See What a Morning - With “See What a Morning” we go from no music to a lot of music. This song is very fast and majestic sounding. The group pulled out all the stops. Strings, horns, and the works. We hear part of the song “He Arose” a couple of times.
She Still Remembers Jesus’ Name - If you think you’ve heard this song before, you’re probably right. This is the radio single for Let It Be Known. It describes a woman who has dementia, and can’t even remember her husband who died just last fall, or her oldest son’s name. Even though she can’t remember these things, she remembers Jesus and his amazing grace. She remembers the song “Rock of Ages Cleft For Me” and John 3:16. The music is lighter with a lot of piano, strings, and guitars strumming softly in the background. It’s a really good song, although I’m not quite sure that it’s deserving of radio single.
He’s So Good To Me - This is a fun song. Fast and more traditional. I don’t have much of anything else to say about it.
When You Bow At Jesus’ Feet - I think musically, this song can be compared in ways to “Try Jesus.” The music has a familiarity to it, as well as parts of the tune. “When You Bow at Jesus’ Feet” has lighter music, with no drums. It’s a refreshing change from the heavy percussion that dominates the Southern Gospel genre.
Since Jesus Came - Picking up the pace we have “Since Jesus Came.” Most of the other up-tempo numbers are pitched in a higher key. This one seems lower, especially near the beginning and up to the second verse. The words say that life is worth living since Jesus came to live inside.
Masterpiece of Mercy - This has a completely style and sound than “When You Bow at Jesus’ Feet” but it’s still a really good ballad. It has a pretty acoustic sound, with a bit of an old country feel.
Let It Be Known - This song is in a pretty contemporary style. Obviously not as much as actual CCM songs, but it’s still progressive. If you like that kind of music, then you should like this one. It’s actually very good. Lots of electric guitars, and heavy percussion
The Master’s Table - This song retains just a teensy (VERY teensy) bit of the progressive flavor that makes up the last one, due to some electric guitars heard every once in a while. Especially at the beginning, it sounds more progressive that it actually is. I don’t really care for this track as much as the last two ballads. It seems to kind of drag on, like the song “Look For Me At Jesus’ Feet.”
Bread Upon the Water - Just to be clear, this is a completely different song than “I Cast My Bread Upon the Water” by Gold City. This one is much faster, and more jazzy. It has some fun instrumentation including some trumpets and horn sounds, and an awesome beat. It would probably be pretty successful in a concert setting. It features some power singing, which people tend to like. 5 stars
What About Now - Wow, this has a long intro! It lasts almost a minute and two seconds! (1:02) It has a very unique sound. Acoustic and kind of “lonely.” It’s the kind of music that you might hear in a deserted desert scene in a movie. The message is basically this: Are you right with God now? It doesn’t matter that you joined a church a long time, or that you got right with God way back when. But it matters that you love him right now. Is there evidence of it? Can people look at you and see that he’s living in you. If the length of this track wasn’t 6:10, I’d say it should be the radio single. It has a very Biblical, timely, message, and the music is awesome. It’s very light until about 4:03 where it kicks into high (and I mean very high) gear. The group “hums” “First John” at the end. This is what makes it so long. If they had left this part out, they could have kept it at near five minutes and chosen it for radio.
Cover Art - The art for this album is extremely well done. Every thing from color scheme, to fonts, to arrangement is truly a work of art.
Comments:
The first time I heard this CD, I didn’t see why everybody has made such a fuss about it. People seemed to really like the project, but I wasn’t that impressed. So I kind of skimmed the CD, listening to the fast songs, and falling asleep on the ballads. But after finally hearing the rest of the songs, I’ve changed my opinion. It has some very solid ballads, and some catchy up-tempo songs. From an eleven-track album, we get about seven 5-star songs, with three others ranging from 3.5-4 stars. Only one song, “First John,” is truly not very good. The Booth Brother's have created a winner. Consider Let It Be Known when you look to expand your music collection.
CD Rating: 4.5 stars
Song Selection: 4 stars
Favorite Songs: “What About Now,” “He’s So Good to Me,” “When You Bow at Jesus’ Feet,” “Bread Upon the Water,” and others
Review copy provided by Daywind Records.
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