Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Let's begin by quoting something from a Greenville College newspaper from 1994 reviewing a Sarah Jahn gig. "Many voices can make us laugh. There are those that will break us to tears. However, I've found that there are few voices that can go straight to the soul and move us from the inside out. As the very deep, soothing and melodic voice of Sarah Jahn began, a very real and powerful effect that can only come from God fell over the crowd." The possessor of that awe-inspiring voice subsequently entered, and won, a search-for-a-star contest organised by the American CCM industry and as the pervious winners were Jars Of Clay she was, understandably, immediately snapped up by the CCM record companies. To be fair to Warner Bros they didn't rush out an album but instead spent time allowing her to craft stunning songs from personal experience - "Chronic" based on her mother's serious illness; "Brand New Name" written with Jars Of Clay's Charlie Lowell and the guitar-driven "Drinking Water" ("I thought of the simplest thing we could do - have a glass of water and trying to see what God wants from us even then.") The production on 'Sparkle' is by Glenn Rosenstein (Ziggy Marley, U2, Talking Heads) and Susan Rogers (Prince, David Byrne) and is quite simply breathtaking. Another truly awesome debut album... they keep coming!

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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