Dave's Top Eight

1. Jerry Reed...Revisited by Darrell Toney (reviewed 6/07) (5 Stars)
2. Sounds Like Sunday by Janet Paschal (reviewed 5/07) (5 Stars)
3. True To The Call by Kingdom Heirs (reviewed 3/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
4. Revival by Gold City (reviewed 10/06) (4 1/2 Stars)
5. Get Away Jordan by Ernie Haase & Signature Sound (reviewed 2/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
6. Breakin' Chains by Three Bridges (reviewed 5/07) (4 1/2 Stars)
7. Big Sky by The Isaacs (reviewed 4/07)
8. Skywriting by Mercy's Well (reviewed 7/07)

Click title to purchase at CBD.com...click artist name to read Dave's Review. A CD will automatically fall out of the Top Eight after twelve months if no CD surpasses it before then.

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July 14, 2007

CD Review: Dave Williford (A King's Ransom)

RATING: 4 Stars

Producer: Dave Williford
Website: www.willifordmusic.com

Song Titles: "Forgiven," "Over and Over," "Cowboy Heaven," "Born To Sing," "He Did," "A King's Ransom," "What I Believe," "When I See Your Face," "American Christian," "I'll Pray," "I Don't Have A Prayer," and "Do You Know Jesus"

A King's Ransom is a great independent project by Dave Williford. He wrote all twelve songs, sang and produced. A drummer, vocalist, and bass guitar player are listed as members of the Dave Williford Band in the liner notes, but it appears Williford actually played everything himself on the CD. (The liner notes also state, "All instrumentation by Dave Williford.")

"Forgiven" is the first cut and it's also Williford's first single to radio. Some country piano licks make this track stand out, and you can go ahead and get used to it. This becomes a trend. "Over And Over" has a rollicking feel that reminds me of Gordon Mote's "I Catch 'em, God Cleans 'em." The pace slows a bit for "Cowboy Heaven"...not my favorite lyric. I get the point of the song and it's well written enough, but there's enough "Y'ouns" and "Y'alls" in this one to make Jeff Foxworthy proud. "Born To Sing" returns to the upbeat feel of the first two tracks with a bit of slightly distorted guitar added for a nice effect.

Williford offers eight more tracks to complete A King's Ransom. I won't detail each song for you as I typically do in a review, but trust me, there's a lot to like. The background vocals are mixed hot enough that fans of harmony should be happy. In other words, there's a significant "trio" feel to this solo recording. Williford is a decent enough singer...no Ivan Parker by any stretch...but pretty good, and although he may not quite be a Mark Bishop or David Patillo in the songwriting department, he's within striking distance. Williford knows how to paint a picture with his lyrics in addition to getting the rhythms right in his phrases. More than that, he sure knows how to create a compelling musical groove...not studio perfect, but vibrant in a way that makes you him to keep on playing.

A King's Ransom is worth checking out. I don't consider this CD to be a 5-Star project for reasons I've mentioned above, but I think it's going to make Dave's Top Eight. (DTE appears at the top of this blog. I list my personal favorites from the last twelve months.) I've had this CD in my car for a while now, and I've listened to it from beginning to end at least ten times without getting tired of it (other than "Cowboy Heaven"). The appeal for me is the live band element in Williford's sound. That's really refreshing in a typically over-produced musical world.

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Here's some extra info regarding Williford's CD...
Rather than going to his website to order his CD or seeking it out in a traditional brick and mortar store, you can click HERE to purchase and download it right now. If you don't want the whole CD, you can buy just one song. The good news is there's no nasty DRM or proprietary format to annoy and frustrate you. The company Williford is using sells 192-bit MP3 files, which play on any standard digital listening device and can be easily transferred from one to another.

Of course, independent artists have been doing this sort of "non-traditional" marketing for some time now, but it hasn't really caught on in Southern Gospel for some reason. It's encouraging to see independent artists of Williford's caliber out there testing the waters.

And no, I'm not getting a cut from the sales I send his way. I'm genuinely glad to see an artist who is taking this approach in addition to the traditional marketing opportunities that have been around forever. Perhaps the mainstream labels will fully embrace this mode of distribution in the future. So far, it hasn't looked too promising.

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posted by David Bruce Murray @ 1:48:00 AM


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