I Serve a Savior explained

I Serve a Savior
Type:studio
Artist:Josh Turner
Cover:Josh Turner I Serve a Savior.jpg
Studio:Ken's Gold Club
Stage Recording Studio
Genre:Christian country, gospel
Length:41:51
Label:MCA Nashville
Producer:Kenny Greenberg
Prev Title:Deep South
Prev Year:2017
Next Title:Country State of Mind
Next Year:2020

I Serve a Savior is the seventh studio album by American country music artist Josh Turner. It was released on October 26, 2018, through MCA Nashville, and is Turner's first release to primarily consist of gospel music. The album was also bundled with a live performance DVD for release exclusively in Cracker Barrel stores that features an interview with Bill Gaither.

Content

I Serve a Savior is a collection of mostly gospel music standards with a few original songs, such as the title track, which was co-written by Turner, and one that his wife and son wrote together.[1] The album features new live recordings of two of his previous hit singles — "Long Black Train" and "Me and God" — as well as duets with Sonya Isaacs, Bobby Osborne, and Turner's own family (including his wife and four sons) on "The River (Of Happiness)".[2]

Recording a gospel project was something Turner had "been wanting to do for a long time" and he decided that the timing was finally right for him to do it: "I didn't have any big plans for 2018 and my favorite part of my job is to go into the studio and create. I just felt like it was God's timing and I couldn't pass it up."[1]

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave the album three stars out of five, praising the duets with Sonya Isaacs and Bobby Osborne and calling it a "a sturdy, comforting listen, which is precisely what it was intended to be."[3]

Commercial performance

The album debuted at No. 2 on Billboard's Top Country Albums and Top Christian Albums for charts dated November 10, 2018, selling 14,000 copies in the first week (15,000 in equivalent album units). It is Turner's first appearance on the Christian chart.[4] The album sold a further 8,300 copies the second week.[5] It has sold 147,000 copies in the United States as of March 2020.[6]

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic[7]

Charts

Year-end charts

Chart (2018)Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[9] 99
Chart (2019)Position
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[10] 84

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Josh Turner Releases Gospel Album I Serve a Savior (Featuring a Song His Wife and Son Wrote!). Madison Roberts. October 26, 2018. People.com. October 26, 2018.
  2. Web site: Josh Turner Lives Out His Faith On New Album: 'Everyone Knows My Heart'. Tricia Despres. October 26, 2018. Taste of Country. October 26, 2018.
  3. Web site: I Serve a Savior - Josh Turner. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. Allmusic. October 26, 2018.
  4. Josh Turner's Faith-Based 'I Serve a Savior' Debuts, Dan + Shay, Maren Morris Go Top 10 on Country Charts. November 6, 2018 . Jim . Asker. Billboard.
  5. News: Top 10 Country Albums Sales Chart: November 14, 2019. Matt. Bjorke. November 14, 2018. Roughstock. December 1, 2018.
  6. Web site: Top 10 Country Albums Pure Sales Chart: March 9, 2020 . RoughStock. Matt . Bjorke . March 10, 2020 . March 22, 2020 .
  7. Web site: Credits. AllMusic. October 20, 2020.
  8. Web site: Official Christian & Gospel Albums Chart Top 20. April 2, 2021 . . May 25, 2021.
  9. Top Country Albums – Year-End 2018. Billboard. December 7, 2021.
  10. Top Country Albums – Year-End 2019. Billboard. December 9, 2021.