Description
Marked for Life is the solo debut album by the American singer and songwriter Bonnie Keen of First Call fame, released on Spring Hill Music in 1999, distributed by Chordant Distribution. The album was recorded by Bill Deaton, Mark Hammond, and Brent King at Omnisound Studios, Creative Recording, and Quad Studios in Nashville, and at Dark Horse Recording Studio in Franklin, Tennessee; with Brent King producing. Mixed by Ronnie Brookshire at MCA Studio in Nashville. Featuring additional vocals by Michael Gleason, Trace Balin, Fred Sawyers, John Madgett, Tim Davis, Marty McCall, Lisa Bevill, Chris Willis, and Russ Taff.
BONNIE KEEN – Marked For Life – PRODUCER: Brent King – Spring Hill 2438-25474
Bonnie Keen has long been one of Christian music’s best-loved voices. As a founding member of the highly acclaimed trio First Call, Keen has been a fixture on the contemporary Christian landscape, recording 12 albums and relentlessly touring, picking up five Grammy nominations and three Dove Awards along the way. “Marked For Life” is Keen’s first solo effort, and it was well worth the wait. The songs on the album were inspired by Keen’s roller coaster life as an artist and a divorced single parent coping with life’s challenges and rewards. Keen wrote or co-wrote each of the 10 cuts for this collection, which takes an unflinching look at life yet maintains an atmosphere of hope and encouragement. Produced by Keen’s new husband, Brent King, the arrangements keep the focus on Keen’s lovely vocals. Among the album’s best tracks are «Every Drop Of Red», «Your Love Changes Everything», «You Will Cover Me», and the title song. Keen, who plans to continue traveling and recording with First Call, has written a book of her experiences, also titled “Marked For Life,” due out next year; one can only hope she’ll squeeze in time to release another satisfying solo project. She’s got a lot to say and a wonderful way of saying it. [Deborah Evans Price, Billboard Magazine, August 14, 1999 (Reviews & Previews/Contemporary Christian)]
Following on from a career of mixed blessings with the band First Call – the band had recorded 12 albums and been awarded three Dove awards before some highly-publicised personal problems caused the group to fold, Bonnie Keen has emerged from her own traumas of divorce and depression with 10 songs essentially testifying to the grace of God in bringing her through the pain she has experienced, on this, her first solo album. All of the tracks are co-written by Bonnie, bar two which are Keen-penned alone, and are delivered with passion. Bonnie is not afraid to stretch her voice to its limits and this is nowhere better illustrated than on the final track «You Will Cover». An almost Celtic-feel ballad, this is a pleasant surprise of acoustic instruments at the close of a pop album. The song is tauntingly prayerful and powerful, with a slightly superfluous, but, nonetheless welcome rough edge to the vocal provided by the superb Russ Taff. More songs in the same vein might have made for a better album. Keen writes emotively on the subject of putting our trust entirely in God while going through times of trial, and the result is well worth a listen, although too many of the tracks lack memorability. [Rosemary Payne, Cross Rhythms, February 2000]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/marked-for-life/260093996)
CD tracklist:
01. Marked for Life – 5:50
02. Every Drop of Red – 3:42
03. Isaac – 5:06
04. Your Love Changes Everything – 4:49
05. Every Single Act of Love – 5:14
06. When the Now Begins – 4:39
07. Give Them Wings to Fly – 5:26
08. My Hosanna – 4:30
09. Where is Your Heart Tonight – 4:43
10. You Will Cover Me – 6:15
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by Spring Hill Music.
A full-page advertisement for Bonnie Keen’s Marked for Life was featured in the July 1999 issue of CCM Magazine.
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