Published August 11th, 2006 by hrabbach
Shawn McDonald - Ripen
So many releases in the CCM market these days are very similar sounding, very mainstream. It’s refreshing to every now end then hold a real gem in my hands - and Shawn McDonald’s sophomore studio album “Ripen” definitely is such a gem. I must admit I already like his debut “Simply Nothing” a lot and now this one is even better.
This is definitely not an album that you can just pop into your CD player and then expect to keep running in the background as some kind of easy-listening backdrop to whatever else you’re doing. The music is far too good for that… it really manages to combine simplicity with complexity, as weird as that may sound. I love the interesting mix of instruments - heavy on acoustic guitar and cello with some extravagant percussion thrown in here and there. And the lyrics go deeper than on many other productions - I’ve rarely seen such authenticity in modern songwriting. So do expect quite a few rather meditative songs, both musically and lyrically - but in the tradition of singer-songwriters from days seemingly gone by, there are also a few beautifully told little stories.
Usually I try to pick a favorite song… that’s very difficult with this album. For me it works more as a collection than as single songs. So… no favorites today, maybe next time. But if you’ve got an hour (or slightly less), maybe this one’s for you.
