Fr Stan Fortuna - Seraphic Wanderer

The lastest album by Fr. Stan Fortuna is a mix of R&B, jazz, and world music. This is truly an international album, as the title may suggest; not just because of the songs, but because of how this album was recorded.

In an interview I did with Fr. Stan, he related to me that in the back of the church in the Bronx where he lives, he has a small studio with all kinds of professional equipment. With his hectic schedule, he finally had about a week and a half to work on the new project, and then his computer crashed. So he ended up getting an old laptop computer he had, and he worked on the project on the road, recording parts of it in Portugal, London, Africa, Canada, and other places. He wasn't sure about how the quality would be, but the engineer at Sterling Sound in Manhattan told Fr. Stan that he felt it as some of the best music Fr. Stan had ever brought him.

This project is indeed one of the best albums I have heard, not just from Father Stan, but from all of Catholic music. It is important that when we put our time, efforts, and money into albums, that we make sure that the album is of a quality that represents Catholic music well. "Seraphic Wanderer" does just that. But it's not just a "nice sounding" album. The message of the music is important, too.

The project kicks off with a quote from Pope John Paul II, whose reflection on Leviticus 25:23 "You are strangers and sojourners with me." The message of this reflection is how Abraham's descendents viewed themselves as wanderers and strangers on this earth. That is the message of this album. The rest of the tracks reflect this message.

Track Listing:
1. JPII "Wanderer" Text
2. Everything Will Be Alright
3. Fresh Eggs and Fish
4. Uganda Are You Ready
5. Stretch Me
6. Wings of Love
7. 1-11-04
8. 7 From Heaven
9. Immigrant Soul
10. Something About Love
11. Morning Offering
12. Lift Up
13. Love Giver
14. SW Outro

LINKS for this review:
Francesco Productions - Fr. Stan Fortuna