Darwin Hobbs is especially popular for his spirit moving song 'He's able' which has taken the breath of Nigerians away. The song indeed has been an inspiration for many, many, many gospel singers.
- Sheffieldhottie
His debut solo project (Mercy) was characterized by an anointing pieced together in soulful song with the help of producers Fred Hammond and Victor and Cedric Caldwell (see review).
Darwin Hobbs turns around swiftly on Vertical, his sophomore project with EMI Gospel, by combining both some of the same, and some fresh twists too.
Production mainstays Victor and Cedric Caldwell return to the fold, and join forces with Tommy Sims, whose Positive Movement production house has blown notorious in recent years. A fascinating choice of guest artists also marks this effort.
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Crucial to the album is the groovified "Cast All Your Cares", which harnesses the writing hooks of Angie Winans and the brothers Caldwell, is powered by the guitar finesse of Paul Jackson Jr., and features a strong chorus supporting Hobb's soulful delivery on lead.
The familiar voice of Donna Summer graces "When I Look Up". It's a softly soaring AC ballad about the liberty that Jesus brings, with Hobbs intertwining his pipes with Summer's exquisite phrasing over subtle bird twittering effects and a soft rhythm track. Written by the Caldwells with up-and-comer Hallerin Hill, it's a quiet full force gale, complete with backing vocals from Angie Winans.
Continuing on the guest artist theme, former Doobie Brother turned solo artist Michael McDonald joins his husky soul with Hobbs' rich tones on the head-bob track, Everyday. Fueled by musical elements of the Gap Band's "Outstanding", the Tommy Sims composition is an urban delight. Check these lines:
Surely the mercy of your love is in this place
I know that every day, come rain or shine
That it's mine all mine.
—from "Everyday"
On "So Amazing", Hobbs turns the tables on those who can't refrain from constantly comparing his vocal vibe to that of Luther Vandross. With his Gospel cover of this Vandross hit, Hobbs boldly tackles this comparison issue head on. No doubt he could easily be mistaken for the crooner, but with Hobbs' spirit of sensitivity infused throughout, there's no comparison on the deeper level. Virtue softly provides sweet backing vocals.
Michael McDonald
Michael McDonald contributed vocals to a couple of The Winans' projects (Decision and Back 2 Back) back when.
He's primarily known for his work with The Dobbie Brothers and Steely Dan, plus his own solo work.
Other hits have come in collaborations with James Ingram, Aretha Franklin, Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross and Donna Summer (who also appears with Darwin Hobbs on this Vertical project).
Hobbs has stated that on this project, "every song was written strategically to represent some aspect of our relationship to God and His relationship to us" —hence the title Vertical, indicating that relationship.
So it's no surprise then, that the jewel in this CD jewel case is the medley of praise and worship ("Praise Medley"). It's on this soft, 8-minute, vocals-focused cut that Hobbs truly astounds with his range and selection of expression. The fact that he doesn't need vocal dramatics to do this speaks volumes to his gift. Holy praise tunes included are "El Shaddai", "You Are Holy", "You Are My Hiding Place" and "Great Is Your Mercy".
Set your alarm clock now, because you certainly don't want to sleep on this project. There's so much to love on this disk that you may not be able to handle it in one listen.
I'm still reeling.
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The Light
Darwin Hobbs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As the chains of the flesh left me
As the moans and the groans
Of the friend sent me
On my way to the Land of the Dead
I flashed ... that my soul was Unharmed
As my earth form I shed
That the image of death had been
And the truth was a spirit am I
I sussed ... that my life had been a lesson
Chosed by me
For to purify my Soul that I may be
Worthy to shine forth the Light
The Light
The Light
As I moved ever up-ward
A Great Light there came
More feeling than seeing
And it filled me with Shame
Like a Bright Shining mirror reflecting my being
My present condition of Soul I was seeing
I Beheld ... Forms of Great Beauty
That shone forth the Light
With love vibes they met me
A cast off my fright
Those great souls of Ages long passed
I praised the Great Souls of the Ages
Who care for our needs
Who lovingly nurture
Wisdom's bright seed
Showing the way to the Light
The Light
The Light
I ached ... for the womb and the Earth
And another time around
Seking circumstances
The best that can be found
To give me the lessons to learn
I was Born ... and through childhood
My soul still rembembered the Light
And through teens I fought fiercely
For my vision of the Light
When I saw Mum and Dad had forgot
The Light, The Light, The Light!
In Darwin Hobbs's song "The Light," the singer describes their experiences after death as they journey towards the afterlife. The singer died and reflects on leaving behind their physical body and the noises around them. They realized that the idea of dying was a thought, but their soul was unharmed as it shed the earth form. The singer's understanding of death shifts as they perceive that life was a lesson chosen by them to purify their soul so they could be worthy to shine the light.
