CD Review - Kevin John Smith - We All Bow Down

Reviewed by Jim Logue, Jr.

Kevin John Smith has been involved in music for more than 25 years, through years of work with the Minnesota Opera, Walt Disney World, Busch Gardens, and has recorded jingles and voiceovers for broadcast. He is also one of the founding members of internatinally-acclaimed group Voice Trek.

Now Kevin has recorded a solo CD: We All Bow Down. This CD features ten songs that showcase his strong vocal talents. The album is produced by Darren Rust and includes musicians Tommy Barbarella and Sonny Thompson, who have worked in the past with Prince and Janet Jackson.

The purpose of this CD, the songs and the styles, is to lead the listener through life's journey. Songs include Michael W Smith's All I Want, thanking God for everything we have; Lenny LeBlanc's We All Bow Down, offering praise to God; Michael Card's El Shaddai and The Nazarene; Josh Groban's Remember When It Rained; DeGarmo & Key's In His Love; Twila Paris' How Beautiful; Julie Hoy's Wait For the Moment; and Brenda Russell's The Last Day.

The songs all offer praise to God, express our trust in His care, and the hope of one day sharing eternal life with Him. Kevin gives a truly inspired performance with a solid musical background to his voice.

You can learn more about Kevin John Smith at his website KevinSings.com.

CD Review - Bill Tonnis – Live to Love

Reviewed by Fr. Kent O'Connor

There is a lot to love in Bill Tonnis’s second album, Live to Love. A real highlight of the CD is listening to the exceptional guitar work of Bobby Fisher (who also produced the CD). His great hooks and solos (along with all the other instruments he plays on the album) bring an added dimension to Tonnis’ original compositions. The arrangements and backing vocals are excellent and the production value of the CD is good. I found Tonnis’s unique voice, while perhaps lacking universal appeal, to be very engaging, and it served the music well. My favorite track, hands down, is “How Wonderful to Me” (track 9). It is one of the loveliest songs I have heard in quite some time.

The biggest weakness of the album is the lyrics. Too often it felt as if Mr. Tonnis wrote “to the rhyme.” Sometimes he sacrifices faithfulness to Scripture and good sentence structure for the sake of the rhyme. I would have liked to hear Mr. Tonnis either “dig deeper” to find better rhymes (some of his “rhymes” don’t even rhyme), or write songs that have no rhyming pattern at all. This might have also eliminated the “singsong” quality that occasionally appears in his melodies.

Many people have been touched by the ministry and music of Bill Tonnis, and I am confident that Live to Love will serve his ministry well. The songs “Come to Jesus” (track 2) and “Heal Me” (track 4) can be used for those needing healing of body and spirit, “Take Me Now, Forever” (track 10) is a lovely song for a wedding, and “God is the Goal” (track 7) is great for those who need a little “pick-me-up” sometime during the day.

For more information on Bill Tonnis and to purchase Live to Love go to BillTonnisMusic.com.

CD Review - Trish Foti Genco – Inspired Classics

reviewed by Sally Bolderson

Inspired Classics is Trish Foti-Genco’s fifth CD offering. As I
prepared to listen to the “classics”, all familiar titles, I did not know
what was in store. Although, I’ve heard of Trisha through the Catholic
music networks, I hadn’t actually heard any of her music. I was very
impressed with every track of this beautiful work. Trish’s powerful,
classically trained voice and depth of emotion brought each song to life.
And not to be understated are the professional musicians (Dreux Montegut –
piano, Anne Chabreck – flute and Vince Woolf – trumpet) she surrounds her
beautiful vocals with, that add their own special dimension to these
songs, thereby enhancing them even further.

This is a mixed collection of traditional Latin classics such as “Laudate
Dominum” by Mozart and “Panis Angelicus” by Franck along with new
contemporary favorites like “How Beautiful” by Twila Paris, “Wherever You
Go” by David Haas and a particular favorite of mine, “How Great Thou Art”
by Hine.

Trish spent her life growing up in New Orleans, Louisiana with a
supportive, faith filled family and extended family who nurtured her
growth in her gifts and her faith so that when she suffered a stroke in
her 20’s it did not deter her from God’s call for her. She has made her
name known throughout the south as well as across the country. She was
featured on EWTN in October, 2008 and shared her musical gifts at the
UCMVA (United Catholic Music and Video Association) Unity Awards
ceremony.

“This wasn’t the plan I had for my life,” she said. “It was important for
me to teach music at a Catholic school and be a mom. The part where things
(a music career and raising a family) work so well together is his (God’s)
design. This is his plan.”

When asked why she chose the Catholic music genre to share her undeniable
talent, she states, “To me there was no other way. Everything I have
learned prepared me for this. Catholic music is just who I am. It’s my
calling…it’s what I’ve done all my life.”

This is a great CD with so much to offer. I am anxious to hear her
previous recordings, Inspired, In the Stillness, After the Rain and
In His Presence (the Gift of Christmas) to see what other graces can be
found there.

You can purchase Inspired Classics as well as all of Trish’s CDs at www.tfotigenco.com.

CD Review - Mercy Is . . . Mary Selano and Company

reviewed by Sally Bolderson

Mercy Is . . . is a compilation CD of various new artists from the Atlanta area encompassing an original setting of the Divine Mercy Chaplet written by Mary Selano as well as well known and original pieces by the various new artists featured in this CD. The intention for the CD is to help spread the good news of God’s immeasurable mercy for us. 100% of the proceeds of the sales of this CD are earmarked for Mother Antonia and her sisters, Eudists Servants of the 11th Hour, to assist in the continuance of God’s works of mercy.

The vocals throughout the CD are pleasantly humble. The clear, sincere voices draw the listener into the depth of the songs. The melody of the Divine Mercy Chaplet is soothing and I believe it would be well suited to congregational prayer. I was also pleased to have the pre and postlude prayers of the Chaplet included in this recording.

The overall selection ranges anywhere from old hymns such as an acoustic arrangement of “The Old Rugged Cross” sung by 16 year old, Jenna Kate Hall to a more contemporary sound of Jon Hazelwood of an original song, “Tear Me Down” to Schubert’s “Ave Maria.” As with any compilation project where there is a diverse selection of types and voices, you will find some to be stronger than others and that is the case with this CD.

What tugged at my heart strings the most was the song “We Want to See the World” written by David Burke. This song is a dialogue between an Angel of God (sung by Camille Selano) and unborn children (sung by a family of children that regularly go to a local abortion clinic for prayer vigils who are known to break out in song while praying for the innocent lives of the unborn). This is probably the most powerful Pro-Life song I’ve encountered. The tender voices of the children brought to life the innocence of the unborn children whose lives are never able to reach their full potential.

The CD ends with a beautiful song entitled “Healer of my Soul” in remembrance of Catholic Musician, Bob Murphy who sang God’s praises in the San Diego area for many years.

In conclusion, I found Mercy Is . . . to be a very pleasant listening experience of many gifted musicians singing their praises for our merciful God.

You can purchase Mercy Is . . . at www.mercyis.com.