Wilshire

Description

The self-titled debut album by the American pop duo Wilshire (husband-and-wife Micah and Lori Wilshire) was released on Rocketown Records in 1998, manufactured and distributed by both Word Entertainment and Epic, a division of Sony Music. The album was recorded at Sixteenth Avenue Sound, The Bonus Room, and Scrimshaw Sound in Nashville, Tennessee; with tracks 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 engineered by Salvo (Raymond Boyd) and tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 10 engineered by David Leonard and Dennis Matkosky. Mixed by Leonard (tracks: 1, 3, 7, 9, 10) and Salvo (tracks: 2, 4, 5, 6, 8) at Sixteenth Avenue Sound (except tracks 2 and 5 mixed at Recording Arts in Nashville). Produced by Matkosky (tracks: 1 to 3, 5, 7, 9, 10) and Micah Wilshire (tracks: 4, 6, 8).

Give Michael W. Smith some credit. Over the years, he’s given acts like dc Talk and Jars of Clay access to his audience via opening slots on his past tours, and they’ve gone on to have a tremendous amount of success thanks in part to that initial exposure.

With the formation of Rocketown Records, Smith has essentially done the same thing, counting on his reputation and savvy recognition of potentially huge new talents to draw people to the new artists he’s shepherding. Debut artist Chris Rice proved to be just such a profitable gamble with a debut project garnering six recent Dove Award nominations.

But can Smith strike gold again with the label’s newest act, the husband-and-wife duo Wilshire? We’ll have to wait on MWS’ upcoming tour to know for sure, but based upon their debut album… maybe.

Micah and Lori Wilshire are both incredibly talented vocalists who joined Smith on his “I’ll Lead You Home” tour in 1995 and ’96 (Micah also contributed his copious guitar skills to the band). And their collaborative songwriting skills have produced a good set of easily accessible pop tunes for this record.

The concern with ‘Wilshire’ the album is that Wilshire the act may be too talented. Lead vocal duties (and there’s always a “lead” vocal, never a true duet) bounce back and forth between Lori and Micah, and neither ever really gets to shine. A shame since each owns a fine set of chops. The tracks themselves are solid, but production-wise, nothing really jumps out at you. The Beatles’ influences are a little heavy-handed at times, and the attitude that could be displayed on the more modern rock-type songs becomes a little diluted by the pop sheen on the vocal production.

However, there are several standout tunes, namely tracks two and three, «Ms. Innocence» and «Closer Still», both of which are fun, upbeat songs that should sit nicely on radio. [Lucas W. Hendrickson, CCM, May 1998]

New artist on Michael W Smith‘s Rocketown Records, Micah Wilshire and his wife, Lori, have made a quality debut. I don’t easily make comparisons but Out Of The Grey with a harder edge and shades of Sixpence None The Richer come to mind. Having said that, this duo are going to make impact in their own right. As well as songwriting, Micah’s producing and their great vocal talents, they both play guitars and have a great bunch of musicians and producers around them. The 38 min album rocks in with «Over My Head», something of a contemporary psalm of the struggle of understanding; «Ms Innocence», about shallow relationships (“The further I get from me, closer to you/ I believe I want to be”) and «Closer Still» (“where you are, what you will”) which you heard on the CR Experience Vol 27. The pace calms with the cello on «Can You See Me» and another standout track is «Hear The Sound» (“You’ll see it’s all around/ People are crying out for help/ He’s got to be the one in you and me”), featuring harmonica and Wurlitzer. The closing choice is the prayerful «In This Moment» by Rob Mathes and Douglas Kaine McKelvey. [Alan & Angeline Chesters, Cross Rhythms, August 1998]

> iTunes (https://music.apple.com/us/album/wilshire/1308948526)

CD tracklist:

01. Over My Head – 4:11
02. Ms. Innocence – 2:24
03. Closer Still – 3:10
04. Can You See Me – 4:18
05. Face – 4:43
06. Hear the Sound – 4:30
07. If I Could – 2:46
08. Deep – 3:52
09. Medicine – 4:14
10. In This Moment – 4:01

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