Customer Reviews

Add To the Beauty

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Sara Groves has really shown both the depth of her heart and songwriting ability with her album "Add to the Beauty". Her idea was to write an about the kingdom of God and this is exactly what she did. She goes back to a sound closest to her "Past the Wishing" album, which if you haven't heard it, highlights mostly her voice with some piano background. That she was intelligent enough to know that this is what people wanted to hear and also was courageous enough to leave behind the direction in which she had been going is a great testament to her and to her faith. The same cannot be said of many artists in the music industry.
I give this album five stars because I think she earned every single one of them. This album is full of depth and puts more focus on God. If you lost any of your former hope in Sara Groves after "The Other Side of Something", I invite you to put "Add to the Beauty" in your car and go for a drive. You will be pleasantly surprised.

I saw Sara in concert a couple weeks ago and she ended her set with "Why it Matters" and "Add to the Beauty", in that order. I usually play those two in that order when I listen to this CD. Sara told a story of how some time ago she was struggling with all the yuckiness that's out there in this world (especially in view of being a mom and raising kids in this day), and she was wondering how anything she could do, like writing her songs, could really matter when there's so much darkness out there. A friend told her a story about a man who lived in Bosnia during the war, and while the awful sounds of war were going on outside, he sat in a building in the midst of all that, playing his cello. This really affected her (as it did me when she told it) and she saw how the man playing his cello was like a protest to the darkness in this world. She went on to say that she wanted to live her life in a way that "added" to what is beautiful in this world and didn't add to the darkness. Her marriage, the way she raised her kids, her music - it would all be a protest to the darkness and a chance for the light of the Kingdom to shine in this world. I haven't been so touched by a message in years. I'm a mother of 5 and often worry about the world my kids will go out into. Her songs filled me with hope and determination. I talked to her after the concert and broke into tears as I told her this. She was so understanding and down-to-earth, and she proved to be as wonderful in person as she seems to be in her music. And what a voice! Give me that fresh, real voice any day over the big-voiced divas.

I attended a Jars of Clay concert in November 2005 and Sara Groves was the opening act. I had never heard of her before. She sat down at her keyboard, played a couple of chords and then started singing. From the very first pure note out of her mouth, I was completely hooked on her music. This is real storytelling, not commercialized pop. This is probably the best Contemporary Christian album I have ever heard (I'm 32, and I've been listening to CCM since age 10). A beautiful woman writing and singing beautiful music inspired by the most beautiful of all things, God. That's Sara Groves.

Confession: Sara Groves surprised me with her sound on this cd!
I have come to know and love the gentle Sara and this was quite a shock. Sara does retain her mellowness and her voice still soothes. However, this is indeed an edgier, more contemporary and sometimes rocked out Sara. Still, she manages to retain the balance. This new sound left me confused, but I LOVED it. Major standouts for me are the coolly thumping "When It Was Over" which discusses the cleansing power of love, "Just Showed Up", the reggae reminiscent "You Are The Sun", the very edgy "It's Gonna To Be Allright", she calmly rocks out on the title track; "Add To The Beauty" where she urges us to focus the little things we can do extraordinarily, and the head bobbing, true "Kingdom Comes".
Through it all, Sara delivers her message. I'm sure that's what matters most to her.

So much that bears the label "Christian" is embarrassing and not at all reflective of what I am about, but this CD tells what I find compelling and amazing about being a follower of Jesus. Not fluffy entertainment, but a simple musical expression of the goodness we want to bring to our world. Well done, Sara Groves.

This is not only Sara Groves' best album, but the best Christian album I've ever listened to. Every song is wonderful.

WOW where do I begin to review this album which I hope will NEVER leave my cd changer...again that is! After a few months of listening to it and being SO ministered to by each of Sara's breathtaking and uniquely BEAUTIFUL songs, the Lord prompted me to give my LAST COPY away (as I always buy SEVERAL of her new albums to have on hand to give as gifts as the Lord prompts.) Well until my copy was replaced I was truly mourning its loss and realized just what a UNIQUE and AWESOME masterpiece Sara's latest creation is! With each listen the songs grow even richer and deeper in meaning and enjoyment! All of Sara's songs have this effect on my heart but this album even more so as I never tire or get burned out or have the desire to replace it with another cd even for a while!

The best part of her music is that I can attest to Sara FIRSTHAND being the 'REAL DEAL' as a person who LIVES OUT what she writes and sings about! Yet she's as genuine and humble as they get. I was SO blessed to get to meet her back during the days her first indie album came out about 6-7 years ago and she never ceases to blow me away by remembering my name and being as approachable and personal now even after rising to the top of the Christian music industry (as I would continually tell her back in her early days I KNEW would happen) and now SIX albums and many accolades later including CCM MAGAZINE'S rating of 'ADD TO THE BEAUTY' as ALBUM of the YEAR! I can't count the number of people who say SARA is THEIR FAVORITE CHRISTIAN ARTIST ~ HANDS DOWN!!

RUN don't walk to get her latest award-winning album and do yourself a favor and stock up as you WILL want to share it with others who may not have discovered her yet.... that way you won't be left without your own personal copy which always happens to me no matter how many I buy! This one showcases the God-given brilliance and giftedness of Sara's songwriting and heavenly voice and the way that Sara and her music truly just keep growing in BEAUTY over the years....Thank you Sara for hangin in there even after motherhood and the many obstacles you run into by serving the Lord as your entire family does in your unique calling!! You won't know until eternity how it MATTERS and YOU MATTER so much to SO MANY!!

Check out Sara's awesome website and the endless guestbook entries to testify to HOW MUCH she impacts her listeners: http://www.saragroves.com

This CD is more like Sara's earlier music. It is strong in simplicity. The lyrics are inspiring and the voice, as always, is pure. This is one of the best Christian recordings of 2005.

I don't usually buy a CD because it wins any sort of awards. My experience has always been that any awards an album gets are not in line with what is actually heard within the tracks. In this case though, it was Sara Groves, whose Conversations album was also on my list of favorites, so I decided to give it a try.

Boy am I glad I did!

The songwriting on this album is first rate. These are not cookie cutter songs that fall into the standard pattern of songs one might hear on the market today. They are mindful, thought provoking songs that tell a story of life, love, and relationships. I've spun this CD several times now, and I think it might just be "stuck" in my car CD player for a while. Great stuff!

Even though the slow pokey christian stations are not playing any of Sara's new music (At least the stations in my town are not), this cd is wonderful. One of my favorite songs is "How Can I Tell." But I must note, if I hadn't been browsing through the christian bookstore, I would not have known about this new release. And the music business is wondering why cd sales are slow.