Title: "Real Faith"
Description: Brian Free & Assurance
Chadley - July 28, 2007 07:26 PM (GMT)
Group Name: Brian Free & Assurance
Website: www.brianfreeandassurance.com
Album Title: “Real Faith”
Song Titles:
1. I Keep Looking Up
2. I Believe God
3. The Biggest Step
4. For Now Gethsemane
5. Save Me A Seat
6. Praying Man
7. We Will Sing
8. You’ve Got To Pray
9. Real Faith
10. What Will You Choose
Hailing from the state of Georgia, Brian Free & Assurance has fast become one of the premier Southern Gospel groups in the country today. This Daywind artist does more than 150 dates per year, and they have had more than 20 singles in the Top 40 since their inception. The group consists of Brian Free (tenor/owner), Bill Shivers (lead), Derrick Selph (baritone), Jeremy Lile (bass), Ricky Free (drums), and Scott McDowell (piano).
“Real Faith”, the newest album from the group, will hit stores on September 25, 2007. This is the first album they have recorded since Lile replaced the popular Keith Plott at the bass position, and it comes on the heels of “It’s So God”- arguably one of the group’s best and most successful albums. I know that, with a personnel change, people have been wondering how the new singer would fit in and how this album would compare to the previous one. With that in mind, let’s take a look at each of the songs on the album.
The album kicks off with the up-tempo “I Keep Looking Up”. You can immediately tell that, style-wise, this album is going to stay in the same vein as “It’s So God”. This is a VERY good thing, in my opinion. That progressive style is, without a doubt, where Southern Gospel is headed, and it’s good to see Brian Free & Assurance staying on the cutting edge. The group’s blend is as tight as it has always been, with Brian’s distinctive tenor voice seeming to be somewhat of a focal point. Lile provides a good foundation for the group sound with his bass vocals, but he seems to need a bit more volume on his solo lines in the lower registers. Next up is a beautiful power ballad entitled, “I Believe God”. This is easily one of the most powerful songs on the entire album. The lyrics contain a crystal-clear message that will grip any listener’s heart.
Song #3 is another up-tempo number called “The Biggest Step”. Derrick Selph seems to have the lead here, and he shows himself to be one of the better baritones in Southern Gospel today. This is another song with a clear and pertinent message. The fourth song slows the tempo down again as Bill Shivers takes the lead on “For Now Gethsemane”. This slow ballad-type song is perfect for Bill’s voice, and he renders it almost to perfection.
The fifth song is a ballad called, “Save Me A Seat”. Here we get our first real listen to Jeremy Lile handle a larger solo part. I must say that I’m impressed with his upper range. Not many bass singers are willing to sing higher parts, but his higher register is very smooth. This is a key part of the group’s sound, considering Free’s range at the tenor position. This leads into Song #6, “Praying Man”. This up-tempo song is the group’s first radio single from this album, and it was an excellent choice. I had heard nothing but good things about this song before actually hearing it, and I wasn’t disappointed. This is a catchy song that will easily define this album.
Song #7 slows the tempo down again. “We Will Sing” is a smooth ballad that features Brian Free taking the lead and the solo parts. Brian sings the verses in his “lower” range, and it has a good sound to it. (I put the quotation marks around “lower” because of how well-known Brian’s high range is.) The next song is another up-tempo number entitled “You’ve Got To Pray”. This is song features Brian once again, and I think it might be a good one to consider for the next radio single.
The ninth song is the album’s title track, “Real Faith”. This is the first real medium-tempo song on the album, and it is a very powerful song lyrically. It also leads nicely into the album’s closing song, a slow song entitled, “Which Way Will You Choose”. I am always a bit skeptical about albums ending with slower songs- I personally think it’s better to “go out with a bang”. However, this song seems to fit very well as a closing song. It has the feel of an invitation song at the end of a worship service.
For anyone worried about how a new bass singer would affect the group’s sound, you can set the worries aside. While Lile is not an upgrade over Keith Plott, he is not a step down either. He just has a different sound, range, and dynamic to his voice. I think that he will continue to mature the longer he is with the group. Lyrically, this is one of the strongest albums I’ve heard in a while. Song selection seems to have been a priority in putting this album together, and it shows. The only thing I think could have made this album any better would be a bit more variety in song tempos. The album mainly consists of up-tempo songs and ballads with one medium-tempo song in the mix. It would have been nice to have one or two more medium-tempo songs to round things out just a bit more.
I would like to thank the group as well as Daywind Records for the opportunity to review another album for one of their artists. This album is yet another testimony as to why Brian Free & Assurance is one of the top groups in Southern Gospel today. This album provided a much-needed blessing as I listened to it, and I would highly recommend that fans of Southern Gospel get this album as soon as they can. I would give this album a rating of 9½ out of a possible 10 microphones!
Personal Favorites: “I Believe God”, “For Now Gethsemane”, “Praying Man”, and “You’ve Got To Pray”