As the singer moves upwards towards the afterlife, they encounter a great light that fills them with shame. The light reflects their current state of the soul, and the singer witnesses forms of great beauty shining forward the light, which meets them with love vibes. These great souls are from ages long passed who cared for their needs and nurtured wisdom's bright seed, showing the way to the light. In the end, the singer longs to go back to the earth and be born again, reminding us that life is a cyclical process of learning.
Line by Line Meaning
I Died ... and I sighed
I experienced physical death and let out a sigh.
As the chains of the flesh left me
My physical body no longer restrained me.
As the moans and the groans
The sounds of those mourning my death accompanied me.
Of the friend sent me
My friend helped me make my transition to the afterlife.
On my way to the Land of the Dead
I began my journey to the afterlife.
I flashed ... that my soul was Unharmed
I realized that despite my physical death, my soul was unharmed.
As my earth form I shed
I left my physical body behind.
That the image of death had been
The idea of what death looks like was just a thought.
A thought in my head
It existed only in my mind.
And the truth was a spirit am I
I realized I was a spiritual being.
I sussed ... that my life had been a lesson
I understood that my life had been a lesson for me to learn from.
Chosed by me
I chose the circumstances of my life.
For to purify my Soul that I may be
I went through these experiences to make my soul pure.
Worthy to shine forth the Light
So that I may deserve to display my inner light.
The Light
This inner light that I possess.
As I moved ever up-ward
As I moved closer to the higher realms.
A Great Light there came
A magnificent light appeared.
More feeling than seeing
I experienced the light more than I saw it.
And it filled me with Shame
It made me feel ashamed of my current state of being.
Like a Bright Shining mirror reflecting my being
The light reflected my soul back to me.
My present condition of Soul I was seeing
I saw the current state of my soul.
I Beheld ... Forms of Great Beauty
I saw beautiful forms all around me.
That shone forth the Light
These beautiful forms radiated the same inner light that I possess.
With love vibes they met me
These beautiful forms greeted me with love and positive energy.
A cast off my fright
I let go of my fear and anxiety.
Those great souls of Ages long passed
I saw the great souls of the past who had moved on to the next realm.
I praised the Great Souls of the Ages
I felt gratitude and admiration for these great souls.
Who care for our needs
These great souls care for and look after us in the afterlife.
Who lovingly nurture
They nurture and care for us with love.
Wisdom's bright seed
They share seeds of wisdom and knowledge with us.
Showing the way to the Light
They show us the path towards our inner light.
I ached ... for the womb and the Earth
I longed for a return to physical life on Earth.
And another time around
To experience life again one more time.
Seking circumstances
To choose the circumstances of my new life.
The best that can be found
To choose the best possible life path.
To give me the lessons to learn
To learn the lessons my soul needs to learn.
I was Born ... and through childhood
I was reborn back into physical life.
My soul still rembembered the Light
My soul still holds memories of the inner light.
And through teens I fought fiercely
As a teenager, I struggled to preserve my inner light.
For my vision of the Light
To keep my inner light shining bright.
When I saw Mum and Dad had forgot
I noticed that my parents no longer had inner light.
The Light, The Light, The Light!
I mourned the loss of my parents' inner light and wondered how to help them find it again.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DONOVAN LEITCH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
zhanae
on Heal the Land
(Chorus)
(Oh!
If my people
Who are called
By my name would
Humbly pray
Seek my face and change
their ways
I'll heal the land)
Oh!
Let's talk about the problems
Please tell me how we solve them
There has to be a brighter day.
Ohhhh!
On your mark, get set, let's go now
Lights, Camera, Action showed now
Seems like this is what we've become
What do we do, Ohhhhh
(Chorus)
(Oh!
If my people
Who are called
By my name would
Humbly pray
Seek my face and change
their ways
I'll heal the land
Oh!)
We've got to find our way back
To the idea that we first had
Somehow we've gone and lost our way
Ohhhh
Wake up and smell the brew now
Make this our finest hour
All faces turn into the ground
This is the answer!
(Chorus)
(Oh!
If my people
Who are called
By my name would
Humbly pray
Seek my face and change
their ways
I'll heal the land)
Why? Oh Why?
is the question, tell me.
Who will stand?
Wanna know how did we end up here?
Or when will it end?
Lord, tell me where do we go from hereee?
(Chorus)
(Oh!
If my people
Who are called
By my name would
Humbly pray
Seek my face and change
their ways
I'll heal the land)
Oh OH Oh OH Oh OHhhh (8x)
HEAL THE LAND!
Pray, seek my face!
(Chorus)
(Oh!
If my people
Who are called
By my name would
Humbly pray
Seek my face and change
their ways
I'll heal the land)
Paula Carr
on My Promise To You
Why don't they have lyrics to this song