Provident Label Group
Release Date: October 20th 2023
Reviewed by: Joshua Andre
Ben Fuller– Ben Fuller (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Track Listing:
- Who I Am
- Grace Of God
- Wide Awake
- Man On Fire
- But The Cross
- He Got A Hold On Me (feat. Jo Dee Messina)
- If I Got Jesus
- Chasing Rebels
- Proud
- World Changed
- Testimony
- He Found Me
- Other Plans
With a sound akin to Zach Williams, Third Day, Needtobreathe, Sanctus Real and Citizens; Ben Fuller is one of Provident Label Group’s newest signing. With his smash hit single “Who I Am” making incredible waves on CCM radio throughout 2022 and 2023; Ben released his debut full-length self-titled project last month. Comprising of 13 tracks (8 of which previously released on his 2022 EP Who I Am), Ben’s collection of heartfelt, powerful, and inspiring songs could have slipped underneath the radar, had all of us chalked him up to being a ‘Zach Williams wannabe’. Thankfully, Ben is making his own mark, and everyone is taking him seriously. Thus, I decided to check out his music anyway; and boy, is it incredibly impressive. It’s one of my favourite albums of the year thus far!
Do we need to know the ins and outs of Ben’s history and story before diving into this collection? No, I don’t think so. Because the songs are so melodically and lyrically strong- they speak for themselves and then some. You can hear Ben tell his extensive testimony in this article from December 2022 (trust me, I was completely captivated, and ended up listening to the whole thing after only intending to listen to a few minutes of it!); and then you can realise just how much God has turned Ben’s life around. And these songs- they do reflect the nature of God and the good things He’s done in transforming Ben’s life from being spiritually dead to fully alive. Album opener “Who I Am” sets the tone lyrically and thematically for the entire album, as Ben delivers a track full of life, vitality, and the sense of knowing that your true identity rests in the person of Jesus Christ. “Who I Am” is an eclectic, celebratory and joyous pop melody outlining that Ben has been set free, and that who He is in the eyes of Jesus is a child of the Most-High God (a firm favourite song of mine within this track list of 13 songs!); while “Grace Of God” is a country/rock/gospel melody that dives deeper and further into Ben’s testimony that ‘…I’m living, I’m breathing, I’m walking in freedom, it’s only by the grace of God, delivered, forgiven, no chains and no prison…never could’ve made it on my own, I gotta give praise to You alone, my prodigal soul’s now found a home…’.
The rest of Ben Fuller showcases Ben’s lyrical and musical prowess, as Ben goes extremely deep for a debut project- it’s pretty impressive. “Wide Awake” is a piano prominent mid-tempo ballad highlighting the ever-true fact of Jesus waking us up to the eternal truth of Jesus and the reality that He is the Only thing that we need in this life; while the energetic and enthusiastic pop/rock melody “Man On Fire” speaks about being on fire for Jesus, and dedicated to a life of serving Him, with Ben powerfully relaying that ‘…I’m on fire, yeah, I’m on fire, I can’t get this hallelujah off my lips, I guess I’m in love and I can’t get enough, got that Holy Spirit flowing in my blood, I’m gonna light it up everywhere I go, and they’re gonna know, ooh, heaven came down, set a man on fire…’. The strings-led “But The Cross” encourages us and inspires us, with Ben outlining the gospel message, and that ‘…the cross says they’re wrong, don’t believe the words they say, let the truth wash them away, ’cause His blood says you’re loved, every lie is bound to leave, when there’s nothing you believe but the cross…’; while Ben duets with country singer Jo Dee Messina for a fervent, passionate, honest, vulnerable and emotional melody about Jesus saving us from sin, in “He Got A Hold Of Me”, with both singers crying out that ‘…at the end of myself, when I cried out for help, it was in the wandering lost when I stumbled to the cross, and at the lowest place I met the highest name, broken and left crawling on my knees, He got a hold of me, Jesus, He got a hold of me…’.
Lead single “If It Got Jesus”, a stirring and hard-hitting piano prominent ballad, has Ben joyously declaring with intense belief that if he has Jesus in his life, then that is all he needs; while the piano only ballad “Chasing Rebels”, another melody where Ben outlines his testimony of how God saved him, is where Ben also imparts some wisdom from his story to the next generation. “Proud”, another personal and emotional melody, is a track where Ben sings about his earthly father, and about how he prefers to make Jesus proud of him rather than his father proud of him; while “World Changed” is a rousing, powerful and declaratory testimony-like anthem of encouragement and confidence, as Ben emphatically relays to us all that Jesus has saved his life, and that ‘…like jumper cables to my chest, from death to life in just one breath, You left an open grave, that’s the moment my whole world changed, like lightning tearing through the dark, Your love came bursting through my heart, oh, what amazing grace, that’s the moment my whole world…’. It’s a track that speaks about Ben pre-becoming a Christian, and the moment his whole world changed; but it’s also the type of CCM song that ties everything up in a neat bow- all of the questions and the doubting are ‘solved’ by the song’s end. To be fair, that is the nature of CCM, and generally that is how songs go; however the way this song is structured doesn’t diminish my enjoyability- that’s for sure!
“Testimony” unfortunately is the only low point on this album. Objectively, it’s enjoyable and commendable that Ben is once again singing about his testimony. But when you have an album that goes out of its way to be about the testimony of Jesus changing your life; surely by song #11, things get a bit stale, am I right? It’s only a minor nitpick, and overall, this melody does still strike a chord when I consider this song in isolation though- perhaps a different order for this song may have been much more hard-hitting? “He Found Me”, a country/southern gospel infused track, speaks about the moment Jesus found Ben while Ben was in the midst of finding love and acceptance in alcohol and drugs, with the melody being one that is personal to Ben, and one that will resonate with others going through the same thing. While Ben Fuller ends with the acoustic guitar heartfelt melody “Other Plans”, probably the most personal and emotional song on the album, speaking about Ben’s unsuccessful suicide attempt, and the fact that Jesus had plans for Ben that he didn’t calculate or think about.
What more can I say about Ben Fuller’s self-titled debut album that I haven’t mentioned already? Ben Fuller has released a superb and exemplary project; and one that will be on my various playlists for months and maybe years to come. Sky is the limit for Ben, and here’s hoping that his next release is just a powerful and poignant as this one. But until that day comes, let’s just bask in the awesomeness of this debut album, shall we? Well done, Ben, I can’t wait to hear what is next from you in the near future!
4 songs to listen to: Who I Am, But The Cross, He Got A Hold Of Me, If I Got Jesus
Score: 5/5
RIYL: Sanctus Real, Zach Williams, Third Day, Needtobreathe, Switchfoot, The Afters, Building 429, MercyMe