Chris Golden – “Witness”

Produced by Chris Golden
24k Records
chrisgolden.net
Format: CD/USB/Digital/Streaming
Format Reviewed: Digital

SONG TITLES: Where My People Are (Chris Golden/Bill DiLuigi/Pete Salis) / The Man Upstairs (Jeff Hyde/Bryan Simpson) / Granddaddy’s Prayers (Chris Golden/Kenna West) / Piano For Sale (Barrett Baber/Scott Sean White/Terri Jo Box) / Can I Get A Witness (Brent Baxter/Jason Cox/Kenna West) / He Loves Me Anyway (Chris Golden/Kenna West) / Thank God I’m Free (James McFall) / The Old Gospel Ship (Public Domain) / Everybody Talks To God (Craig Monday/Chris Wallin) / A Better Man (Mark Narmore/Jennifer Layne) / Don’t Wait (Tim Menzies/Monty Criswell) / God Did It All (Rusty Golden/Dianne Wilkinson)

When I was 13 years old, my family attended an event where we picked up a cassette by Chris Golden titled The Kiva Tapes. What stood out to me at the time was the fact that Chris not only sang on this tape, but played the majority of the instruments. Of course, there are other artists who have done the same thing over the years, but it was the first time I can recall seeing a full album being done in such a fashion. It also served as an inspiration for me personally when I began making my own recordings, as I used The Kiva Tapes a proof of concept that one COULD, in fact, make an album entirely on their own (even if my own efforts were far inferior!!).

Many years later (I won’t say how many!), Chris continues to release solo albums that are largely self-produced and self-performed, with some friends brought in here and there as needed. His most recent effort, Witness, continues with that approach – Chris plays multiple instruments, sings multiple vocal parts, and served as his own recording and mixing engineer. He also co-wrote several of the songs included here and even handles his own graphic design!

That doesn’t mean it sounds any less professional, mind you – any song on this album would be right at home next to the “big label” releases in any genre in terms of production quality.

And while it has that “big label” sound to it, Witness doesn’t carry any of the corresponding “baggage” that comes from a record company affiliation. Each song is chosen not because the label is pushing for it, but because it serves a purpose and carries a personal connection with the artist, which is something that can be lost when a label is involved and aiming for a specific target. When you pop in a Chris Golden CD or pull his music up online, what you hear is from the heart, not a line on a ledger. It is this distinction that, in my opinion, makes each album by Chris very much a testimony.

Case in point, the opening number, “Where My People Are” (co-written by Chris) paints a nostalgic picture of not just home, but a home church made up of family and friends that offer unconditional love and support in a world where such a commodity is rare indeed. In a similar vein is “Piano For Sale,” which tells about an ad in the church bulletin about a piano looking for a new home and all of the memories that were made over the years, both happy and sad.

Witness isn’t exclusively nostalgia, however. “Can I Get A Witness,” which inspired the album’s title, is a song that Chris has been singing in concert for a while about not just thanking God for His grace and love, but sharing that news with others, and it always gets a great reaction from audiences. “Everybody Talks To God” tells of a conversation between a believer and a non-believer with a unique twist, and “Don’t Wait” addresses the urgency involved in thinking, “I’ll have time later to do such-and-such…”

For old-time gospel fans, Chris also includes two well-known classics – “Thank God I Am Free” and “The Old Gospel Ship.” The former gets a smoother, more laid-back arrangement compared to most renditions, while the latter bumps the energy level up a bit, somewhat in line with the Imperials’ take on it. Of the two, I personally enjoyed “Thank God I Am Free” more, as the arrangement is one that I’ve not heard before with this song, and it works surprisingly well – which is one of Chris’ strengths – being able to take a song that many are familiar with and tweak it just enough that it sounds brand new.

The one negative to being almost entirely self-produced, however, is that the artist has to trust their own instincts completely, as they don’t have a producer or a record label providing input and feedback. By and large throughout the album, that’s not an issue, but the one song that (to me, anyway) could’ve used an outside review is “The Man Upstairs” – not because the singing or production quality was bad, but because the song itself has some unusual phrasing, which I suspect is due to the amount of lyrics needed to get the point across. There were a few times it kinda lost my attention, and if it were me, I probably would’ve left this one off the final product, but that’s just my own opinion.

Over the years, Chris has played and/or sang everything from gospel to country to rock, but with the last few albums in particular, he seems to have truly found his calling with a comforting, consistent style and approach that is more focused on hitting people in the heart than in the ears. Witness is the latest in a string of projects that are more than just a product to sell at concerts; they are deeply personal collections from someone who, in his own words, continues to make it a point to sing for the One who gave him the gift of music. One thing is for certain – if you listen to Witness, you really are listening to most everything Chris has to offer, both musically and spiritually.