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Artist Name: Jimmy Dooley
Website: www.jimmydooley.com
Album Title: “Jesus Music”
Song Titles:

1. Now I Know
2. A Lot Of Things Right
3. It Only Made Me Stronger
4. Jesus Music
5. Let Things Bother Me
6. Be The Change
7. Just Me
8. How Far
9. Dare To Be Different
10. Accepted
11. I Told ‘Em That I’d Make It
12. That’s What Love Can Do

Jimmy Dooley is a young soloist based out of the state of Ohio.  He is not only a singer, but a songwriter as well.  He has had his songs recorded by such artists as the Palmetto State Quartet, the Galloways, and Ivan Parker.

“Jesus Music” is Jimmy’s latest album.  I must say, first of all, that I am extremely in love with the album title.  I think it represents what Jimmy’s music is better than any other “label” you could apply to it.  It is also a testament to where this young man’s heart truly is.  The album is a collection of 12 songs with a distinctively progressive sound.  Each song on the album was either written or co-written by Jimmy himself.

That having been said, let’s take a look at the songs on the album.   

The first song is the up-tempo “Now I Know”.  This is an excellent piece of songwriting, and the message is uplifting and encouraging.  Next up is a medium-to-up-tempo song called “A Lot Of Things Right”.  This song has more of a country feel to it than most of the songs we normally hear from Jimmy.  The third song is a medium-tempo ballad called “It Only Made Me Stronger”.  This type of song really seems to fit Jimmy’s voice, and it’s one of my favorite songs on the album.  Song #4 is the album’s title track, a hard-driving song called “Jesus Music”.  This is probably the most progressive cut on the album, leaning much more toward the contemporary side than most of the other songs.

The fifth song is another driving, but slightly lighter song called “Let Things Bother Me”.  This is followed by the first song that most people heard from this album: “Be The Change”.  This a slower song that was inspired by World Vision, and it’s also the first truly slower song on the album.  Song #7 picks the tempo back up again with another country-sounding song called “Just Me”.  Next up is another slower ballad called “How Far”.  This song allows Jimmy to indulge in some smoother vocals, and it’s a nice sound indeed.

Song #9 is a medium-tempo offering called “Dare To Be Different”.  The message here is simple- as Christians, we need to do exactly as the song says.  We’re called to be different than the world around us.  The tempo then slows down again for a song entitled “Accepted”.  This is a slow-to-medium-tempo song with a  bit of a driving beat to it.  The eleventh song is an up-tempo number called “I Told ‘Em That I’d Make It”.  This song seems to have been written as sort of a testimonial of sorts.  Finally, the album ends up with another slower ballad called “That’s What Love Can Do”.

I have been a Jimmy Dooley fan ever since I had the chance to listen to his “Things Are Looking Different” album.  His vocals are strong and smooth, and his songs all have strong messages to them.  As far as this album goes, the only thing I would change is the order in which the songs are arranged.  Most of the slower, ballad-style songs are found in the last half of the album.  I would have mixed it up a little more so that they were interspersed all throughout the album.  Otherwise, this is an excellent album, and it’s one that I’d recommend anyone to have in their music library.  Overall, I would give this album a 9 ½ out of 10 microphones!

Favorites: “Now I Know”, “It Only Made Me Stronger”, “Be The Change”, and “How Far”