Search - Jimmy A. :: Entertaining Angels

Doesn't catch fire often enough

Greg Brady | Capital City | 01/31/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Longtime Christian music fans may recognize Jimmy Abegg (Jimmy A) from the band Vector and as 1/3 of the Charlie Peacock Trio. Here, he steps away from the fold for a solo outing. While it's better than many debuts, it's not going to make anyone forget his "day job".



The album's strongest track by far is in essence a reunion of the group. Peacock himself and Vince Ebo (who did the vocal arrangement) join him for "Thin but Strong Cord", trading lines with him in what amounts to almost a vocal "cutting contest". As each tries to better the others, Abegg puts in his strongest vocal of the CD. Christian radio listeners concurred, making this one a #2 hit (and the only charter).



Overall, uptempo tracks like his ode to a lady love ("Touch of Love", the other radio hit) and the struggle with temptation tune "If I Give In" fare best.



Ballads like "Everything Changes" suffer from less vocal passion despite a nice loungey track including vibes. "The Passion of Creation", where Abegg insists that in making art we better understand God, the ultimate Creator, he seems just the opposite...dispassionate. "Contemplate the Emptiness" is noteworthy as the exception, a midtempo number that cooks (largely thanks to "backing" singer Vicki Hampton, who actually handles significant parts of the song...)



There are enough tracks of promise here that I hope Abegg will one day record again (right now, he makes his living as a painter and in photography). But there are enough lackluster tracks here that it can only be called average."