Begin Again is the newest album by religious Country music auteur Randy Seedorff. This is his first major EP release since 2017’s Elevate and his 2013 debut Rearview Mirror. Methodically taking his time to work on his music in between his time as a pastor and also working with his organization Soul Purpose which he formed in 2010, he’s certainly not lost a step in crafting compelling stories about his life as well as musically condensing his views as a religious man and father for people like us to enjoy and learn from. Back in92′ Randy was actually a singer and guitarist for the band Greenside Up and you can tell why they would want him in the forefront. He has a spectacular voice that is both distinct, but never flashy. He doesn’t do anything vocally that’s distracting, and unlike a lot of country acts you can hear a lot, there’s no strange inflection that puts on certain words.
URL: https://randyseedorff.com/album/1825969/begin-again
He’s very good, and you can tell he treats his voice like the well-oiled instrument it is. When he released Elevate, that shot him straight to number one in the Christian Radio charts, and I hope this project does the same. Each song is incredibly catchy and wears its heart firmly on its sleeve. Randys lyrics vacillate from being funny, warm, heartbreaking, and filled with a rich pathos of a life lived with all kinds of ups and downs. Just hearing him describe the people in his life so filled with love might bring a tear to your eye.
One of the best examples is the track “Why Me Lord”, which when I first heard the title, I assumed might have been about the hardships we face and how to move forward, a kind of “why do bad things happen to good people” narrative. Instead, I was greeted with a thoughtful examination of the joy life has given someone like Seedorff, and he means every word, and it’s incredibly compelling to hear him exercise all these thoughts and how genuinely happy he is. There’s nothing dark or serious about the album, even though it treats itself with dignity and respect of the material because of how deeply tethered it is to Randy. Randy also knows how to cut loose and have fun too, from the rickrolling opening that sounds like its begging to be used in a movie, and even more slowly paced grooves like album standout “The Poet” just drip with ambiance and mood as Seedorff conveys so much conviction even saying phrases like “sketching emotion, light in the shade”. In many ways, the album feels like he’s speaking about himself as the titular poet.
I’m sure he would debunk that and say it’s more about speaking from the soul in general, but it’s a projection I can’t help but put on him just due to his overwhelming talent. This is the perfect album for someone looking for something that has a true genuine human heart in it, and it’s like a tonic to the soul.
Jodi Marxbury