics that touched me, but these are the ones I adored the most: 'chased a million shooting stars, they led me back to your heart' on "Finding My Way Back To You"; 'I am dust that you breathe through' on "All From You"; 'only one world, one chance to make it right' on "Conviction Of The Heart"; 'you walked this earth as a man, you understand' on the album's eighth track and 'not gonna make it on my own' on the closing acapella number, "If I Lose My Way". Yet with other songs—"Nothing Matters" (this song totally reveals the absolute truth), "Let Me Reach You", "You Melt The Madness" and the upbeat jam, "A New Day"—I'm less selective, because the words meant so much to me and I couldn't help but to absorb every bit of the lyrics as they were being sung. "You Melt The Madness", in particular, and I could really tell some people about a lot of madness I've experienced that needs to be melted. At times, I did get lost in the beat, the smooth grooves and the brilliant vocal performances—mostly with "Conviction Of The Heart", "Nothing Matters" and "You Understand", which ended up being my top three favorites—but never lost at any time within the music were the messages that the guys were hoping to spread:

1. Finding My Way Back To You
2. Let Me Reach You
3. Lift Me Up
4. All From You
5. You Melt The Madness
6. I Believe
7. A New Day
8. You Understand
9. All I Do
10. Conviction Of The Heart
11. Nothing Matters
12. If I Lose My Way

JAKE-Jake (2000)

ORIGINAL POSTING DATE: May 18, 2013

From just the name, you might've expected a male solo artist named Jake, as in country phenom Jake Owen.....or the hundreds of other 'Jakes' out there who are solo musicians and singers as well. Instead, you get three solo guys joined together in a group.....and none of their names is Jake! The complete and fascinating story of how this Canadian Christian boyband formed and how they decided upon their name can be found at http://christianmusic.com/jake/jake.htm. And as for the complete story on how yours truly discovered these guys in the first place, well, that can be explained in just one sentence. I can thank my New York City DJ friend Doug for introducing me to them—he always being one to offer up cool recommendations from his catalog of easy-listening, adult contemporary music (AC, as he likes to call it). Especially tunes by Canadian artists, as I've come to notice over the past year. But what you get with JAKE is not only the light, radio-friendly sounds of easy-listening AC music, but inspirational messages about hope and spiritual love. I was scanning over some of the comments left by visitors to JAKE's bio page at the christianmusic.com website and found joy in reading about which songs attracted them and touched them the most. For many, it was the opener "Waiting", a song that talks about waiting for Out God, The Father, that did it for them while others were made believers out of "Believer". Yes, those would be two of the most powerful songs on JAKE's self-titled debut album. Yet 'the one' that did it for me personally was "The One", a Eurodance-style cut of arena-sized crowd-pleasing proportions with lyrics that speak to everyone about being anything that you want to be in this life. I can totally picture this one being performed live in concert before a sold-out studio audience. If "The One" is an exciting crowd-pleaser, then "Take My Heart Away", the album's other fun, uptempo guitar-driven dance track, would have to share that same stage. Spiritual love: it may be the primary theme of CCM music, but there's always room to talk about romantic love as well; the three brothers express some of those feelings in song with "Let Me Know". Amidst the terrific pop/rock vibe of "The Right Time" are words of young wisdom speaking directly to the soul—a reminder that any time is a good time to feel the love and comfort of the One who created us once again:

1. Waiting
2. More
3. The Right Time
4. The One
5. Melt Me
6. Let Me Know
7. Believer
8. Don't Want To Lose
9. Take My Heart Away
10. I'm Okay

Luca Zeta-The Beats Of Luca Zeta (2005)

ORIGINAL POSTING DATE: May 17, 2013

Let's put the trance back into the dance! I welcome back the Italian Eurodance sensation Luca Zeta with his elusive debut album that had been at the top of my personal wishlist: "The Beats Of Luca Zeta". Yeah, he's crankin' out some big-time beats alright—seventeen of 'em, to be exact, but there isn't a beat that's any more bombastic than the one presented on this album's seventh track: "We Belong". This totally made my day—a thrilling surprise remake of the rockin' Pat Benatar 1984 classic! So if you ever dreamed of hearing a techno remix of the original, then here you go! Except it's Luca's voice you'll be hearing instead of Patty's, and the tonality in the melody has been altered to one that is on the more mellower side of sweet. But I assure all fans of the rock diva—and of the just the song itself—that you will fall in love with it in a heartbeat; it just makes you happy! Even greater moments of joy are to be had on the cut that sings about songs of joy—that being the album's tenth track, which is just as beautifully mellow as Luca's remake of "We belong". And the very first thing that puts a smile on your face about this one is the beautiful opening piano overture, which gets left out of the 5+ minute extended version four tracks later and the 'JC Ballad Remix' at the very end. Those two mixes, however, give you something else to be happy about: the extended version giving you some extra thumping Eurodance beats while the 'JC Ballad Remix' completely strips the high-energy techno in favor of a much slower tempo and a relaxing electronic ambiance that borders on the edge of New Age and Celtic music. After listening to it a second time, I've decided that I love this ballad version more than the two dance versions before it. My other top pick in this album full of ready-made club hits goes to "Hold Me Tonight". I cite this one as Luca's best on the vocal front, and seeing that this album is entitled "The Beats Of Luca Zeta", it's also one of the best for getting you pumped:

1. I'll Be Good To You
2. Star
3. Got To Believe
4. I'm Ready
5. Hold Me Tonight
6. Calling [feat. Nina S.]
7. We Belong
8. Everyday
9. Flames Of Love
10. Song Of Joy [with Jordi Carreras feat. Mark]
11. I'll Be Good To You [Extended Mix]
12. Star [Halmadaxx Extended Mix]
13. Got To Believe [Trance Action Mix]
14. Song Of Joy [Extended Mix]
15. Calling [Club Mix]
16. Star [HDS Remix]
17. Song Of Joy [JC Ballad Remix]