Sean O'Bryan Smith - Reflection

Thanks to decades of musicianship and a resume that’s afforded him concurrent band memberships and side gigs with some of the best in the recording industry (Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, Jerry Marotta, Allen Morgan and Forrest Robinson), guitarist and composer Sean O’Bryan Smith has been able to follow up his lauded 2008 debut, Tapestry,  with a twelve-song set  of suavely-done spiritual favorites, Reflections.

Covering both classic and contemporary hymns (“Will The Circle Be Unbroken,” “How Great Thou Art” and Andre Crouch’s “The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power,” for example), the bassist and composer manages to interpret the tracks with a reverent, yet revitalizing approach that preserves sanctity without playing it too safe (pun intended): “Blessed Be Your Name” is energetic enough to pump up an early afternoon ensemble, but subtle enough to settle the nerves for a Sunday morning church, and “Blessed Assurance” grounds the mid-tempo melody with an organ flourish that complements Smith’s guitar work without overshadowing its deftness and delicacy.

Smith’s handling of “Give Me Jesus” is airy and angelic, even alongside a galvanizing horn solo, and his original additions to the CD honor both sides of the secular/sanctified spectrum: “Called” is a spirited and sprightly uptempo with bass playing that’s as inspired as its title. Just as strong is the title track, which melds confidently spoken prose and a glimmer-filled, tenderly conveyed unfurling of a man’s confidence in a Higher Being that’s constantly tested by an Evil Underlord: “I’m chronically addicted and sonically afflicted, with piercing shouts and of Holy Ghost bouts/organized methods of how to drum the demon out.”  Recommended

PRODUCTION- 3.5 stars
LYRICS-4 stars
VOCALS-3.5 stars
MUSIC-4 stars

By Melody Charles