The Michael W. Smith Project
Reunion Records
1983
By now, the name Michael W. Smith should be a name that is chiseled in stone in the Great Hall of CCM Artists. It was he and his frequent collaborator Amy Grant that lead the charge into the mainstream in the early 1990s, blazing the way for bands like DC Talk, Newsboys and pretty much the entirety of Tooth & Nail’s roster in the 90s and beyond.
And in case anybody here begin to think that I’m heaping all this accolades on Smitty and Grant as some secret fanboy, I’m not. I’m merely pointing out the naked facts as they are. Nothing more, nothing less. That said…
The reason for me reviewing a Michael W. Smith album on here is the same one for the two Amy Grant albums I’ve already done: somehow, a copy of this and his second album found their way into my Therapy Vault. In LP form. The other one will be forthcoming soon.
As far as The Michael W. Smith Project goes: This was the debut album by Smith, after a couple of years of writing award winning songs for other CCM artists, and touring as Amy Grant’s keyboard player. Originally released in 1983, it was reissued in 1987 with an updated photo of Smith, on account of the original cover…well, look at it. Take a good look. And whenever you manage to control your laughter, keep in mind that, in 1983, this whole trimmed beard look for pop artists was still a thing. Look up Michael Sembello some time.
Anyway, since this has been literally staring at me for a while now, it’s high time I gave this a listen for a review, and put this thing out of my misery. Let’s dive in…
- “Sonata In D Major” Brief synth intro rendition of the Classical piece…
- “You Need A Saviour” Peppy, upbeat driving pop rock tune; big hook on the chorus, guitar and keyboard-driven, good guitar solo…
- “Could He Be The Messiah” Synth-heavy Adult Contemporary pop tune, big melodic hook…
- “Too Many Times” !BALLAD ALERT! Piano keyboard feels, kinda vomit-inducing, despite the guitar solo…
- “Be Strong And Courageous” One of those peppy keyboard and guitar driven pop rock tunes that sounds like I’m watching the introduction to an orientatino video at a fast food restaraunt in the 80s; big super hook, that will stuck in your head…
- “Looking Up” Oooh, 80s sax; yeah, this has the smooth jazz schelac here, funky slap bass, some synthed out vocals and keyboards, kinda experimental in a progish way…
- “The Race Is On” Huh, upbeat New Wave thing that’s…actually, pretty catchy…
- “Medley” Medly of the songs “First Light” and “Love In The Light”; utilizes the Calipso beat setting on the Casio, then kind of becomes a driving pop rock tune with a darker edge going…
- “Friends” Yep, this is the original version of the song that’s essentially the “I Just Called To Say I Love You” of CCM; CCM Radio !BALLAD ALERT!
- “Great Is The Lord” Ooh, prog synths; eh, decent obligatory cover of the spiritual classic; big choral on the chorus…
- “Alpha Overture” Keyboard, synth, and what sounds like a synth guitar utilized on this instrumental outro to the album…
Overall: While The Michael W. Smith Project is quite a product of its time, I have to admit that, for a CCM debut, this has far more Prog and New Wave influences that I wasn’t expecting. He seemed a bit more willing to experiment here, which I appreciate. It’s worth checking out, at least.
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