MP3 Franklin Thompson - 20/20 Vision

A cross of R&B, Adult MOR, Funk, and Rock Styles

12 MP3 Songs
URBAN/R&B: R&B Pop Crossover, EASY LISTENING: Crooners/Vocals



Details:
20/20 Vision is a music product that was originally released in 2003, and is now being updated and re-released in 2007 by Dr. Franklin Thompson, a professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and a member of the Omaha City Council. It is the second installment of the "Selah Sound Old School Collector's Series."

The project's name is derived from two sources: (1) The CD highlights original and cover songs recorded over a 20 year (1983-2003) period, and (b) the author offers an excellent vision of our nation's human relations past, present, and future.

Vision is an eclectic, race and human relations piece produced in the Sly Stone/Larry Graham/David Bowie theoretical vein. The original songs are mostly 1980's funk, R&B, and rock, but elements of jazz, and cross-over pop are also infused. The cover tunes on the album are classic MOR songs from the 1960s era that deal with the subject of human relations.

Consumers easily get their money's worth with this product. There are 6 original songs and 6 cover tunes. The feature song, entitled "Color Me Rainbow", was voted one of the top American original songs written by an independent artist. It received extensive airplay nationally on independent radio stations throughout the 1990s.

Franklin Thompson (aka, Francois Ja'boi) is a music innovator. This project introduces to the world the advent of a new genre of music known as the Selah Sound. The song entitled "Dinosaur" is a prime example of that new creation--a creative sound that has yet to be duplicated by a professional or amateur writer anywhere (for more information of the genre, see the write up for the "Back In The Day" project).

Although the main objective of 20/20 Vision is to stimulate critical thinking, it is also a fun CD and is suitable for pleasurable listening. Thompson was able to infuse humor into delicate subject matter. Vision has a unique way of making you think and laugh while you dance. Thompson's interpretation of the classic song "The Impossible Dream" is one of the better performances of that song ever given.

Vision is a call to change agency: The author is recruiting citizens from around the world of all colors and backgrounds to become difference makers. Above all, he dares to ask the tougher questions of our time, namely: "What keeps us from realizing the wisdom of the critical middle?" "What kind of mixed messages do we give our youth?", and "Is it really that hard to realize Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream?"

20/20 Vision seeks to encourage those who want to be difference makers not to grow weary and give up. It also reminds us that change happens one person at a time. In the final analysis, you and I are the architects of what is right and what is wrong with us. In the words of Mahatma Ghandi, "Be the change you wish for."

One day the new genre will become an international craze. It may happen during the originatorâs lifetime, or perhaps long after he is gone. When it does, artists and musicians will be able to reach back into time and see that its roots began in Omaha, NE during the mid 1970s by an unassuming yet dedicated songwriter named Franklin Thompsonâa man who had an unwavering commitment to bettering his community through the power of music. The Selah Sound is original, reflective, restorative, and healing. Long live the Selah Sound!