Jason Crabb “Through the Fire: The Best of Jason Crabb” Album Review

Prime Cuts:  Through the Fire, Walk on Water, Somebody Like Me

Does Jason Crabb warrant a greatest hits compilation?  Without a shadow of a doubt, the answer is an unequivocal yes.  As part of the Crabb Family, they have chartered 16 #1 hits. To date, they still hold the record of having the most No.1 songs on the Singing News Top 80 Radio Airplay Charts.  But does Jason Crabb as a solo artist deserve a "best of" collection now?  With only two solo albums and one live recording released after his family group decided to retire, a "best of" collection is undubitably premature.  To add fuel to the chagrin of fans, there is actually no unreleased or new song included in this retrospective collection.  Rather, what we have here are 4 songs from Crabb's eponymous debut, 3 selections from his 2013's "Love is Stronger," and 5 entries coming from his live album that he recorded under the Gaither Live Series.  With almost half the album coming from the live CD, this "greatest hits" is almost redundant if you own the prior recording.
 
Now with such a disconcerting gripe out of the way, let's look at the material on this 12-song collection.  "Through the Fire: the Best of Jason Crabb: opens with one of Crabb's most arresting tracks, "Somebody Like Me."  The opening line of "Somebody Like You" has a way of commanding our attention right from the get-go:  "The congregation parted like the Red Sea/When that old drunk stumbled in down the aisle/And took a seat/Right in the middle of Amazing Grace. When that old drunk stumbled in down the aisle/And took a seat/Right in the middle of Amazing Grace." Talk about a well written narrative song that has a way of holding our attention all the way through is "Walk on Water."  Written by notable Nashville scribes Trent Tomlinson, Bobby Pinson and Vicky McGehee, Crabb lets us know that what makes a man impressive is not his ability to walk on water.
 
Crabb delves into his family vaults to resurrect "Through the Fire," a brooding slowie that exalts the tenacity of Jesus' love through our tough times. Such worshipful exaltations are worthy of a million hallelujahs. While "Sometimes I Cry," written by his dad Gerald Crabb, is an understated lament over the frailty of the human spirit. Crabb's understated delivery brims with an undeniable quiet passion. Crabb goes the vocal nine yards with his ceiling high belting on the cinema verite ballad "What the Blood is For."  While "Love is Stronger" calls to mind the modern country works of Rascal Flatts with that anthemic building crash of a chorus.
 
The album is interspersed with songs from his live recordings which are mostly hymns performed by Crabb.  Unfortunately, these live recordings don't sit well at all with the other studio cuts.  Namely, most of Crabb's solo effort find him veering into a more contemporary sound while the live recordings sound a tad out of place with its emphasis on the old hymns.  And the inconsistency between the clapping and the lackof from one track to another makes the listening experience schizophrenic.  All of this to say, Crabb is a stellar artist, but with not enough solo output, delving into his live recording is inevitable.  As a result, it makes this collection sound far too premature and inconsistent.   

 

 

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