"The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the
Lord." In the first chapter of the Book of Job, these words are spoken by
Job upon learning of the horrible devestation and losses that have befallen
him.In his 2006 single, "Never Lose Faith," Barry Russo takes inspiration from
that beautiful Old Testament chapter about the mystery of human suffering.
As a songwriter and recording artist, Russo has frequently found subject
matter in writing not necessarily just about what he has already experienced in
his life's journey, but also in where he'd like to be. He explains "Like
everyone, I have had my own personal struggles. I see things about myself
that I want to improve upon, and often, those things become the inspiration
for my writing. For example, pertaining to 'Never Lose Faith,' it's easy to
fall into despair when it seems like everything around you is going wrong
and falling apart. I have been, and honestly will admit that at times still
can be, in that place. I'm striving to continue to grow spiritually to the
point where one day, my faith and trust in God will stand more solidly in
the face of such storms. I know where I need to be, but sometimes the road
to get there can be really bumpy."
This is the same approach that Russo took on many of the tracks in his 2005
release, "These Are the Days." That album featured a number of
inspirational mainstream pop songs with subtle Christian overtones. In
"Never Lose Faith," co-written with Greg Lato and the first song of a
forthcoming EP, Russo has stepped solidly into a more specifically Christian
classification to his songs. "My Catholic Christian upbringing is an
important component to who I am as a person. It is the basis of everything.
Even when I write and/or perform songs that can be considered in the
industry to be more 'mainstream' or 'secular,' this is still where I come
from in life. Sometimes I may write about themes that are more specifically
'worldy,' while at other times I write about God and my spiritual journey.
And sometimes, what I write may be a combination of both. For that reason,
the industry will perhaps consider me to be what is known as a 'crossover
artist.' But I just tend to look at myself as a person who wants to share
his experience through music. And hopefully that will be beneficial in some
way to the lives of those who happen to hear my music."