| Producer: | Michael Sykes |
|---|---|
| Cuts: | It's All Right |
| Just An Old Song | |
| I Have Decided To Follow Jesus | |
| I Got Saved (In The Old Time Way) | |
| The Only Real Peace | |
| Road To Glory | |
| Baptize Me, Jesus | |
| All Is Forgiven, Come Home | |
| City Of Refuge | |
| Master Of The Wind |
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Blending old and new tunes Candy Christmas' No Turning Back is a carefully crafted package with many contrasts. Two of the older tunes are "Master Of The Wind" and "The Only Real Peace" originally made popular by her family group The Hemphills. Incidentally, both of these were written by her dad Joel Hemphill, who also contributes to several other tunes on No Turning Back. Newer cuts include a rolicking roots based production on "I Got Saved" and medium tempo numbers like "Just An Old Song." Christmas wrote or co-wrote six tunes for the project, including these two.
The evangelical emphasis of No Turning Back is evident. The album title is a line from the traditional altar call "I Have Decided To Follow Jesus." "I Got Saved" is a personal testimony. "Baptize Me, Jesus" relays a request to God for Pentecostal Spirit blessings. The message of Christian witness is most obvious on "All Is Forgiven, Come Home" as it alludes to images from the prodigal son story in scripture and presents an invitation in the simple chorus:
All is forgiven, come home.
All is forgiven, come home.
The Father's anxiously waiting and watching the road.
All is forgiven, come home.
Like many of Michael Sykes' productions (The Martins/Jeff and Sheri Easter/Mark Lowry), there is a decided country bent to the instrumentation on No Turning Back. Make Southern Gospel background vocals prominent the mix and you get the idea. "Baptize Me, Jesus" could be called "polished Southern Rock with accompanying black gospel vocals." On many arrangements, a walking bass guitar part drives the rhythm.
The more intimate tunes on No Turning Back like "Master Of The Wind" and "I Have Decided To Follow Jesus" demonstrate that Candy Christmas has superb control over tone quality and vocal delivery. Driving numbers like "It's All Right" show that she can soar above it all with energy. She's extremely versatile as a performer and not too shabby as a songwriter either. Many consumers who have watched her appear from day one on the Gaither Homecoming video series probably still don't realize just how talented this lady is. Fortunately, No Turning Back is a top quality product that has placed Christmas in a good position to gain more attention. It's finally her chance to shine.