Terrence Howard's Shine Through It: Early Album Review

Terrence Howard is definitely best known as a Hollywood actor with roles in Iron Man, Ray, Crash and his Academy Award-nominated performance in Hustle N Flow. Although he might have rapped in Hustle N Flow, on his debut album, Terrence Howard takes a much smoother approach. Joined by his acoustic guitar, will Terrence Howard Shine Through It?

The first single off of Shine Through It is Sanctuary. The song is an interesting way to introduce Terrence Howard to audiences as a singer and guitarist. The song is very solid and could be featured in numerous commercials especially its stirring chorus.

Love Makes You Beautiful features a similar guitar rift from Jim Croce's classic song Time In A Bottle. The song has the same feeling as that classic song. The song starts as a slow, brooding and haunting track but builds into a lush masterpiece.

The title track Shine Through It is a smooth slice of heaven. The song is well produced and written and features a catchy melody.

Spanish Love Affair channels the sounds of the Spanish Guitar. Terrence delivers some beautiful guitar rifts throughout the instrumental track. This is the perfect song to use as an instrumental as the musicianship is very solid.

Plenty is an uplifting up-tempo track. The song features various instruments arranged in very unique arrangements.

It's All Game is the perfect song for smooth jazz radio. The song features light words spoken during the track however like Spanish Love Affair it is largely an instrumental.

No. 1 Fan is another decidedly darker ballad. The song features haunting strings an almost pained vocal delivery. The song is definitely one of the most interesting tracks on the album.

She Was Mine is the typical song you would expect to hear in a blues club. The song talks about the loss of a special lady and is delivered very well.

I Remember When has an almost 1950's soda shop appeal to it. This song is vastly different than the other cuts on the album. The harmonica playing on the track is out of this world.

Mr. Johnson's Lawn is another Spanish styled track which features Terrence almost rapping on the track. The musicianship is incredibly solid and the concept is very unique.

Terrence Howard definitely surprises everyone with his ability to be a rock star. Shine Through It is a very solid album that features a number of good songs. Although Terrence does not have the most polished vocal delivery, his style works well over the lush acoustic guitar. Overall Shine Through It gets 8 out of 10. If you are a fan of Terrence Howard make sure you pick up Shine Through It.