Search - Ronnie Milsap :: Then Sings My Soul (2 CDs)

Beautiful

Valerie J. Cunningham | Columbia, MD | 03/13/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ronnie Milsap is 66 years old now, but he has been blessed with a voice that is stronger and clearer than ever. You may think to yourself, Oh, I've already heard enough versions of "Amazing Grace" or "How Great Thou Art," or the other familiar favorites on this collection...but you would be doing yourself a disservice. Ronnie Milsap has a way of making old sound new. He puts a calypso spin on "Stand By Me," and he slows down the usually up-tempo "I'll Fly Away."

Milsap gives us some hand-clappin', toe-tappin', camp meeting style songs in "Soon And Very Soon," "Up To Zion," and "Swing Down Chariot."

Don't miss this uplifting collection!"

"Milsap Magic" Lives On in 2009

Cory B. | Arizona | 03/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With six grammy awards, over 25 million records sold, and a staggering FORTY number one hits in a career that stretches back to the 1960's, the legendary Ronnie Lee Milsap remains one of the most underappreciated artists in America today, still waiting for his long overdue induction to the Country Music Hall of Fame while younger stars who found success long after Milsap have already recieved that honor. This is perhaps par for the course in a modern mainstream music scene where substance, originality, artistry, and talent take a backseat to youth, sex appeal, gimmicks, and cloning the sound and style of every manufactured star in the top 40. In a new era where music executives and record labels care more about selling CD's and making money than promoting true musical talent, there is little attention or appreciation given to the great Mr. Milsap by today's media and radio programmers.



Born in the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina, Ronnie was born and raised on the hardcore country music of that region before absorbing the early rock n' roll and R&B sounds he heard as a teenager in the 1950's. All the while, Milsap was trained in the classical music of Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart as a child and had completely mastered the piano by the age of seven! By his early 20's, the blind singer/pianist was an R&B artist on the Scepter label, working with legends like James Brown, Stevie Wonder, and Ray Charles while landing a top 5 hit on the R&B charts with "Never had it so Good" in 1965. In 1970, Milsap was a studio musician in Memphis, playing piano on several sessions for Elvis Presley including the classic hit "Kentucky Rain". Indeed, few hitmakers from any genre of music can lay claim to the extensive musical background of Ronnie Milsap. The wide variety of musical influences in his early years would help shape Milsap into the most versatile and powerful vocalist country music has ever seen.





Ronnie left Memphis for Nashville in 1973 and spent the next two decades as one of country music's most successful and consistent hitmakers. Milsap brought country music into the modern era by incorporating pop, rock, and R&B influences into an impressive string of hits during the 1970's and 80's, several of which landed in the top 20 of the pop charts. By 1993, the glory years had unfortunately ended too soon. Milsap found himself kicked off country radio thanks to Nashville's "young country" movement which saw nearly every country star from Milsap's era suddenly tossed aside by record labels and radio programmers in an effort to promote a new young breed of George Strait clones who would appeal to teenaged fans too young to appreciate a talent of Milsap's calibre. This trend sadly continues in Nashville today, as cookie-cutter barbie dolls and manufactured pretty boys with limited talent dominate the same airwaves that MASTERS like Ronnie Milsap once ruled.



In 2006, Milsap signed with his former label RCA and released a new set of mainstream contemporary country that was beneath the standards of his classic work, but still proved that he could deliver today's current country sounds with as much conviction as anybody on the charts. This album was immediately rejected by radio programmers of course, and the greatest singer in country music was hit with the sad reality of the situation facing American music today.......if you are a classically trained musician with the vocal range to sing country, R&B, blues, rock n' roll, pop ballads, jazz, funk, disco, gospel, and probably every other genre of music on God's earth, you are simply "TOO DAMN GOOD" to be allowed anywhere in the top 40 today!



The 21st century is now upon us and the music business has made their stance loud and clear: There is simply no room for the awesome musical talent and stunning versatility of Ronnie Milsap in the cookie-cutter world of mainstream American music.



