Brian Owens says he has found his voice

There was a point during the recording of singer Brian Owens’ new album, “Love Came Down,” when he says he finally found his voice.

This comes after a string of well-received albums including “Soul of Cash” (2017), “Soul of Ferguson” (2017), “Preach! The Soundtrack” (2014) and “Moods & Messages” (2012).

“Love Came Down” not only allowed the Ferguson, Mo.based singer to record at Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, where Al Green recorded many of his classics, but Owens was also able to record using Green’s microphone, which he says was truly “a vibe.”

“I sound totally different on this record,” Owens says. “Before, I couldn’t always focus on finding my voice because I was wearing too many hats.”

But there was a breakthrough on his reinterpretation of Jim Croce’s “I Have to Say I Love You in a Song.”

“The song was just smoking,” he says. “I was grooving out. I started off singing really soft on the mic, and my voice was super present. That’s the first time that really happened to me on the mic. I could just sing on the mic, not scream. The only time I felt that was when I stood in for Dianne Reeves (at Powell Hall in 2017 with In Unison Chorus).”

“Love Came Down” focuses on themes of faith, family and purpose, and Owens considers it his most personal and introspective effort yet.

“I want people to see God through this album,” he says. “I don’t know how the album will translate to people, but I think it’s going to be powerful. There’s something powerful about the simplicity of the record. People are looking for anything that can point them toward beauty, but not beauty with the absence of truth. I pray it’s one of those pieces like (Marvin Gaye’s) ‘What’s Going On.’”

In addition to a handful of originals, “Love Came Down” includes Owens’ covers of Gregory Porter’s “Our Love,” Stevie Wonder’s “Heaven Is 10 Zillion Light Years Away” and “Happier Than the Morning Sun,” along with the Croce song.

“The album reminds me of mid-’70s soul and R&B, where they had these really lush harmonies. Hall & Oates has stuff like that, as well as Michael McDonald, George Benson, Al Jarreau.”

‘I want people to see God through this album. I don’t know how the album will translate to people, but I think it’s going to be powerful. There’s something powerful about the simplicity of the record. People are looking for anything that can point them toward beauty, but not beauty with the absence of truth. I pray it’s one of those pieces like (Marvin Gaye’s) “What’s Going On.”’ Brian Owens

“Love Came Down” by Brian Owens (Sweet Soul Records)