Paul Porter – F.R.E.E.

On the heartwarming inspirational ballad, “Ground Zero,” Paul Porter uses the 9/11 inference to encourage listeners there is hope after seemingly insurmountable challenges.

This selection from F.R.E.E., Porter’s new full-length solo album and first for Motown Gospel, is sung from experience.  A founding member of the popular Christianaires quartet, Porter developed an aneurysm at age 34, was wheelchair-bound for three years and didn’t fully recover for the better part of a decade.  Nothing short of a miraculous recovery saved him from becoming a permanent invalid.

“Ground Zero” is one of many outstanding selections on Porter’s album, which is just as musically versatile as his 2008 release, A New Day (Light Records), but traverses more retro soul and funk territory than its predecessor.

For example, “Time For Your Blessing” has the brassy punch of Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness,” and “Thankful” can trace its lineage to Sly Stone as well as James Brown and the Famous Flames, right down to the funky bass licks, breakdowns, and Porter’s wordless exclamations.

The title track—a reflection on what is really important in life—evokes 1970s Staple Singers, and “I Wanna Know” is a decent cover of the Foreigner/New Jersey Mass Choir’s “I Want to Know What Love Is.”

If the musical palette is varied, Porter’s hard-singing quartet side remains in place, especially on selections such as “Joy,” where he gets to quartet shouting, and the gospel bluesy “You Can’t Give Up.”

The album benefits from the award-winning production duo of Blac Elvis and Harold Lilly (Beyoncé, Jamie Fox, Fergie, Alicia Keys) and top shelf guest vocalists.  Porter, Ruben Studdard, and Le’Andria Johnson make a formidable trio on “I Wanna Know,” especially Le’Andria’s seething reading of one of the verses. Smokie Norful lends his flexible tenor on the title track and album’s first single.  Charmaine Swimpson on “Put Him First” is a splendid singing partner, and gospel veteran Rance Allen’s unmistakable voice is prominent on “Full Bloom.”

A New Day was a good album for Paul Porter but F.R.E.E. is a great album, bristling with inspiration, hope, and gospel grittiness.

Five of Five Stars