Smokie Norful - Life Changing

Smokie Norful

Loved the CD. Bought it for myself first. Then I bought it for my mom as a birthday gift. She loves it also. Great pick!! February 14, 2008

A Stellar Gospel CD

Smokie Norful is one of my favorite male vocalists and one of my favorite Gospel artist. Ever since he debut back in 2002 with I Need You Now, he has been showing not only the Gospel industry but also the mainstream how a man can minister from the heart. His debut CD, I Need You Now, did a fantastic job of introducing people to not only his message of needing God but also his heart. It went Gold. His sophomore effort, Nothing Without You, has become one of my favorite Gospel CDs of all time, and the song--Nothing Without You--is worth the CD itself. Now, on to his junior effort, Life Changing, Smokie shows even more maturity yet again. While somewhat similar to its predecessor, Life Changing takes off where Nothing Without You left off and gives a powerful message. Of course, Smokie is Gospel, but his music is oft-times so crafted that it would work fine on a Contemporary Christian Music station/format. Even the booklet and the colors are nice.

Celebrate--Produced by Smokie himself and Jason Tyson, this rousing, on-your-feet opener talks about simply celebrating all that God is. It's a nice upbeat, feel-good song that kicks off the CD excellently.

Um Good--Produced by Smokie & Jason Tyson, this was Smokie's hit single from the CD. As proably known, its message is that with or without God doing anything else, one has to focus on the fact that He's been so good, and He's a good God. This song can definitely enable one to think about how they perceive God and what He's done. Sometimes, just looking back or just praising God is what we may need to focus on in worship/praise.

Great & Mighty--Produced by Percy Bady, this Caribbean-tinged, low-key uptempo is a nice song that continues to celebrate God's goodness. With a backing choir and Smokie's lead vocals, it's an excellent song.

Run Til I Finish--Produced by Cedric & Victor Caldwell, this short but powerful ballad is a testimony for so many of us...having to run the race of life including goals, setbacks and everything until we finish. The way to run the race and finish it, is to continue to run to God. It's one of those encouraging songs. It's plain in arrangement: just an acoustic piano and a powerful, anointed voice.

In Time--Produced by Smokie & Jason Tyson, this song is reminiscent of one of those older, Gospel tunes. With a Gospel choir backing and able vocals from Smokie, this song speaks to God's time clock and not ours. It's a reminder that if we continue to run till we finish that it all will work out in time.

More Than Anything--Produced by Smokie & Jason Tyson, this plaintive ballad talks about a desire to love, to know and to be with God more than anything. This is a masterpiece, as it builds from a simple start to an energetic, exciting ending. It's almost reminiscent of I Need You Know, as it expresses Smokie's genuine desire to know God more.

Where Would I Be?--Produced by Tommy Sims, this CCM-sounding cut is a beautiful song. The background vocals are used to good effect. The verses are sung and written well. The bridge is awesome. It just talks about being nowhere (at the bottom, down-and-out) if it weren't for God.

Put your Hands Together--Produced by Josiah Bell and Smokie and Jason, this uptempo reminds me of one of those uptempos from his debut CD. It's a nice song.

Right Now--Produced by Smokie and Jason Tyson, this is also another nice, strong song. It's not one of my favorites, but it adds to the whole collection nicely.

Run To You--Produced by Cedric & Victor Caldwell, if anyone or any male can tackle Whitney Houston's impossible to replicate masterpiece Run To you, Smokie shows that with the anointing and a message for God that he can do it. You can just feel his authentic longing to run to God. His voice was made for a song like this.

Overall, it's ridiculous how well Smokie can sing. He can run with the best of them. He can belt with the best of them. He can sing low and understated as well. He is definitely a gift from God. To get into the presence of God, this is the CD. I'm ready for it to go Gold like his previous 2. December 27, 2007

Great and Mighty

I believe the title sums it all up. Loved 'Great and Mighty', best track on there by far, followed by 'Celebrate'. June 27, 2007

Sing it Smokie!!!!!

Off the bat, this brother can sing, he is in full control of his vocals, sometimes smooth and sometime soaring, but he can deliver nonetheless, the awesome standout track "Ummm Good" is a fine praise & worship experience, that will leave you wanting to praise more. The cd opener is the upbeat "Celebrate" another great praise song. Great & Mighty a mid-tempo cut has an slight island feel to it with a bop your head ,tap your feet vibe. Smokie shines on 2 other tracks "In time" & More than anything, nice background arrangements as well. Another gem, the Whitney Houston remake "Run to you" is mesmerizing and definitely a far better renditon by Smokie, not only is it from a male point of view, but it's about the Lord, it doesn't get any better than that! The only low points on this cd is that there are mostly slow tempo songs, but if that's whatcha like, this is the cd for you...I enjoyed it as well. June 13, 2007

life changing

this is excellent cd. the entire cd is awesome i would recommend this to everyone who love and don't love gospel music June 9, 2007

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