'Love Praise Hope' is all quality

Leighton Levy, Gleaner Writer

"Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skilful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives."

- William A. Foster

Sincere effort, intelligent direction and skilful execution are the only ways one can characterise Carey Sayles second gospel album Love Praise Hope. Released on December 10, 2011, the album is a collection of the highest quality songs that inspire and connect with even the most hardened person way beyond a physical level.

The 10 songs were inspired by what Sayles, an employee of the National Housing Trust, believes is a deficit of love and trust in Jamaica and the world today.

"In a country where we have a problem with love and hope, I wanted to send a message that the God that I serve gives all of that; He gives love, he gives hope and that His name is to be praised," he said.

"I chose to write these songs because I went through a difficult time, and during that time I discovered love and I discovered hope and all because of God, so those were the main inspirations behind this album."

Love Praise Hope was produced, arranged recorded, mixed and mastered at Barbwiya Recording Studio by Dwayne Campbell and boasts a line-up of songs that includes God's Depth of Love, Blessed and Highly Favoured, Talking 'bout Heaven, Holy to you Lord, I'm still here, Healer, Honor and Praise, Inspite of Me, My Jesus and Save Our Friends.

Each song is of the highest quality in terms of lyrics, instrumentation and arrangement and most of all, substance. "Save Our Friends, that song was written because I saw the destruction in Haiti. I saw the struggles in Jamaica and I saw the starvation in Somalia, and there are three different verses that speak to all those things," he said. "There is the song I'm Still Here, when I really felt like things were rough and God just kept reminding me that 'I'm still here'. No matter what your enemy will do, no matter the struggles we are not going to give up."

excellent feedback

Sayles says the response to the album, so far, has been excellent.

"A lot of people have commended it and a lot of them are ... I don't know if shocked is the right word, at the quality of production, the songs themselves, a lot of people have expressed their different favourites, especially I'm Still Here. Maybe they're going through similar sort of stuff. So I would say the reviews have been very good."

Such is the quality that people often believe that the album was produced abroad and that the singers are not from Jamaica.

"People think it's a foreign album. When they hear the name until you show up at the church sometimes people are surprised. I remember we went to a church once and we were singing this song, I'm the Child of the King, and a lady came up and said, 'I like your version of the song'. I said, 'My version of the song, I wrote the song'," he recalled, laughing.

Sayles travelled to Florida in mid-December to promote the album and said that people there were really inspired by it. As a result he is planning further trips to the United States and other countries where he feels the songs will continue to inspire people and generate sales. He is also using social media, YouTube, and eBay to get the album out to customers. Ultimately, he said, he would love to hire a company to distribute the album.

Sayles grew up in Arnett Gardens and attended Half-Way Tree Primary, Kingsway High School and Northern Caribbean University. He believes he got his talent from his grandmother because his parents 'can't hold a note'.

He laughs at the memory of his parents futile efforts at producing melodious sounds, and doesn't hold it against them. He figures the talent skipped a generation.

As long as he can remember he was singing on his schools' choirs. While growing up Sayles and his wife of two years, Sharilyn, also a talented singer, attended the same church, The Trench Town Seventh-day Adventist Church in Arnett Gardens. Her angelic voice can be heard on Talking 'bout Heaven and My Jesus I love Thee.