I must admit, when I originally received the CD, I thought I was only going to like one or two songs. I had received a signed copy in the mail from my friend, Mighty Sam McClain. I love Sam’s music, therefore, I thought I was only going to like the songs that Sam appears on. Lo and behold, I fell in love with the entire CD. The opening song, “Land of 10,000 Homeless,” (Andrew Turpening) speaks to many of us, who but for the grace of God could be out on the street, especially in this economy. The vocals on “No Good Reason” (Natalie Merchant & Friends) are so craftily blended and the ending crescendo of voices sends chills up my spine. I love the spoken word pieces by Danny Glover and Tim Robbins; Glover transcends gender and race in his rendition of “My Name is Not Those People.” One of my favorites on the CD is “Stranger Blues” by Sweet Honey in the Rock. It is such a haunting melody and bears witness to many who may go home from time to time, but are not fully accepted for whatever reason. Another favorite is Mario Frangoulis singing “Feels Like Home.” He has a voice like an angel and I feel blessed to have seen him perform that and “Amazing Grace” along with Mighty Sam live at the Strand Theater back in 2007 at the Give US Your Poor Concert for Boston’s Homeless. What a treat! The icing on the cake is the closing song, “Here and Now,” by Mark Erelli. It challenges each and everyone of us to think about what we can do to bring about change and also think about what is holding us back.
It is a powerful CD and I am please to announce that I am bringing a theatrical performance based on the CD to the stage. Our pilot performance will be June 4, 2011 2-4 PM at Messiah Baptist Church at 80 Legion Parkway in Brockton, MA. The event will be a free performance with a panel discussion afterwards. I hope you can make it. There will be more information to follow.
Warm regards,
Donna Cotterell
Donna Cotterell is an educator at Smith Leadership Academy Charter Public School in the Fields Corner section of Dorchester, MA. She leads a theatrical company, Indaba Theatre of New England, that uses theater as therapy to help individuals overcome obstacles in their lives.