Enter 2009, and the great Mr. Milsap is back with his first foray into gospel music that will likely fail to achieve any radio airplay, but will prove to everyone who hears it that "Milsap Magic" is still alive and well in the 21st century. Ronnie is at his best when he turns his attention to the music that's in his heart instead of trying to please radio programmers with radio-friendly material like his last album tried to do. Produced by Ronnie and his long-time producer Rob Galbraith, "And Sings my Soul" is a two-CD set of 24 religious tunes presented in the familiar pop-country style of Milsap's classic hits.



From the opening track "I'll Fly Away", Milsap's warm, rich, timeless voice comes flowing out of the speakers with the clarity and authority of a man 20 years younger. Just when you think that a singer in his 60's is unable to summon the stunning vocal range of his prime years, Ronnie ends the well-known classic "Amazing Grace" with a soaring high note that is the highlight of the album and proves to anyone with two ears that a 66 year old Ronnie Milsap is not the most popular singer in country music today....just the best! Along with such standards as "Peace in the Valley", "How Great thou Art", "In the Garden", "Swing Down Chariot", and "The Old Rugged Cross" are three new modern Christian songs "World of Wonder", "Up to Zion", and "Jesus was all I had". Ronnie also includes a decent remake of his number one smash from 1977 "What a difference you've made in my life", and a fresh arrangement of the pop classic "Stand by Me" that owes nothing to earlier hit versions by Ben E. King and Mickey Gilley. Milsap ends the collection with a haunting, heartfelt vocal performance of "The Lord's Prayer" that closes the album nicely.



I must admit that I'm not very familiar with gospel music in general, and I usually prefer the rock n' roll and blues side of Ronnie's music. However, this is a man capable of singing literally anything, and it is a sure bet that anything Ronnie Milsap puts his legendary voice to will be three times better than anything on my local rock, pop, or country station! Keep on keeping on Ronnie Lee, and thank you for trying to keep the REAL DEAL alive in this bleak, dark era of mainstream music that seems to grow more unbearable every year. Now do us all a great favor and kick off a national tour with Los Lonely Boys to show everyone how much TALENT our top 40 stations continue to reject year after year.



LONG LIVE THE ONGOING LEGACY OF "MILSAP MAGIC"!!"

Milsap Magic+Gospel Music=His Best Album Yet!

Danny Green | 03/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As you may know already, Ronnie Milsap has 40 number ones, 35 on Billboard, 7 Grammies at the most, 8 CMAs, and has recorded not only country, but also R&B, Soul, Rock, Pop, Jazz, 1950's doo-wop, and, ealier this decade, standards (Just For A Thrill). After performing Precious Lord, Take My Hand for a CD release of various Grand Ole Opry gospel performances by other artists, Ronnie finally releases his own gospel album, Then Sings My Soul. This features 24 gospel songs, some of which I'll talk about here. How Great Thou Art was a Grammy winner for Elvis Presley. Amazing Grace was done by "everybody" from church choirs and frequent gospel singers to Elvis Presley and Charlie Rich. Swing Down Sweet Chariot, also Presley, Just A Closer Walk With Thee was recorded by Rich on Silver Linings, What A Differece You've Made In My Life is a rerecording of one of my favorite songs by Milsap that was one of his 40 number ones, The Lord's Prayer is a song version of a prayer Jesus Christ taught his disiples, that's right, Christ said those exact words! This album contains 3 new songs. Up To Zion is a good recording that was released I think to southern gospel radio last month. World Of Wonder is great too, and was probably the only new song he directly referred to when speaking of the new songs. Jesus Was All I Had is the other, other than that, all I can say is great job! Then Sings My Soul adds more diversity to his already diverse catalogue, ranks with Greatest Hits in my opinion as his best release yet already, a great, long overdue project, and most highly recommended for everybody, especially for Milsap/gospel fans, or those looking for inspiration. Either way, grab a set (and remember, it's a 2 CD set) for yourself before it becomes obscure! P.S. I was going to title this 'Then Sings His Soul' but decided what's there would sound more inspiring."