Review Detail
I HAVE A SONG - Shannon Wexelberg
Discovery House Music
WL Quick Tip: Mainly sweet, biblically based, straightforward, lovely, gentle, tender, impassioned pop vocals, arrangements, and orchestration. If you prefer distorted guitar, huge bass/drums, edgy imagery and arrangements, this one's not for you. Shannon Wexelberg's pure, powerful and very pretty voice is a nice counterpoint to the many hyper-stylized vocals out there. On an album steeped in the crucible of some personal trials including her husband's near-death motorcycle accident, she pours out songs of peace, worship, praise, prayer, and contemplation with a mixture of tempos and an expansive dynamic range, vocally and instrumentally. Piano and strings carry the project with a few band-based songs and some acoustic guitar.
Primarily comprised of originals from Wexelberg, informed by Scripture, she includes a few classics such as "Praise to the Lord, the Almighty," "I Stand Amazed," and "Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus." She opens the album with the first of these, and its simple, uncluttered arrangement is a perfect setting for her nuanced vocalizing. It transitions to the poppy Wexelberg original, "This Is the Day," based on Psalm 145: 1-2 (included in Song DISCovery 85); it's a nice counterpoint to the version most often used in churches and soars alone or as an ingredient for a "This Is the Day" medley. "How Holy" is a perfect congregational song, with some minor adjustments. The title cut serves beautifully as "special" music, with its encouraging message and inclusion of "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" to reinforce the message of hope. In fact, the reflection and praise of the album's songs could grace a myriad of "special" service slots: "Becoming" is reminiscent of "Father's Eyes" and "Boundless" picks up the energy with a take on 1 Corinthians 13.
The arrangements with their generally predictable build and quiet endings actually steal some of Wexelberg's interpretive power. When the musical flurry falls away as on "I Stand Amazed," she stuns with transparent beauty. As a whole, the album has congregational application and would grace anyone's daily devotions, as Scriptural inspiration is included with each song.
Playlist: "I Stand Amazed," "Nothing Can Separate Us," "Jehovah Shalom," "Psalm 23"
shannonwexelberg.com - Andrea Hunter
