Glory
by
Michael W. To the point, "Glory" as a stand alone album is the perfect treat for any fan of symphonies, film scores, or anything that tells a story through melody. From the grand overture to...
"Glory" in every way, spells out this point in Smitty's career! | Posted November-18-2011
To the point, "Glory" as a stand alone album is the perfect treat for any fan of symphonies, film scores, or anything that tells a story through melody. From the grand overture to the crescendoing conclusion piece, this album weaves quite adventurously through multiple realms of emotion, humanity, and sacred values. It is a must-have, must-experience record for anyone who loves music.
For Michael W. Smith, this is a fine album to record this far into his career. Fans have been asking for a follow-up album to his first successful instrumental effort, and they will surely not be let down by this one! As a personal fan of mostly his pop material, I really appreciated his latest effort with "Wonder" last year, and it is seriously underrated as a testament to Smith's progressive talent. The hope here, is that "Glory" will not follow a similar fate, but as his instrumental work does reach a different demographic than his pop material overall, that will most likely NOT be the case!
Perhaps my one criticism (if it could be called that), is that after having heard a sample of "Redemption" first, along with Smith's inspiration on his website, I had expected a different overall sound than what I initially heard. Trying to remember his description, which included a 4-song cycle ending with "Redemption," somehow I wasn't really sure how to connect with it. However, this is not to say that the song itself was a disappointment. If I only heard the song itself, without knowing anything about it, it still would be A-quality material. Maybe I just need to experience it a couple more times...
Nearing his 30-year mark in his musical career, Smith proves once again that he has not lost his multi-level touch. If (God-forbid!) he were to stop recording music here on out, this would be a fine send-off to his phenomenal career.
firstmallard's Music and Book Reviews 
