Mercy (Andraé Crouch album)

1994 studio album by Andraé Crouch

Mercy

Studio album by

Andraé Crouch

Released| 1994
Genre| Gospel, soul, R&B
Label| Qwest/Warner Bros.[1]
Producer| Andraé Crouch, Scott V. Smith
Andraé Crouch chronology
| No Time to Lose
(1984)  | Mercy
(1994)  | Pray
(1997)

|
|

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

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

## Production

[edit]

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

[edit]

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
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

[edit]

No.| Title| Length

|
|

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

[edit]

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". The New York Times.
3. ^ Thompson, Clifford (October 7, 2020). Contemporary World Musicians. Routledge.
4. ^ Darden, Bob (January 1, 2004). People Get Ready!: A New History of Black Gospel Music. A&C Black.
5. ^ "Andrae Crouch". Grammy Awards. November 23, 2020.
6. ^ "Andraé Crouch". Billboard.
7. ^ a b "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". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 1.
10. ^ Smith, Stacy Jenel (April 4, 1994). "Gospel singer/songwriter Andrae Crouch...". News. The Star-Ledger.
11. ^ Norment, Lynn (May 1994). "Sounding Off". Ebony. Vol. 49, no. 7\. p. 23.
12. ^ a b "Mercy". AllMusic.
13. ^ a b Keller, Martin (April 3, 1994). "Andrae Crouch, 'Mercy'". Show. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 8.
14. ^ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2\. MUZE. p. 640.
15. ^ a b MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1998. p. 138.
16. ^ a b Jones IV, James T (April 11, 1994). "Hip Gospel". USA Today. p. 3D.
17. ^ Ali, Derek (April 29, 1994). "Recordings on Review". Go!. Dayton Daily News. p. 18.
18. ^ Marymont, Mark (July 17, 1994). "A Prime of Who's Who in Christian Pop". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. L1.
19. ^ Lake, M.L. (March 25, 1994). "Gospel". Preview. The Virginian-Pilot. p. 8.

* v
* t
* e

Andraé Crouch

Andraé Crouch and The Disciples studio albums|

* Take the Message Everywhere
* Keep On Singin'
* Take Me Back
* This Is Another Day

Andraé Crouch and The Disciples live albums|

* Live in London

Solo albums|

* I'll Be Thinking of You
* Mercy
* Mighty Wind

Related articles|

* Discography

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