Show Me the Way – Terry Myrick

Terry Myrick
Show Me the Way
Sweet Melody Records (2011)
http://www.terrymyrick.com/

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog

Show Me the Way is gospel artist and off-Broadway talent Terry Myrick’s sophomore solo release on his own imprint, Sweet Melody Records.

The album’s opening selections, such as “He Is” and “It’s Going to Be All Right,” have a laidback acoustic vibe. Early on, Myrick also spends much of his time exploring the top of his five-octave range, but his vocals are more comfortable when he is singing in the middle of his range and only pulling on falsetto leaps for dramatic emphasis. For example, on “Didn’t I Tell You,” a mid-tempo mover written by the album’s producer, Rod Clemmons, Myrick’s mid-range vocalizing makes the track.

The background vocalists, including Tamara Beamer and Gail Lou DeSandies, do a fine job throughout Show Me the Way, and the Brian Hines Ensemble, accompanied by in-demand keyboardist Michael Bereal on organ, take “You Were There For Me, Lord” up several notches. Guitarist Willie Brown contributes some fine licks on the title track, while sessionista Jonathan DuBose, Jr. provides relaxed guitar work on “I Need You Lord,” a song that riffs on the lyrics to the hymn, “I Need Thee Every Hour.”

“You’re All That I Need” is a contemporary gospel piece that flirts with traditional, especially given Brian Hines’ old-school organ work.

The melodies outshine the lyrics on Show Me the Way, and some tracks work better than others, but overall the songs grow on you after a couple of listenings.

Three of Five Stars

Pick: “Didn’t I Tell You.”