Carman Domenic Licciardello was born on January 19, 1956 in
Trenton, New Jersey. He became a
Christian at an Andrae Crouch concert and in 1980 released his debut album
GOD’S NOT FINISHED WITH ME. Carman’s bio
says he “is an enigma in Christian music, often described as part evangelist,
part Vegas showman”. Some of his best
songs over the years have been: ‘Lazarus Come Forth’, ‘The Champion’, ‘Revival
in the Land’, ‘Satan, Bite the Dust’, and ‘America Again’. NO PLAN B (2014, Norway Avenue Records) is
his latest and 22nd album! It
was produced by Carman, Tedd T, and Tre’ Corely. In the liner notes Carman writes: “This
project is dedicated to all those incredible and generous people who gave to
the Kickstarter campaign. You took a man
with a terminal diagnosis of cancer, a dormant music ministry and gave him not
only the funds to launch a new CD and tour, but most importantly helped him
find a renewed reason to fight to see what life holds in Part 2”. “Today I stand here healthy and ready to
serve”.
The album’s title track ‘No Plan
B’ is up first. It is in the pop/rock
vein musically and is a bold declaration: “I walked away from Krishna, Kabbalah
had me bored/Buddha’s not my cup of tea/Muhammad’s not my Lord/There is no
other option, the Holy Bible say/Jesus is the Son of God and still the only
way/He’s what we’ve all been wanting/He’s what the public craves/He’s the King
of everything/He’s the One who saves.../He’s been my plan A/So everyone can
see/I’m living for the Lord and there’s no plan B”. Musically ‘Time 2 P.T.L.’ is a soulful
song. It shares the Gospel and advises
one proper response to it: “It’s time to praise Him/Lift up His holy Name/Let
everyone proclaim/That He alone is King of Kings and Lord of Lords/Praise Him
for everything He’s done/For sending His only Son/Who lived and died, was
crucified and rose again”.
‘I’m Coming Home’ is a ballad of willful spiritual
surrender: “Lord, I’m coming home (2X)/Lord, I’m coming home to stay/Lord, I
know I need to be whole and clean/Lord, I’m coming home today/Jesus take my
heart/Jesus take my hand/Jesus take all of me, everything I am/Lord take
everything I am/I’m coming home”. ‘God
Made Man’ includes a cameo by Jim Labriola.
This catchy story song is about spiritual transformation and utilizes
street lingo to get its message across: “So I ratted out the devil/Now I’m a
witness in protection/With a whole new direction/I want to shout it/I got a new
life and a new route/A new name and a new suit/So did he offer me a good deal?/Ay,
Forgettaboutit!/I got good news for all you crooks/You get a little
sit-down/He’ll open the books/Ya takin’ the oath/And then you be/A blood bought
member of the family”.
A duet with Hope Loftis entitled ‘Peace of the Lord’
follows. It is a song of testimony:
“Like the force of the thunder or the roar of the beast/Fear is drawing me
under and it gives no release/But my worries are taken by the Word in my
soul/And my faith is awakened with my God in control/The peace of the Lord is
keeping my soul/God’s Word will forever hold my mind together”. ‘Jesus Heal Me’ uses piano, B3, and
orchestrations. It is a deeply personal
song given Carman’s battle with cancer, and includes these spoken words: “Lord
Jesus, I believe that You are touching me right now/For the Scripture says that
You not only forgive all my sins/But You heal all my diseases/For I believe
that as the Bible says we will lay hands on the sick and they shall recover/So
now I give You praise for providing everything I need to recover and walk in
complete wholeness/I thank You for satisfying me with long life/For I shall
live and not die”.
‘It’s All in His Hands’ has a black gospel meets rock ‘n’
roll feel to it and places total confidence in God: “I know Satan is a
liar/It’s all in His hands/He belongs in the lake of fire/It’s all in His
hands/I can feel God’s holy heat/It’s all in His hands/He’s on my side and I
can’t be beat/It’s all in His hands.../My life, it’s all in His hands/My
health, it’s all in His hands/My future, it’s all in His hands, my
world.../Everything’s gonna be alright/Everything’s gonna be ok”. ‘Another Day’ has a Caribbean atmosphere
about it. This song encourages us to be
a patient people of prayer: “Cuz I know not now don’t mean never/So I’ll just
do what I must do and trust You forever/An answer soon will come my way, but it
may come another day/The wind will blow the clouds away, but it may blow
another day/God’s promises are always true/A rainbow somewhere waits there
too/But until then, You’ll see me through another day”.
‘Yes, Yes’ has a Latin music flavour to it. It incorporates several of Carman’s past song
titles into a strong statement of faith: “No way, I’m not ashamed/I love to say
His Name/I’ll always be addicted to Jesus/I’m not timid like a mouse/I know
Who’s in the house/I say it as I rock the microphone/The God in whom I trust
makes Satan bite the dust/He’s still the one and only Champion/Yes, yes, yes,
yes, I know Him/Yes, I’m born again/He’s my Lord, He’s my Savior/Yes, yes/He’s
my Friend”. ‘I Did my Best’ is an
intimate conversation with the Father: “Lord I did my best/In spite of all my
faults/You know I tried/Whether I was right or wrong You saw inside/And knew
that You had all of me/Lord I did my best/Though often times mistakes would be
there too/I just did what I believed You wanted me to do/When I’m finally laid
to rest/I can say/I faced the test/And pressing toward the mark/I did my best”.
‘That’s My King/Radically Saved’ is a particularly rousing
track that draws from Carman’s back catalogue.
It finds Carman very confident of what he believes: “Jesus Christ is
Lord and God’s still on the throne/There’s power in the blood and I’m saved to
the bone/The devil comes against me/He gonna feel some pain/I can bind him,
bruise him, cast him out/By the power of Jesus’ Name.../I believe on the third
day Jesus rose from the grave/The world thinks I’m crazy/I am just radically
saved”. The last track is ‘The Flag’
which is very patriotic: “Red stands for courage, white stands for truth/Blue
for perseverance to a call/This flag sends a message to friend and foe
alike/That America’s still the greatest land of all.../I pledge allegiance to
the flag/Of the United States of America/And to the republic for which it
stands/One nation under God/Indivisible/With liberty and justice for all”.
This album will no doubt please long time fans such as
myself who grew up listening to Carman.
On NO PLAN B Carman in no way cloaks the Gospel message, but eagerly
shares it with one and all. He, true to
character, experiments with a wide variety of musical genres. He makes good use of a choir and many backing
vocalists including long time Petra vocalist Greg Volz. I’m rating NO PLAN B 87%. For more info visit: www.carman.org.