The Race

Description

The Race is the sixth and final vocal album by the American singer, songwriter, keyboardist, and producer Michael Omartian, released on Myrrh Records in 1991, a division of Word. Also manufactured and distributed by Epic, a division of Sony Music. The album was produced by Michael Omartian. Most of the songs on this album were written in collaboration with Michael Anderson. (Omartian actually did produce Anderson’s self-titled, sophomore album, released on A&M Records in 1990.)

Long-time Christian music aficionados remember Michael Omartian not just as a producer, but as the artist who released two landmark albums in the mid-’70s – ‘White Horse‘ and ‘Adam Again‘. Michael and his wife Stormie went on to release ‘Seasons of the Soul‘ in 1978 and ‘The Builder‘ in 1980, with Stormie serving as lyricist on all four projects. Except for an instrumental album released by Reunion a few years ago, not much has been heard from Michael Omartian the artist in the past decade.

Since ‘The Race’ is Omartian’s first solo vocal project in 15 years, it comes with high expectations. It is primarily a one man show, with Omartian producing, arranging, writing all the music and playing most of the instruments. Michael Anderson wrote the lyrics on seven of the album’s nine songs, with Bruce Sudano (husband of Donna Summer) contributing one and collaborating on another. Omartian wrote «Alone», appropriately enough, alone.

«Alone» evokes images of the loneliness felt by a soldier, the homeless, a victim of sexual abuse and Christ on the cross. “Take the time to feel the way they do,” says the chorus; “take the time to feel their pain.” In the end, Omartian convicts us with his confession: “With my loved ones gathered around me/ Warm fire burns inside this home/ And I seem to have forgotten what it is to be alone.”

By now you have probably heard the song which starts off ‘The Race’, «Faithful Forever», on Christian radio. With its bright synths, commercial melody and positive lyrics, it is representative of what this album has to offer. «Heartbreak City» and «Burn it Up» give the album a bit of a rock edge, while «Cry From the East» hearkens back to the sound and style of ‘White Horse’.

Other notable cuts include «Kingdoms», a beautiful love song with a haunting melody, and «Morning Light», which begins with a nice sax and ends with a gospel chorus which may remind you of Rick Astley’s «Cry For Help».

While ‘White Horse’ and ‘Adam Again’ were produced for a mainstream company (which forced Stormie to express her faith obtusely), ‘Seasons of the Soul’ and ‘The Builder’ were written with the Christian market in mind. However, the latter approach often damages the artfulness of Christian expression, so Omartian seems to have attempted a balance here.

Vocally, Omartian sounds better than ever, despite the fact that he’s not the type to contend for Male Vocalist of the Year. His singing is more aggressive than in the past, and it works well for him.

Was ‘The Race’ worth the wait? I’d have to answer with a qualified “yes” since he can probably never live up to expectations (nor should he have to). Omartian is a front-runner in my book, and ‘The Race’ is a winner. [John W. Styll, CCM, September 1991]

CD tracklist:

01. Faithful Forever
02. Heartbreak City
03. Let My Heart Be The First To Know
04. Kingdoms
05. Cry From The East
06. Alone
07. Last Night On Earth
08. Morning Light
09. Burn It Up
10. Kingdoms (Instrumental Reprise)

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by Myrrh Records.