R3- Jonathan McReynolds- Life Music
R3
Album: Life Music
Artist: Jonathan McReynolds
Label: Tehillah Music Group/Light Records/e-One
Reviewer: Hasan James
We are living in a time where young people are influenced by everything and everyone around them and it is very rare when you have a young person take a stand for what is righteous, especially in their music. However, there are times when someone comes along and changes that perception. Enter, Jonathan McReynolds and his debut CD, Life Music.
Over the past couple of months, his first single “I Love You” has become a Top 20 hit at radio and is beautiful ballad that speaks to both the heart of the listener and the heart of God. But it doesn’t stop there, as every song that follows is just as heartfelt, melodic and honest as the one prior. Even on the song “Lovin’ Me”, he sings to the Lord- “Even with the pimples on my face you keep Lovin’ Me.” How’s that for honest!
McReynolds is not one of those people who have been singing all of his life, however, his passion, his vulnerability and his voice on his debut makes that fact very hard to believe. On the song “No Gray”, the chorus boasts:
And if it’s God we’re after
I just can’t serve two masters
And before something happens
I gotta turn it all around
Because I know
I just can’t have my cake and eat it too
Cause it’s really easy to stay on the fence and still do you
And it’d be cool if we could love the Lord and still go do our thing
But see it doesn’t work like that
You gotta be white or black
“No Gray” has already become a You Tube sensation is probably one of the best songs on the album. While the opening track, “Everything” is funk, soul and pop mixed together to perfection.
Every track on the 12 song- set is vulnerable and honest and by the end of the album you feel like the songs were written specifically with you in mind. Jonathan Reynolds voice, albeit similar to that of J. Moss, is simply amazing and he serves up Acoustic Soul that even India Arie would be proud of.
It’s been a long time since there was an album that was unintentionally geared towards young people but 23 year- old Jonathan McReynolds did a great job at being unintentionally intentional, offering up music about life as he sees it. “Life Music” is #ROOTCERTIFIED
