There was a time period that I went to sleep with CJBC Radio 860 from Toronto listening to beautiful piano music. The first time I slipped on pianist Richard Kingsmore's The Journey, I fell in love with the praise and worship instrumental version of the type of music that used to put me to sleep. "Danger! Danger! Will Robinson!" I was tired and fell asleep! Okay, that news is perhaps the only weakness of The Journey, which could have shuffled lightly-orchestrated pieces to other places within the project to vary its flow. While the recording is soothing, Kingsmore conveys vitality to his own compositions, as well as one of the most beautiful versions of "Holy Holy Holy" I have ever heard; it includes woodwinds and cello, and the results are absolutely beautiful. The Journey is a blend of solo piano (rendered flawlessly by Kingsmore) and light orchestration (nicely produced by Eric Darken and Bret Teegarden), and in a final note, just because Michael W. Smith released an instrumental project doesn't mean Kingsmore (or another pianist) is playing copycat. It's clear that Kingsmore enjoys performing praise and worship music via his favorite instrument, and it is clearly evident in The Journey.
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