Mary Alessi – Pressing On

Mary Alessi
Pressing On
Miami Life Sounds (2010)
http://www.maryalessi.com/

Having experienced the flowing, atmospheric praise and worship style of her twin sister, Martha Munizzi, I was totally unprepared for, but pleasantly surprised by, the opening moments of Mary Alessi’s fourth release, Pressing On.

On the first few tracks of her fourth album, released last month, Mary jams out like Martha’s headphone-wearing rock star sister. The arrangements join sweet praise and worship lyrics with CCM melodies and pulse-pounding power pop. Michael Hodge’s electric guitar sizzles and stings while the beat sounds plucked from the Cars songbook.  Alessi attacks the lyrics like a saved and sanctified Joan Jett.

Munizzi makes a cameo appearance on one of the power pop pieces, the electrifying “More Than Conquerors.” The sisters ought to release an album together, performing songs that harken back to their roots as children in a family of traveling evangelists.

Midway through the project, and at just the right juncture, Alessi turns down the heat – she would have boiled over otherwise! – to render mellower praise ballads. Her estimable songwriting skills and command of melody and song structure stand out at this point, especially on the gorgeous ballad “Saturate Me” and the equally heartfelt title track.

About the title track: Alessi came up with the concept for “Pressing On” after her husband, Stephen, suffered a heart attack while the couple was vacationing.  The song is given an informal acoustic treatment here but would be a masterpiece if sung more slowly and to an orchestral arrangement with a heartbeat of a rhythm. Like most songs written from a deep well of emotional turmoil, “Pressing On” has legs and I suspect will be covered by other artists in time.

While most of the songs carry CCM melodies and rhythm, “Great Day” contains a touch of contemporary country.  The medley, “I’ll Come Running to You/Have Your Way in Me,” has more than a dash of contemporary gospel, with Alessi vamping bluesy at the end.

Songs such as “I Will Bless the Lord,” “I Love You,” and “I Surrender All,” the latter co-written with Aaron W. Lindsey, are more typically P&W in their embrace of drama and hypnotic introspection. The audience is singing along at this point in the service.  One can visualize a sea of arms waving in worshipful assent.

Pressing On is a well-crafted and superbly paced project with plenty to like about it. It was recorded live at Mary and Stephen Alessi’s Metro Life Church in Miami and signals Mary’s debut as a producer. The album was released last month on the couple’s new Miami Life Sounds imprint.

Four of Five Stars

gPod Picks: “More Than Conquerors,” “Pressing On,” “Saturate Me.”

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.