Solace

A dedication

I decided on dedicating this CD to my mother Annabelle McKay who passed away April 6, 2017. I felt the gift of music to honour her legacy was appropriate considering she was the one who gifted me my love of music early on as a young child. Her gift has stayed with me my entire life.

Why Solace?

Solace means comfort, relief, or consolation given during a time of sadness, distress, or worry. I felt the name represented both perspectives — mine as the grieving son and my mom’s as she was relieved from her battle with cancer.

My mom

My mom was a very positive, happy person. She had an incredible strong work ethic and unmatched kindness and generosity.

What I hope these songs do

I hope the songs carry the message of hope, love and faith. That they offer a source of strength and comfort when life doesn’t always make sense.

The album insert

Turn through the booklet and tray card, exactly as printed — front cover to tray card. Tap Previous / Next, swipe left or right, or use your keyboard arrows.

← Previous Next →

Tracklist

1. A Gift From Above (McKay/Hess)
2. All The Things You Gave Me (McKay/Fitzgerald)
3. When I Found You (McKay/Hess)
4. Invincible (McKay/Hess)
5. I’ll Lift You Up (When You Are Down) (McKay, Hess, Jordan)
6. All That Matters (McKay/Fitzgerald)

Printed tray credit: Produced by Harry Hess / Produced by Greg Fitzgerald (tracks 2 and 6). Song credits above are as printed in the booklet.

What reviewers said

Independent Album of the Year, 2017 NFN Awards (Never For Nothing) — #1, Solace. (Never For Nothing)

The Never For Nothing review, “The Review Zone – Franklin McKay: Solace,” by nigelsteady, posted September 11, 2017, rated the EP 10/10. Read the full review at the original: The Review Zone – Franklin McKay: Solace.

The reviewer describes Franklin as “a Billboard charting singer-songwriter from Toronto, Canada” with US Adult Contemporary hits and two US Billboard Christian AC songs on the EP (“Invincible” and “I’ll Lift You Up (When You Are Down)”). Short excerpts, with attribution:

“From the moment ‘A Gift From Above’ began the album, I knew that I was listening to something very special.”

On “I’ll Lift You Up”: “so powerful and uplifting, that it brought tears to my eyes” — “I’ll lift you up, when your world’s crashing down, just gave me goosebumps every time Franklin sang that line.”

On “All the Things You Gave Me”: its theme centres around “the gifts of God, like ‘Hopes, dreams, faith, and love,’” and it is “a terrific number.”

Style comparison: “a cross between classic Michael W. Smith and the more modern sound of someone like Danny Gokey.”

Closing question: “Why hasn’t a record label signed him up?”

Excerpts only — the full review text is not republished here.

Radio, year-end 2017: CHVN 95.1 FM Winnipeg ranked “A Gift From Above” — Solace track 1 — #14 on its most popular songs of 2017 as played on CHVN (published December 27, 2017), with 272 radio plays and an average of 54 plays per month, in a top 20 led by Brandon Heath’s “Whole Heart” and including TobyMac, Lauren Daigle, Skillet, and Jeremy Camp.