Phil Stacey: Phil Stacey

By Steve Morley

For better or worse, the Fox TV series American Idol is transforming popular culture. Winners and runners-up alike are now routinely parlaying their national exposure into full-time recording and performing careers. Considering that the show focuses on creating human idols, it’s no surprise that Christian music maintains a fairly low profile on the series, even though Idol-spawned performers like Mandisa have pursued the gospel music path. It’s a difficult feat to put one’s faith at the center of a secular career, though singer Phil Stacey, a 2007 runner-up on American Idol, has proven on his self-titled major label debut that it isn’t impossible.

While Stacey has set his sights on a country career, his background as a worship leader lends him credibility as an inspirational artist. That, coupled with the former sailor’s work with a U.S. Navy rock band, results in a dynamic crossover sound that uplifts the spirit as well as the body. “It’s Who You Know” simmers with a restrained rock-styled energy, while its cleverly turned phrases put a spiritual spin on the notion of worldly influence and position: “You can walk on water/ You can walk on the moon/ You can walk through Memphis wearing blue suede shoes/ When the walking is over/ At the end of the road/ It ain’t what you’ve done, son/ It’s who you know.”

“Round Here” delivers a refreshing message of Christian solidarity atop an electrified hoedown that borrows equally from swamp-rock, bluegrass and classic California pop-rock a la Fleetwood Mac. The song is notable for the way it takes off its kid gloves and stands tough in defense of the faith—a stance that might discourage airplay on Christian radio but which translates especially well to a country mindset. (“Don’t know where you come from/ I ain’t scared of a good fight/ I don’t tuck my tail and run/ Don’t know where you’ve been to/ Might not say what you wanna hear/ Unless you wanna hear the truth/ Hold our heads high, face our fears/ Say a prayer to the good Lord/ This is how we do it ‘round here.”)

The buoyant “Be Good to Each Other” is a well-conceived and positive pop anthem that frames its wish for widespread brother-and-sisterhood as part hopeful prayer and part well-meaning exhortation, all while stopping short of simple sloganeering. (It’s easy to see what we need/ Now, really, how hard could it be/ To be good to each other…”) The first-person repentance for hatred and cruelty near the song’s end is a realistic touch that reminds us that loving well requires ongoing effort.

“You Are Mine” takes a novel tack, naming historical figures from Mozart to Martin Luther King and pondering where they found their sources of inspiration. Instead of trying to answer on their behalf, Stacey proceeds to identify his source in lofty terms that imply he’s giving nods to his Creator, though the object of the song’s devotion remains unnamed. (“We all need inspiration/ A spark that ignites/ Something deep inside the soul/ A masterpiece that defines a life/ And you are mine.”)

The mild ambiguity in this and a few other numbers does little to weaken the undercurrent of devotion on the disc, which closes with an all-out declaration of faith. Simply titled “Identity,” the song has garnered notice in Christian music circles for its vigorous celebration of relationship with a character-altering God. (“Lord, everything You are now becomes me/ And the line between where You begin/ And I end is gone/ I’m in You, I know who I am/ You’re my true, born identity.”)

Stacey’s identity is nearly as fully formed musically as he claims it to be spiritually, and indeed, on his engaging and stylistically forward-thinking first outing, the two parts are all but inseparable.

Audio Clips

"It's Who You Know"

"Looking Like Love"

"No Way Around A River"

"Identity"