Centricity Music
Release Date: September 8th 2017
Reviewed by: Joshua Andre
Jordan Feliz– 1 Mic 1 Take (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Track Listing:
- The River
- Never Too Far Gone
- Beloved
- Call On Me
- Satisfied
Singed to Centricity Music in 2015, Jordan Feliz has had a gigantic rise to fame. Partly that’s due to the smash hit “The River”, but as the years roll on, it’s evident to see that his music exudes a sense of honesty, authenticity and vulnerability that we probably haven’t heard and seen from many more artists recently. I guess that’s one of the reasons why Jordan hasn’t released a sophomore full length album yet (because listeners are still loving his debut album The River and are still being blessed by his songs such as “Never Too Far Gone”, “Beloved” and “Satisfied” to name a few). Though Jordan is expected to release his brand new album sometime in 2018, just last week, he unveiled his brand new release. 1 Mic 1 Take is a special project, with him recording 5 songs at Capitol Studios, in one take, using only one microphone. The result is 5 inspiring and encouraging anthems, yet the timeliness is a bit off.
“The River”, “Never Too Far Gone”, “Beloved” and “Satisfied” are some of the hits from his 2016 album The River and with them re-recorded again in a new light, sung acoustically in its rawest form, is quite remarkable, and something that as an ambitious project, Jordan should be proud of and also be congratulated. “Call On Me” is a cover from Australian singer Starley, and is an admirable rendition, and is a track that I thought was actually from Jordan Feliz before I knew it was a cover. However, is the release really needed? We all know that the deluxe edition of The River was released early this year, a full year after the standard edition of the album, which was not timely at all- perhaps the remix tracks added onto The River (Deluxe Edition) and these 5 acoustically recorded tracks could have been combined to create a B-sides album of sorts (and hence the deluxe edition of The River done away with)? That would have been a much more better release and marketing strategy, maybe with a few brand-new tracks from the forthcoming album added in as a teaser as well.
Nonetheless, maybe this EP is a bit of a money-grab or maybe Jordan Feliz is indeed capitalising on the success of The River, which is probably not that bad of an idea. Either way, I found myself not connecting that much with these versions of the songs even though they are objectively very well recorded. I preferred the studio versions better (and the original “Call On Me” from Starley!) but that’s just my opinion. Whether or not these versions are loved by many remain to be seen, but they are enough to tie us over until Jordan’s full-length sophomore album of all-new material releasing soon. Until then, listen to 1 Mic 1 Take, watch the videos and let me know what you think.
3 songs to listen to: Never Too Far Gone, Beloved, Satisfied
Score: 2.5/5
RIYL: Brandon Heath, Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, Sidewalk Prophets, MercyMe, Big Daddy Weave