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Producers: Ray (Chip) Davis, Michael English, and George Hairr
Label: Mark Lowry Productions
Website: http://www.marklowry.com

Be The Miracle is the latest all-music project from entertainer/communicator Mark Lowry, following the very good But Seriously and the excellent Some Things Never. If your only exposure to Lowry has been his appearances on the Gaither video series, know that you have only witnessed a portion of the talent that this man possesses. His shtick on the Gaither tour was to be Jerry Lewis to Bill Gaither's Dean Martin, with an occasional Vocal Band feature thrown in. Since departing the Gaither Vocal Band in 2001, Mark has been headlining his own tour that allows him to sing and share more of his heart with the audience. Be The Miracle is a microcosm of Lowry's current ministry.

"Be The Miracle" starts the project and is a reminder to all Christians that although God still works miracles whenever and however He wants, we should be on the lookout for people around us in need so that we can minister to them and be the miracle that they have been praying for. This song is a great challenge to all. "What Kind of King Is This" follows and is stylistically a cross between pop and inspirational.

Next, Lowry works a tender duet with Susan Ashton on the breathy ballad "I've Never Been Out Of His Care" that was penned by Phil Johnson. "Carry Me" is a Sonya Isaacs tune originally recorded by the Isaacs in 1996 that features guest vocals from Kim Lord and Michael English. You can hear the convincing emotion in Lowry's voice as he pleads his case on this fantastic version of this song.

Things really pick up for the next three songs. "Jump Across Jordan" is pure southern gospel with a full quartet on the chorus. This Scooter Simmons song was released to southern gospel radio by a regional group back in 2003, but it is a really good, fun song that shows Lowry can handle yet another song style. "God Is Crazy About You" is a novelty song with a musical style that is a cross between funk and black gospel. It's the type of song you would have expected to see Lowry sing on a Gaither video. Whether you like the style of the music or not, there is no denying the truth of the message. "The Sweetest Song I Know" was written by Albert E. Brumley and made popular several decades ago by the Happy Goodman Family. It also gets the quartet treatment on the chorus and features Angie Prim on the second verse. The driving music track for Lowry's version would never be confused with the Goodman's version, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

"Give It Time" and "Watcha Need" both have a country feel, which Lowry pulls off with aplomb. Kim Lord and Amber Baltzglier of Lordsong provide the backing vocals on "God Calls Us All", which is an up-tempo pop-sounding song that reminds us that God has a job for every Christian to do. The Gaither classic "Going Home" closes out the project, again with Kim Lord and Michael English providing backing vocals.

Be The Miracle is a tremendous album. Mark Lowry presents a collection of lyrically strong songs with diverse musical styles performed practically flawlessly. It is sometimes hard for a soloist to produce a project that will hold the listeners' attention for the duration. Maybe Lowry's ADHD worked to his advantage in selecting songs for this project, because the songs did not get stylistically repetitive so there were no songs that I wanted to skip past while listening. The lyrics for the songs range from challenging to encouraging. On the technical side, the project is top-notch. I recommended Be The Miracle highly to anyone and everyone.

Reader Comments

I thought this was Mark's best studio effort to date. I didn't think he'd beat "But Seriously", but he did. "Some Things Never Change" never did much for me, but Mark completely redeemed himself with "Be the Miracle." One of the best of 2006, by far! I'd have given it 5 stars, but I think Scot's review was extremely fair and accurate.

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