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Mary Gospe – Time to Soar Review

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Don’t you love albums that refuse to be background music, albums that seem to pull you in and demand your undivided attention? The first time I listened to Mary Gospe’s “Time To Soar” I only knew that it was not a typical New Age music album, but more of a pop/crossover release produced by the amazing David Vito Gregoli. 53 minutes and 12 seconds later, I had not only become a Mary Gospe fan, but I had also learned more than I would from a stack of self-help books. “Time To Soar” is a genre-defying release, colorful and brimming with optimism, capable to shake up any New Age music playlist. 

Mary Gospe is an inspirational singer/songwriter based in the San Francisco Bay Area. After 30 years in marketing for companies like Apple, Los Altos resident Mary knew there had to be “life after tech.” So she left the corporate world and embarked on an encore career as a singer-songwriter. In the summer of 2018, she met award-winning music producer David Vito Gregoli. They hit it off musically. Gregoli worked with Gospe on all 12 songs on “Time to Soar,” co-writing 7 and playing all the instruments on the recording. Backing vocals were provided by award-winning singer/songwriter, Kimberly Haynes, and Mary’s Song Garden bandmate, singer/songwriter Corrie Dunn.

We Are One
The album opener is called “We Are One”. It doesn’t take long to establish that the delicate pop/rock arrangement and Mary’s beautiful voice are a perfect match. She wrote the piece in 2016 after hearing Caroline Cory speak about the Syrian refugee crisis, and about how the old paradigm of separation is moving toward a new paradigm of unity and oneness. I love the lyrics, and the melody is very catchy. It is, in short, a tremendous album opener and a quick introduction to Mary Gospe’s world of music.

Next out is “Walk Slowly”. Here’s a message we all, in our busy and hectic modern lives, should listen to. The song urges us to reduce stress and “Watch the seagulls as they dip and dive / Soaring across the deep blue sky”. In other words; it is time to soar. Apparently, you don’t need synth pads and gongs to illustrate the benefits of slowing down. Rock will do just fine.

The Black Crow Prophecy
“The idea for this song came while I was running in the woods after seeing a crow, a divine oracle in Celtic mythology and asking it “what’s my life purpose?” says Gospe about “The Black Crow Prophecy”. I think the theme is fantastic; It is an extremely well-made pop/rock song. I also like the analoge synth in the theme, and the nice crow sample in the beginning and end. The song is food for thought; What mysteries can be solved by studying nature and ancient mythologies? I’m sure we’ll find plenty of answers.

The title track is an inspiring piece, telling us to break out of old patterns and do something exciting! Notice the complexity of the arrangement, especially near the end. It is impossible not to be impressed.

I Choose Love
The following part – the songs “I Choose Love”, “Free To Be Me” and “Pendulum” – are more about the self and self-esteem. If you pay attention to the lyrics, you’ll get more useful information here. I almost started taking notes!

Mary Gospe performing her original song “I Choose Love”:

The focus on community and solidarity is back with “Unity”. It could have been a late 1960s peace movement song, but it is just as relevant today. One of the most beautiful songs here is the Law of Attraction inspired “Ride The Wave”. Listening feels therapeutic and inspiring everyone not to succumb to negativity and reach that “higher vibration”. How wonderful!

Let’s Break Away
It is hard not to smile and nod in agreement listening to “Let’s Break Away”. To be spontaneous once in a while is the opposite of being irresponsible. Breaking the routine can be a healing experience, especially for couples. It is so easy to be trapped in the routine.

Another favorite of mine is “Live From Your Heart”. This incredible piano ballad is inspired by Caroline Cory’s Creative Formula, which tells us to use intention, desire, belief, and surrender to manifest what we desire. There’s a fresh electric guitar segment in the end, rounding off this inspired piece beautifully.

“All Is Well” is a lullaby to humanity. The gentle melody and hopeful lyrics offer instant comfort, and Mary’s soothing voice makes you hang on to each word, believing it all. The song goes straight to the heart – and stays there.

In conclusion: I must confess that I have never had high hopes for the New Age Pop/Rock sub-genre – but that has all changed with “Time To Soar” by Mary Gospe. Her music is like the missing link between the genres; Energetic and accessible like Pop/Rock, but with the deep emotional quality of New Age music. Gospe makes the listener reflect on many important and exciting topics. The production by David Vito Gregoli is spotless. It is, in short, an album you’ll want to hear again and again, whenever you need to soar.

Score: 95/100 – See our scoring policy

For more information and music samples, visit marygospe.com