Mercy
Studio album by
Andraé Crouch
Released1994
GenreSoul, gospel, pop
LabelQwest/Warner Bros.[1]
ProducerAndraé Crouch, Scott V. Smith
Andraé Crouch chronology
No Time to Lose
(1984)		 Mercy
(1994)		 Pray
(1997)

Mercy is an album by the American gospel musician Andraé Crouch.[2] Released in 1994, it was his first album in 10 years.[3][4]

The album won a Grammy Award, in the "Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album" category.[5] It peaked at No. 16 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart.[6]

Production

The album was produced by Crouch and Scott V. Smith; it was recorded at Crouch's Woodland Hills home studio.[7][8] Crouch chose from a pool of around 450 songs that he had written during his break from recording.[9] Quincy Jones, Crouch's label head, took a hands-off approach, allowing Crouch to do whatever he wanted during the recording sessions.[10]

El DeBarge contributed vocals to "The Lord Is My Light".[11] Joe Sample played piano on "Nobody Else Like You".[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Chicago Sun-Times[13]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[14]
MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide[15]
USA Today[16]

The Dayton Daily News wrote that Crouch "escapes the bounds of his genre while maintaining a spiritually rich, praised-filled album."[17] USA Today stated that "the arrangements, vocals and instrumentation are high-level."[16]

The Philadelphia Inquirer determined that "this is a celebration of styles—from the joyous gospel of 'Give It All Back to Me' to the silky R&B of 'Nobody Else Like You', and the blend of reggae and African rhythms on 'Mercy'."[18] The Virginian-Pilot concluded that "occasionally, all this star-studded genre-hopping gets to be a bit much."[19] The Chicago Sun-Times thought that the "rich deviations from the more traditional gospel vein are not a dilettante's superfluous musings over more exotic music forms, but rather a convincing display of musical chops, confidence and passion."[13]

AllMusic called the album "a potpourri of musical styles from Caribbean to African, laid down with impeccable taste in arrangement and production."[12] MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide labeled it "a refreshing, triumphant break from contemporary gospel's norm."[15]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Say So" 
2."Give It All Back to Me" 
3."The Lord Is My Light" 
4."Love Somebody Like Me" 
5."Nobody Else Like You" 
6."Mercy" 
7."This Is the Lord's Doing (Marvelous)" 
8."We Love It Here" 
9."He's the Light (Of the World)" 
10."Mercy Interlude" 
11."God Still Loves Me" 

References

  1. ↑ Gordon, Ellen A. (March 26, 1994). "Andrae Crouch Back After 10-Year Hiatus". New Pittsburgh Courier. No. 24. p. B2.
  2. ↑ Weber, Bruce (January 10, 2015). "Andraé Crouch, 72, Who Infused Gospel With Soul, Dies" – via NYTimes.com.
  3. ↑ Thompson, Clifford (October 7, 2020). "Contemporary World Musicians". Routledge – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ Darden, Bob (January 1, 2004). "People Get Ready!: A New History of Black Gospel Music". A&C Black – via Google Books.
  5. ↑ "Andrae Crouch". GRAMMY.com. November 23, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Andraé Crouch". Billboard.
  7. 1 2 "Andrae Crouch Releases New Album". Oakland Post. No. 74. February 20, 1994. p. 7.
  8. ↑ Mariani-Belding, Jeanne (July 23, 1995). "GOSPEL SINGER ENTERS PULPIT". Los Angeles Daily News. p. N1.
  9. ↑ Seigal, Buddy (September 24, 1994). "An Instrument for the Gospel Pop music". Los Angeles Times. Calendar. p. 1.
  10. ↑ Smith, Stacy Jenel (April 4, 1994). "Gospel singer/songwriter Andrae Crouch...". The Star-Ledger. News.
  11. ↑ Norment, Lynn (May 1994). "Sounding Off". Ebony. 49 (7): 23.
  12. 1 2 "Mercy - Andraé Crouch | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  13. 1 2 Keller, Martin (April 3, 1994). "Andrae Crouch, 'Mercy'". Chicago Sun-Times. Show. p. 8.
  14. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2. MUZE. p. 640.
  15. 1 2 MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 138.
  16. 1 2 Jones IV, James T (April 11, 1994). "HIP GOSPEL". USA Today. p. 3D.
  17. ↑ Ali, Derek (April 29, 1994). "RECORDINGS ON REVIEW". Dayton Daily News. Go!. p. 18.
  18. ↑ Marymont, Mark (July 17, 1994). "A PRIMER OF WHO'S WHO IN CHRISTIAN POP". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. L1.
  19. ↑ Lake, M.L. (March 25, 1994). "GOSPEL". The Virginian-Pilot. Preview. p. 8.
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