Album Review
Gabriel Wilson's The McGuire Side tells the heart-rending story of how he came to understand and make peace with his heritage. His biological father left when Wilson was a toddler. His mother remarried, and Wilson took his stepfather's name. Although he loved his new dad, part of him still felt incomplete.
The title track addresses that absence. As an adult, Wilson attended his biological grandfather's funeral and learned how deeply music ran through his father's family. His grandfather Cornelius had been a traveling minister, singer, and songwriter whose work was recorded by Southern Gospel groups. Wilson also discovered that his uncle Dony and aunt Reba were known in Southern Gospel, and that Reba's parents were Buck and Dottie Rambo. For a rock-and-roll kid growing up in Oregon, the discovery gave new meaning to the music he had always carried inside him.
Wilson kept a journal as he tried to sort through those feelings. Entries from it, alongside songs written by his biological father and grandfather decades earlier, helped form The McGuire Side. His sound has a distinct rock-and-roll feel that recalls the Rolling Stones, Cheap Trick, and the Who. Every so often, a hint of country comes through, connecting the album to the Southern Gospel roots he had discovered.
“The McGuire Side” and “Rocking Chair” let us see his family breaking apart through a child's eyes. “How to Keep a Girl” also draws on a younger Wilson's perspective as he receives advice shaped by his father's mistakes. In the title song, he turns to his Heavenly Father as the constant presence in his life. Many listeners will recognize the pain and honesty in that story, as well as the peace he finds within it. Wilson is a gifted storyteller with a guitar.
The worship songs have a clear place here, too. “Joy in the Church,” “He Will Provide,” and “Amazing Grace (How I Love You)” express the rest and joy Wilson found in the Lord even while his feelings about his earthly family were unsettled. The McGuire Side differs from his earlier work, but it may be the most honest and raw expression of who he is. Listening to it made me feel privileged to hear his story.
