Kenny Bishop - Kenny Bishop, CD Review

May

2006

Kenny Bishop - Kenny Bishop

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[5] Comments

Producer: Woody Wright
Label: Daywind Music Group
Website: www.kennybishop.com

With its overlaying theme about mercy and grace, this is probably one of the best thematic recordings I have listened to in a long time. For those thinking Kenny was going bring back that old Bishops style of music (which I miss terribly by the way), think again. With producer Woody Wright at the controls, this is anything but. . . and it's absolutely wonderful. From the kickin' music tracks to the excellent vocal work by Kenny and the gang, this is an exceptional piece of work.

The progressive sounds of "LORD HAVE MERCY" written by sister duo Sonya Isaacs and Becky Isaacs-Bowman starts the ball rolling and you realize immediately this isn't the Bishop's music you heard 5 years ago, but you gotta admit that it sounds way cool!

Things then slow down for the encouraging "DON'T LET WHO YOU ARE KEEP YOU AWAY" written by Kenny himself and the song leads into the Woody Wright penned, "MORE THAN AMAZING", which fits perfectly well with the album's theme and was also recently recorded by Paid in Full. The song is followed by another Wright penned tune, the novelty sounding, "GOD IS LOOKING AT MY HEART".

The Gerald Crabb penned "OUT OF MERCY'S WAY" offers a bit of spiritual wisdom. . . "there's a time for our opinions, and our philosophies. . . a place for us to stand our grand and never move an inch. . . but there will come a day when there is nothing we can say and we must step aside and get out of mercy's way. . . ". Kenny does a marvelous job interpreting this tune before he turns an updated rendition of the Bishop's classic, "I NEED YOU MORE TODAY", which has a "Home on the Range" type novelty feel to it.
The highly enjoyable, "UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF MERCY", is another Woody Wright penned song and I think this tune would do well in radio, while "I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT GRACE HAS DONE FOR ME" which Kenny co-wrote with Adam Kohout is a great song that would really fit someone with a bigger voice and it just seems a little too progressive for Kenny. Besides that, I still found the song very enjoyable and it's one of those songs you'll turn up loud and sing right along with.

Jeff Steele penned the intriguing "THE PRODIGAL'S DAD". I love how the song begins, "You may not know me, my son gets a lot of the story. . . " as the song tells the story of the prodigal son from the dad's point of view.

The soulful "IT'S NEVER TOO LATE" closes out the recording with its big choir sound and provides a satisfying finish to a great recording.

With its strong overlying themes, I think "Mercy" would have been a great title for the recording. Reading like a who's who doing BGV's, people like Jeff & Sheri Easter, Charlotte Ritchie, Ponder, Sykes & Wright, Stephen Hill, Becky Isaacs-Bowman, Sonya Isaacs, Terry Franklin and Joyce Martin all lend their voices on this recording and really do a wonderful job helping Kenny sounding great. I have missed Kenny's voice among the great choir of voices comprising the SG industry, and it is great hearing him singing again. With all that has gone on in Kenny's life since the disbandment of the Bishops, I must personally say. . . welcome back home, Kenny! It's good to have you back.

Personal Favs: LORD HAVE MERCY; OUT OF MERCY'S WAY; UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF MERCY; I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT GRACE HAS DONE FOR ME; THE PRODIGAL'S DAD; IT'S NEVER TOO LATE

Reader Comments

James,
Thank you for the kind words about the project. I only hope you can hear half the joy that I had in producing it! Kenny is focused and personifies every lyric he sang on this CD. What a blessing to have him return to the SG mix. Bring the ring, the sandals and the robe! Let's celebrate! He's back, and he's singing better than ever!
Woody Wright

WouldHeWrite

Commented by wouldhewrite On 05/16/2006

This is a great recording. The thing I love about it is every song is great. You don't hear filler songs on this project as you do on most.

Commented by Shane Jordan On 06/03/2006

Thanks for a great review of Kenny's debut solo recording. I am anxious to add t his to my CD collection.

God is good all the time & all the time God is good.

Elaine Harcourt

Commented by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) On 06/06/2006

I love the topic of mercy and grace because I need it so much everyday! This album has quickly become on of my favorites...there's not a weak song on it. Great job Kenny & Woody...

Steve

Commented by Steve Krout On 06/07/2006

Great review, James. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this project. Not being a huge Bishops fan back in the day, I expected to maybe find a nice song or two. Instead, I found ten really good songs. I also liked that the project has the theme. Woody's production, Kenny's performance and the variety of song styles were all impressive.

Scot Eaves

Commented by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) On 06/07/2006

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