A Prayer of Faith

Not only is this week’s review not a book, it’s not like anything else. After years and years of singing for other people, one of the best voices in LDS music released her very own self-titled debut album this past February. Of course, I just discovered it. I only bought the CD because she was scheduled to perform at the Time Out For Women (TOFW) presentation I was going to attend, and I enjoy music more if I have a chance to give it a good listen before the event. From the first listen, I loved the album–albeit cautiously. It’s almost scary how good studios have gotten at manufacturing pop music from artists with little to no natural talent. I liked the album so much that I found myself hoping with a near-intensity that Jenny was not one of those. Still, even though the music moved me, I wasn’t anything you could call a fan.

Finally TOFW came, and when Jenny took the stage, I found myself thinking, “OK, here goes…can she do it?…will she be lip synching?…I hope this isn’t bad…Oh WOW, can that girl SING!” Not only is her voice just as good live as it is on the album–it’s better. Any adjective I could use about Jenny’s vocals would be beyond trite. They are powerful, flexible, delicate, intimately and epically sculpted, and yet free all at the same time. Her voice makes me feel like I can fly. I’ve listened to the album in the car, turning errands into a fun outing. I put it on at home as I go about my daily duties, just to give a little extra lift to my housework. I dance to it while my children eat their lunch, just, well, just for fun!

Let me just say that his album rocks not only my socks, but my mind, body, and spirit through and through. So often–too often–mainstream pop may make me want to move, but that desire is squelched under the weight of intellectual and spiritual disharmony coming from the lyrics. I feel like a bird with clipped wings. This album, though, calls me to move, and I’m free to soar. I tell you, “It’s real” is my jam. That song comes on and pulls my strings like some kind of funky mamma marionette, and I have no choice but to move; don’t make me post footage of dancing in my kitchen to prove it to you.

What makes it all even better is that Jenny is a real musician; she really knows what she is about in this project. In addition to singing professionally since she was 17, she’s been a songwriter and a producer, including being the vocal producer for the band Jericho Road. She’s been blessed with a great voice, and with the professional know-how to to get the best sound out of that voice. Her incredibly varied experience in country, gospel, pop, opera, and beyond is evident in the depth and flavor of her original songs, which yield a delicious, infectious fusion that seeps in and keeps you dancing long after the CD has stopped spinning.

Her music and singing have been compared both favorably and unfavorably with that of Mariah Carey or Brittney Spears. Really, she has a voice like Mariah’s and the savvy of Brittney’s team for turning out a great sound, but if pop music is not your thing, then you’ll want to let this one pass you by. It’s a souped-up, tricked-out, fun-time ride, and you won’t catch the Mormon Tabernacle choir covering any of her original tracks anytime soon–OK, OK, OK, probably never. It’s not your mother’s Mormon music, no doubt.

If you like a beat, if you like to move, if you could use a little lift in your day, then this album is for you, and I suggest you give it a listen, or two, or twenty.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 20th, 2006 at 5:00 am and is filed under All Good Books. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.