Description
Free Yourself is an album by the American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Don Potter, released on Myrrh Records in 1984, a division of Word. The album was produced by Brent Maher.
Don Potter’s Free Yourself has rarely been of my turntable recently. He’s an incredibly talented acoustic guitarist/songwriter/singer who’s performed and written with artists as diverse as Chuck Mangione and The Judds. Vocal comparisons are generally misleading, but you’ll hear the likes of Bob Bennett, Billy Crockett, and Bruce Cockburn here. Perhaps I hear Cockburn because of Potter’s jaunty version of Bruce’s «I’m Gonna Fly Someday».
I hope Word adds Free Yourself to its CD line, because I’ve rarely heard a better sounding album. Potter’s warm, rich acoustic guitar tones create a resonace all their own. His roots are in jazz, and on songs like the title track and «So Good (Martha’s Song)», jazz nuances and inflections enrich every verse. There’s not a hackneyed phrase or measure on the entire LP.
Free Yourself also boasts a near-perfect new Christmas song (on par with Morris Chapman’s «Bethlehem Morning») in «It’s the Messiah», a moving ballad with intensely personal overtones. I also love his delicate, innovative version of Curtis Mayfield’s «People Get Ready».
Don Potter makes music that moves people. [CCM, April 1985]
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Free Yourself” – 3:42
A2. “So Good (Martha’s Song)” – 3:20
A3. “Happy Man” – 4:27
A4. “Simon Peter” – 4:16
Side Two
B1. “It’s The Messiah” – 3:54
B2. “I’m Gonna Fly Someday” – 2:50
B3. “People Get Ready” – 2:21
B4. “Behold God/Awake Oh Israel” – 3:20
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and 12-inch vinyl LP by Myrrh Records.
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