Customer Reviews

Transform Me

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Prime Cuts: Princess or Pauper, A Mother's Prayer, Worth of a Man

Few can translate the exigent truths of the Bible into contemporary lingo that still sings and stings. And even fewer can create sturdy melodies that incisively penetrate the heart far after the music fades. Singer-songwriter Rachel Aldous is the rare except; not only does she bring these threads together sure-handedly, she also does it in an unforgettable way. Perhaps such poignancy is attributed to Aldous' upbringing as a child of missionaries and her years in the music business. Vocally, Aldous has a contemporary timbre of a lighter flare somehow calling to mind songstress Donna Lewis or a younger Amy Grant. Speaking of Grant, the popish production of Brian Murphy has a dated feel to it harkening back to the early days of Grant's early 80s records. This perhaps is the major flaw of an otherwise stellar record.

Aldous hits a tape-measure blast with evocative and hook-driven "Worth of a Man:" a prophetic reminder in today's economic down turn that our values should not be grounded in the green bag but in Christ. Despite the bright hip-swiveling disposition of "Grace of God," this propulsive pop number is a prayer of thanks to God's providence and grace in our most precarious times. Aldous takes a bid in dealing with the touchy subject of life after death in a winsome and non-threatening way on "Larry at the Mortuary." Instead of an incendiary diatribe of fire and brimstone, on "Larry at the Mortuary" Aldous deliberates the message of the hopelessness of trying to save ourselves without Christ via an innocuous experience of passing through a funeral home. Yet not all is grim, through the bouncy "Princess or Pauper," Aldous delivers the message of our prestigious calling as children of God with a sublime conviction.

Yet the album's most unforgettable moments come towards the end with the elegant ballad "A Mother's Prayer (Hannah's Song)." Here Aldous turns her emotional glow on us as she prays with earnestness for her daughter as any mother would. And the result here is nothing short of mesmerizing. While the R&B tinged ballad "Transform Me" is an anguished plea to the Almighty that is refreshingly compelling. However, when Aldous delegates her role of lyricist to helmsman Brian Murphy on the opener "Everything to Me," it gets on the superficial side. "Everything to Me" flutters with banal clichés like "You touched my heart/Your grace is beyond compare/What would I be without your love/Blind, unable to see/I can't think of life without you/You're everything to me."

Nevertheless, despite some minor criticisms, the fare of "Transform Me" is in the wheelhouse of strong melodic of constructs and creative depictions of eternal truths. When it comes to the hefty doctrines of the Scriptures, Aldous takes a no frills stand. Yet, the songs are non-threatening and they have a way of moving from the ear to the heart. Such transformation is worthy of repeated listens.