Himself

Description

Himself is the sophomore album by American singer, songwriter, and keyboardist James Ward, released on Dharma Productions in 1974. The album was recorded by Lee Hazen at Lee Hazen Recording Studio in Nashville, Tennessee; with Bob MacKenzie producing. All songs written by James Ward.

Himself features just the man and his instrument in the studio – no guitars, no drums, no bass, no backup singers, no orchestration. That might sound dull on paper but actually works quite well as the dude can definitely get down and tickle the ivories with finesse, while often revealing classical, blues and gospel influences. A variety of tempos and dynamics spread over the twelve original songs. My favourites are lively movers like «Morning Sun», «Creation», «He Shall Be Satisfied», and «Star In The East», but there’s also a lot of feeling within slow ballads like «I Will Follow You» and «Isaiah 53». [Ken Scott, The Archivist, 4th Edition]

LP tracklist:

Side One
A1. “Morning Sun” – 2:27
A2. “O Father” – 2:41
A3. “Consider The Lilies” – 4:14
A4. “I Will Follow You” – 3:10
A5. “Creation” – 3:21
A6. “Isaiah 53” – 4:13
A7. “He Shall Be Satisfied” – 2:24

Side Two
B1. “Speak To Me” – 4:13
B2. “I Wish That I Could Ask” – 4:16
B3. “Love Trilogy: It Was Good/I Will Serve You/I’m Glad” – 6:04
B4. “Star In The East” – 4:31
B5. “Psalm 90” – 3:10

Note: Available at Bandcamp: https://jamesward.bandcamp.com/album/james-ward-himself