Search - Ronnie Milsap :: True Believer

Right Album at the Wrong Time...Milsap's Forgotten Masterpie

Ronnie Milsap | Arizona | 04/27/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After racking up an amazing forty #1 country singles for RCA from 1974 to 1989, Ronnie Milsap left the label after 20 years to sign with Liberty Records in 1993. True Believer was his first album for the label, and his first album to be ignored by radio despite the obvious quality of the music. Nashville's "young country" movement was in full swing when True Believer was released in the summer of '93, which meant nearly all country music veterans over the age of 35 had been kicked off country radio, and in many cases, their own record labels for being too old to appeal to the teenaged audience that Nashville wanted to win over.



Rather than sell out to the generic, twangy sounds of the cowboy clones then dominating the country scene, Milsap responded to the changing times with one of his strongest albums that clearly displays the remarkable versatility that makes this man one of the greatest vocalists/musicians of the past 35 years! There are pop ballads {both classic and modern}, country, rock, R&B, and even a touch of gospel on this CD which makes it one of Ronnie's most diverse albums.



The uptempo title track managed to make # 30 on the Billboard charts, while "I'm playing for you" is a great piano-based ballad that fared even worse on the charts. {It simply lacked the necessary nasal twang that Nashville wanted to hear out of its hot new stars.} "Desire" and "Desperate Man" are two strong R&B-flavored rockers that Ronnie delivers with his usual authority, but the highlight of the album is the dynamic "Better off with the Blues", a great modern blues tune that Milsap tears into with a gutsy and powerful vocal performance! Anyone who doubts that Ronnie Milsap is one of the best blues singers alive needs to crank up this song nice and loud! The man seriously needs to do a whole album of gritty blues material just like this!



"Civil War" is a dramatic country ballad with another great vocal performance from Ronnie, and "These foolish things" is Milsap's fine interpretation of a pop standard that would've fit perfectly on his last album project "Just for a Thrill". Ronnie isn't known for gospel style material, and we hear him cut loose with a group of female background singers on "Please Jesus, send my baby home to me" that closes the album. The only song here that could've been left off in my opinion is the lightweight tune "Somebody's gonna get that girl" which isn't up to the level of the rest of the tracks. Everything else is above average...and better than anything on Ronnie's new 2006 effort "My Life".



True Believer was sadly overlooked by the record buying public when it was released due to the lack of radio support it received, but don't let that stop you from picking up a copy if you can find one. This album is as good as any you'll hear by Ronnie Milsap or any country artist for that matter.



"

Deserving of twice the highest rating: TEN STARS

Reginald D. Garrard | Camilla, GA USA | 07/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I came upon this treasure in the cut-out bin of a local record store, two years after its 1993 release. Having long been a Milsap fan, I knew that I couldn't go wrong with anything from the Nashville-based legend.



"Breathtaking" is a gross understatement!!!



From the countrified funk of the first cut, "Desire," down to the down-home gospel "flava," of "Please Jesus (Send My Baby Home to Me)," the listener is in for auditory treat. In between those tracks are nine other gems that showcase the talented Mr. Milsap. "I'm Playing for You," and "Desperate Man" sound like the Ronnie Milsap that produced so many hits during the 80's while he waxes true nostalgia on the familiar standard "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)".



Milsap gets genuinely down and gritty with "Better Off With the Blues" and playful on "Somebody's Gonna Get That Girl."



"The Civil War" is a clever take on a marital relationship that has come to one of constant conflict, like "The War Between the States."



And for those of us that grew up in the Nashville area, the "Hoss Allen Seque" conjures up memories of radio station WLAC, which like the announcer, is a Nashville institution.



I just wish that this album had received better promotion for it is truly one of the best of the decade and one of the best from Ronnie Milsap."

A Crime To Overlook This One

James Fenos | Columbus, OH United States | 06/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ronnie recorded two albums for Capital, this is one of them, and it's never mentioned. This cd is the only one recorded by Ronnie for the Capital label that contains original material. "I'm Playing For You" got slight airplay and "These Foolish Things" is Ronnie's flirtation with a great standard that works beautifully. All the tracks needless to say are sung well and this album should have been more popular than it's ultimate fate, to be discarded by the label and routed directly to the budget rack before being taken out of print. During the research for Ronnie's masterful compilation "40 Number One's" which only contains 39 but who's counting, on the Virgin label, the producers of that project should have tried to get Capital's legal department to allow them to include "I'm Playing For You" on that set to keep it from being somewhat obsolete since it did not include anything from his post RCA tenure and jumped ahead to include two newly recorded tracks to "fill out" the project. The overall mastering is a bit quiet for 1993 but the sound level makes this album warmer and a bit more intimate. If ever spotted, pick this one up, luck may be had at a used cd store."