Review: John Schlitt- Go
May 28, 2020
Christian rock legend John Schlitt is back with his sixth solo record- Go- which comes seven years after The Christmas Project and eight after The Greater Cause.
Obviously it’s been a minute since we got a traditional rock record from Schlitt on his own but he’s stayed busy with The Union of Sinners & Saints and his time with the Jay Sekulow Band so it’s not like we haven’t had our Schlitt fix but it’s good to have his first non-holiday rock record in eight years.
This is a different style than we’ve heard from Schlitt in the past, with him going more down the blues rock road but it works gloriously.
“Go” kicks it off with a peaceful rock track that feels like you’re starting on a long road trip or journey, but we are so this works great.
“Feel It” brings in the classic rock vibe that Schlitt fans love so much- it has an auto racing, adrenaline vibe while “Take It Higher” is a groovy, blues rock guitar anthem that makes you move.
“Fighting The Fight” is an honest, intimate, emotional perfect balance for the record and fits right up there with the heavy-hitter ballads of Schlitt’s career with Petra (“Love,” “Just Reach Out”) and solo (“Inside Of You”) while “Just Let Go” kicks it back up to speed with an electronic bassline that leads into some of the grooviest music of his career. It’s a completely new sonic sonic ground than anything we’ve heard from Schlitt before.
“Time Keeps Rollin” is a dramatic, building climax of the record while “Where Would I Be” is Motown through and through while “Find A Way” is Styx-meets-REO Speedwagon and is throwback to Schlitt’s days in Head East and bands of that era.
In the end, this is a record that shows Schlitt exploring new musical avenues, which is hard to do after over 40 years in the business and, to do it as well as Schlitt does with Go is amazing. This is a record that shows Schlitt bearing his emotions and faith and doesn’t compromise anything.
While Go doesn\’t fit in with his work with Petra, it also doesn’t sound like anything he’s done before and, on the scale of Schlitt’s solo records you can put this right behind Shake and just before The Greater Cause and it’s gonna be fun to see where he goes next.
Rating: 9/10
-Reggie Edwards