Mark Schultz, on his new album “Broken and Beautiful,” continues to do what he does best: craft poignant songs that zing their way into the center of your heart.
Schultz has created his own unique area of expertise; he knows how to play our heart-strings as well as he does his preferred axe, the piano. No one does this better than Schultz, and "Broken and Beautiful" continues the streak. Whether he's singing about the power of the salvation moment in the life of a businessman, a widow, or a teenager ("Broken and Beautiful"), or describing the moments that make up a long marriage of mutual devotion ("Walking Her Home"), or even covering a subject closer to his heart, the story of a mother who gives up her son to a better life (Mark's own story "Everything to Me"), he crafts a song that draws you in to its emotional center, reaching deep into the bond of our shared humanity. He is not unlike Michael W. Smith in terms of his accessibility and in his ability to connect with his audience.
"Broken and Beautiful" has a good mix of both tempos and styles, between the story ballads, a few thumping pop-rockers (opener "40 Days," and "Now That You've Come Into My Life"), and the worship tracks (the slammin' "Lord, You Are" and the wildly enthusiastic standout, "God of Life," both enhanced by the appearance of Joy Williams). Take note of the lush ballad, "1,000 Miles," for the open devotion for his wife expressed in Schultz' soft vocals. "Until I See You Again" is presented in two very different forms, as a rollicking upbeat rocker on Track 4, and as a piano ballad in the closing track, both containing lyrics of deep longing for the Home we were made for. Michael W. and Schultz own this domain, of well-orchestrated, dramatic songs of focus, and "Broken and Beautiful" unabashedly plants its flag on this terrain. Schultz' fans will not be disappointed in this, his fifth Word Records collection of the songs of his life, releasing September 26.
