I have noted that the website is not up to date, and seems a little frumpy and bland. But then, Ward makes a virtue of his honesty and down-to-earth earnestness, so I don't mind.
I have noted that the website is not up to date, and seems a little frumpy and bland. But then, Ward makes a virtue of his honesty and down-to-earth earnestness, so I don't mind.
July 31, 2006
How many artists have had to change their names to get something pleasingly sonorous to use for the stage and album covers? James Ward was born James Ward.
Other James Wards:
The Painter
The Software
Developer
The Actor
I was never really a big fan of James Ward. You don't know who James Ward is? Not surprised. It is a very bad sign when the home page of a performing artist hasn't been updated in a year.
James Ward is a gospel singer who began his career in 1972. I saw him at Trinity Christian College. He sings a kind of hybrid gospel/blues, with unusual fidelity to the blues side, stylistically. His lyrics are generally devotions or meditations on the bible. He sounds a bit like Stevie Wonder at times, often in falsetto. Not a style I was ever fond of.
I did a search on the internet for music by James Ward, which I hoped to illegally download. No-- I'm being coy. I own several of his records, so I have the right to download copies of those songs, if I could find them. But I couldn't.
Would James Ward be happy to know that nobody out there is stealing his music on the internet? Obviously, right? He would be making more money, wouldn't he?
Ha ha! Obviously not. The fact that nobody in the entire world has gone through the trouble of ripping a James Ward CD and dropping the MP3 files into the "share" folder on Kazaa or eMule or whatever... no. He can't be happy about that.
His early albums are not generally available on CD. Sounds like it's a problem. It costs money to do it right, but Ward likely doesn't have a lot of resources. He is trying to raise donations to cover the costs of recording a new album.
According to his website, he is available for concerts, but is also very active working with choirs and church musicians and participating in worship. He is employed as music director at New City Fellowship Church. I think he is genuinely humble man who believes that an artist should never be above that sort of task. It is very, very unfortunate that so many "Christian" musical artists are just as full of themselves and wrapped up in their own achievements as any non-Christian artist.
I used to write reviews for a few Christian journals, and I reviewed Ward a few times. I think I was lukewarm. Having listened to his albums again recently, I think if I were writing the review today, I would stress his artistic honesty and the relative sophistication of some of his lyrics: his religious belief is not banal. I would say he has put together a few "fine" albums. Not great, but "fine", which means, worth a listen. He's written four or five good songs, which is an achievement. (The older I get, the more I think writing a few good songs is more than a little achievement: it's really some thing.)