Gospel-trained and tractor-tuned former Oklahoman, now Tennessean songwriter Jerry Fox, has released his solo debut Christian album, Gospel Journeyman, almost 40 years after launching his Nashville country music career. The songwriter got his start in the Nashville music industry by penning the 1983 Billboard Hot Country Singles Top 20 hit “Outside Lookin’ In,” recorded by country-rock quintet Bandana, for whom Fox played bass as a young man.
The “attention and adulation, easy money, alcohol and drugs, and accessibility to willing distractions” that came with being a Nashville songwriter eventually led to his repentant yet praise-packed testament of spiritual rescue, the recently released Gospel Journeyman.
Fox’s record kicks off joyously as it establishes its born-again Christian theme on “More Like Jesus,” sporting an upbeat, close-to-Calypso sound with signature steel drums alongside a conventional but complementary rhythm section featuring punchy bass and acoustic guitar. Bill Hullett’s melodic electric guitar riffs pull everything together (Hullett plays both electric and acoustic guitars on the album, pluralizing his six strings using studio overdubbing). There’s also a quick Jerry Fox signature bass lick to establish dominance within the first notes of the album—Gospel Journeyman can be fun.
The album’s intentions are made clear through Fox’s Biblical sentiments—Please make me more like Jesus/And less like me, a repentant message sung to the Lord with the confidence of a Levon Helm vocal performance, echoing the Arkansas-born Helm’s rural-American enunciation and age-weathered latter-day tone while also evoking the deep pierce of Murder by Death’s Adam Turla.
The message on the following nine tracks is similar—being thankful for existence and praising the Lord—though Fox, who began making up lyrics to sing to the drones of his tractor’s engine while working long ago in Oklahoma, changes up the musical style from from track to track, not letting the countrified stylings grow stagnant.
“Praise for the King” is probably the catchiest song on Gospel Journeyman, sounding like a happier Cat Stevens turning to country-pop-gospel.
“Thank You, Mom” is a pro-life sentiment beautifully held together by, this time, angelic backing harmonies on top of just-as-angelic piano trickling throughout, supplied by Dane Bryant (Olivia Newton John’s musical director).
The stillness of “Who Am I?” reminded me of The Velvet Underground’s “Sunday Morning.” Fox’s voice matches Lou Reed’s calmness and skill in an easy back and forth with a mid-’60s folk-country-rock vibe.
Other ballads of praise, such as “Saved,” encapsulate another iteration of Fox’s surrendering to the Lord in a sage, proto-Americana feel found in latter-day The Band albums, while Gospel Journeyman’s ultimate “western frontier ballad,” “Forgiveness and Redemption,” takes Fox back home to his Oklahoma roots.
No matter the song or style, backing vocalists Angie Brown and Michael Rudder ably supply harmonies, oftentimes effectively and other times straying and oddly placed. Fox also seemingly blends a slight mismatch of home-recordings mixed with instrumental studio recordings. But such small imperfections contribute to creating the album’s rustic feel and unfussy “that’ll work” studio strategy. Every song on Gospel Journeyman contains a rejoicing spirit of gratefulness that unifies the whole package. Jerry Fox’s Gospel Journeyman is streaming on Spotify and hard copies can be found through jerryfoxmusic.com; you may also find Fox in the praise band at Wartrace Baptist Church.
