Jimmy Needham - Not Without Love

Producer:  Dale Bray
Record Label:  Inpop Records
Website:  http://www.jimmyneedham.com

Anyone who has read this site regularly knows that Jimmy Needham did not fare too well in the reviews section.  His debut album was full of subpar production that felt extremely indie and featured vocals that came off as sloppy and forced.  Despite that bad review, Speak did find a substational audience as well as a couple big radio hits ("Dearly Loved” and “Fence Riders").  Needham is now releasing his sophomore national effort - Not Without Love Not only is Not Without Love an improvement on Speak - it feels like this is a totally different artist.  It’s not that Needham has drastically changed his style - rather he’s just improved that much more.  Gone are the moments that made Needham seem like an amateur.  His vocals are strong, and his runs are crisp and clean this time around.  Needham still sounds like other Top 40 artists like Jason Mraz and Marc Broussard with moments of Shane & Shane or Warren Barfield thrown in - however, he no longer sounds like a cheap imitation to the original.  Needham feels at home in his own skin this time around.  There’s a lot to like here musically - especially on pop gems like “A Breath or Two” or the worship oriented “Hurricane”.  The biggest step forward for Needham isn’t even his vocals - rather it’s his songwriting.  Needham has really grown in the lyric department - touching on everything from romantic love ("Unfailing Love” or “Firefly"), surveying of Christian culture ("Forgiven & Loved"), worship ("Hurricane"), and living life in a crazy world ("A Breath or Two").  Overall, Not Without Love is a fantastic offering from an artist just bursting with potential.  If Needham continues down this path - he should have a very long career ahead of him.  We’ll really be able to see if Needham has what it takes over the next couple of releases.  Until then - Not Without Love is a pleasant surprise for this year.

Purchase Not Without Love.

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