CD Review: Sandy Paramore – It Was Love For Me
by Antony Bailey for Country Music News International
1.It Was Love For Me
2.Havest Time
3. Praise The Lord, I Saw The Light
4.Don’t Lose Your Vision Of Jesus
5.I’ll Never Be Lonely
6.I’ll Fly Away
7.It Is No Secret
8.Just A Closer Walk Than Thee
9.It’s Worth It All
10. Amazing Grace
This album is a must listen for a tired and weary audience looking to feel energized and empowered on a Sunday morning. The country-gospel album ‘It Was Love For Me’ by Sandy Paramore is certainly one to spend an hour or so listening to and revisiting from time to time. It will most certainly leave you feeling invigorated and emotionally fulfilled after allowing yourself to be graced by a combination of both soaring oscillating and recurring melody lines that reappear throughout the ten-track album. The LP permeates all musical borders as it delivers a message of hope, perseverance, and determination to overcome the adversity that has blighted the lives of many in recent times.
‘Harvest Time’ tones it down slightly with regards to the tempo, dynamics, and instrumentation. The rhythm section creates a sense of riding a horse through the wide-open country whereas the lyrics leave you feeling more in tune with your spiritual self. Lyrics such as ‘’Help me be faithful//to never waste one precious moment’’ has religious connotations and speaks of placing one’s trust in the lord.
‘‘Praise the lord, I Saw The Light’’ is the refrain from the third track on the album entitled ‘I Saw The Light’ and highlights the need to place her trust into the lord in order to feel at peace with herself and her surroundings. ‘Don’t Lose Your Vision Of Jesus’ is perhaps the standout song on the album with regards to being able to relate to the current times. It is fair to say that everybody’s faith has been pushed to the limit no matter the belief, religion, creed, or culture. The tune is similar to a ballad in the sense that it narrates a story of hope with lyrics along the lines of ‘’don’t look back, keep travelling on’’.
‘I’ll Never Be Lonely’ is the next track on the album, bringing us to the half-way stage. The song swings a little to add a hint of raw emotion to the music. The music stands as a poignant reminder of how difficult and heart-breaking it can be to feel lonely and vulnerable as though you have nobody around who neither cares nor supports you through the good moments and the bad. ‘’Lonely days and lonely nights filled with despair//long for someone to care’’ is followed by the refrain ‘’I’ll never be lonely again’’ to indicate her unwavering faith in Jesus.
‘I’ll Fly Away’ is about looking for a sense of escapism. Lyrics such as ‘’When I die//hallelujah by and by, I’ll fly away to a land where joy shall never end’’ can be interpreted as searching for a sense of peace combined with the reassurance of oneself that they will go to heaven as they have remained faithful to the lord.
‘It Is No Secret’ offers a rather sombre tone musically despite continuing to push a religious narrative about how ‘’there is no secret what God can do’’ and it simply lends itself to an audience desperately searching for fulfilment and a sense of escapism. ‘’With arms wide open’’ indicates the opportunity is there for anybody to improve themselves.
The following song ‘Just A Closer Walk Than Thee’ contains a recurring walking bass line which can heard in the intro and naturally compliments the title of the track. ‘’Dear Lord let it be’’ is the refrain in the song and like the previous tracks on the album offers a sense of strength and Godspeed for what often be a arduous journey through life.
The penultimate track on the album ‘It’s Worth It All’ renews the energy and narrative that the album carries throughout which is to place one’s trust in the lord and not waver in supporting or trusting in the Lord and Jesus Christ. The message behind the music is about reaffirming how it was worth believing in the Lord.
The final track on the album is a cover of ‘Amazing Grace’ which contains a plagal cadence (Also known as the Amen cadence). The IV-I chord progression where the sub-dominant triad resolves to the tonic and is often heard at the end of a Christian hymn as well as in a lot of country and gospel music. The album is well worth the listen and highly recommended to anybody wishing to discover a different artist in their spare time.