Rick Recht - The Hope

I got a lot response to my review of Beth Schafer's new album, 'Build that Bridge'. I got 8 people telling me I'm an idiot for not loving it. Oh well. I can take my lumps. And I think I'll get them occasionally because I want to cover and present as many aspects of Jewish music as I can, even though I won't like all of them. Most of the time I'll just pass on the music without any judgement, but sometimes I'll fess up if something doesn't work for me. And I'll get smacked, but that's ok.

So, as long as I'm getting smacked, I'd might as well get it off my chest that I don't really like Rick Recht either. Like Schafer, he's part of the 'Contemporary Jewish Music' scene. I'm not going to bother getting into why I'm not into Recht's music, read my comments on Schafer's album and most of them hold true for Recht (at least for what I've heard).

But he's well loved. He won the recent JVIBE poll, has got a pile of albums, tours like crazy, writes some solid hooks and is very very positive in message. His website describes him like this:

"Rick Recht is the top-touring musician in Jewish music playing over 150 concerts a year in the United States and abroad. Recht is widely recognized for his appeal to youth and family audiences not only as an exceptional musician, singer/songwriter, and entertainer, but as a role model for involvement in Jewish life. He has become an icon for Jewish youth in the United States, elevating the medium of Jewish music as a powerful and effective tool for developing Jewish pride and identity among the masses."

Here's one of his best known tunes:

The Hope