Michael W. Smith Project

Description

Michael W. Smith Project is the debut album by the American singer, songwriter, and keyboardist Michael W. Smith, released on Reunion Records in February 1983, distributed by Word Records. Also distributed by A&M Records. (It was the second album released by the new label, Stubborn Love by Kathy Troccoli being the first.) The album was recorded by Mike Psanos with Brown Bannister at Tree International Studio in Nashville, Tennessee; and was produced by Michael W. Smith. Mixed by Jack Joseph Puig. Music written by Michael W. Smith with lyrics by his wife Deborah D. Smith. (Trivia: The original album budget was the humble amount of $8,000. Though in the end, Smith went $3,000 over budget.)

According to CCM Magazine, Michael W. Smith Project was the 8th best selling album of 1984 in the Christian music market, and as well the 9th best selling album of 1986. The album was certified Gold (500,000 copies sold) by the RIAA in July 1990. The first single from the album, “Great Is The Lord,” peaked at No. 1 on the US Christian AC and CHR charts. The album track “Friends” was covered by Tami Gunden on Celebration, an album recorded by the same engineer, at the same studio, and featuring the same session band, as Michael W. Smith Project. Later also covered by the pop-punk band Ghoti Hook on their 1998 cover-album Songs We Didn’t Write.

At the start of his Christian music career, Michael W. Smith was known primarily as a songwriter and keyboardist. Michael W. Smith Project, his 1983 debut as an artist, came on the heels of his high-profile stint in Amy Grant’s touring group. The album’s heavy use of synthesizers lends it a sound somewhere between the Doobie Brothers and Mannheim Steamroller, spiced up at times with techno-pop touches. Smith tries a little bit of everything here, testing out his arena rock chops on «Be Strong and Courageous», experimenting with jittery New Wave rhythms on «You Need a Savior» and dabbling in jazz-funk on «Looking Up». «Sonata in D Minor» and «Alpha Overture» are well-rendered classical flourishes, while «Great is the Lord» is a stirring contemporary hymn. As a singer, Smith still doesn’t evidence the confidence he would show on later albums, though the sensitive ballad «Friends» hints at his later intimate style. Songs like «Too Many Times» foreshadow the powerful declarations of faith that would be a hallmark of his late ‘80s and ‘90s work.

[CCM, June 1985]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/project/359221883)

LP tracklist:

Side One
A1. “Sonata in D Major” (Instrumental) – 1:13
A2. “You Need A Saviour” – 3:34
A3. “Could He Be The Messiah” – 4:28
A4. “Too Many Times” – 4:25
A5. “Be Strong And Courageous” – 3:42
A6. “Looking Up” (Instrumental) – 3:23

Side Two
B1. “The Race Is On” – 3:41
B2. “First Light / Love In The Light” – 5:30
B3. “Friends” (feat. Amy Grant) – 4:16
B4. “Great Is The Lord” – 2:52
B5. “Alpha Overture” (Instrumental) – 3:40

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and 12-inch vinyl LP by Reunion Records. Re-issued on CD in 1987 with new cover artwork (featuring an updated photo of Michael W. Smith).

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“Friends”, Live at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, 2019. (35 Years of Friends: Celebrating the Music of Michael W. Smith, TBN)

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CREDITS. Produced by Michael W. Smith. Recorded at Tree International Studio, Nashville, TN. Engineered by Mike Psanos with assistance by Brown Bannister, John Woods, and Michael W. Smith. Remixed by Jack J. Puig. Mastered by Hank Williams at Woodland Studios. Album Photography by Mike Borum. Executive-Producers: Dan Harrell and Michael Blanton. All songs written by Michael W. Smith, or co-written with Debbie Smith.

Musicians: Michael W. Smith (Piano, Fender Rhodes Electric Piano, Yamaha GS2 Keyboard, Prophet 5 Synthesizer), Shane Keister (Vocoder, OBX Prophet 5 Synthesizer), Dennis Solee (Saxophone), Jon Goin (Guitar), Mike Brignardello (Bass), Mark Hammond (Drums), Mike Psanos (Percussion). Vocals: Chris Harris, Dave Durham, Diana DeWitt, Gary Chapman, Gary Pigg, Jackie Cusic, Kimberly Smith, Pam Mark Hall, Ron Downey, Teresa Ellis.