Live for You [ENHANCED]

Rachael Lampa

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 1, 2000)
• Original Release Date: August 1, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00004VW9U
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #292,723 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Rachael Lampa is Word Records' captivating answer to the abundance of young pop-star divas in mainstream music. At age 15, Lampa has vocal expertise so far beyond her years that the novelty of a child prodigy is made new again. The label has spared no expense for this talent, bringing in the top producers of the industry--Brown Bannister (Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith) and Brent Bourgeois (Cindy Morgan, Streams)--who have had their hands on this project from the very beginning. As well, songwriters Cindy Morgan, Ginny Owens, Chris Eaton, and others were called upon to bolster Lampa's embryonic song-crafting skills. Live for You is an energetic, intense, and heartfelt debut release. The majority of the album consists of contemporary pop grooves and ballads, with a couple of tracks mining Latin and Middle Eastern sounds. But without exception, each song draws out Lampa's unique gifting as a phenomenon to be marveled at. --Israel Button

From CCM Magazine -- Subscribe Now!

Years of hearing label publicists' over-heated descriptions of artists and albums make one a little numb to hype. A quick run through Rachael Lampa's debut proves, however, that placing her voice in Celine Dion and Mariah Carey company is fully justified. Lampa's voice also recalls Jaci Velasquez, except with a broader range which she scales like a mountain goat. In a good way.

Veterans Brent Bourgeois and Brown Bannister produced, while Chris Eaton, Cindy Morgan and Bourgeois (assisted by Ginny Owens and Chris Rodriguez) were tapped to write the bulk of the album. The Middle Eastern-flavored "Day of Freedom" and the breakout first single, the Spanish guitar-laced title cut, begin the festivities, both giving Lampa ample opportunity to sang. Several ballads, equally suited to her voice, include the black gospel "Blessed" and "Always Be My Home," which Bourgeois infuses with the same sonic grandness he created on the Streams project.

The up-tempo tracks, clearly courting a younger audience, aren't so well-executed: "God Loves You" is just plain formulaic with an artless chorus ("God loves you/You know it, you know it, you know it/God loves you/Forever, forever and ever"), and "Lift Me Up" is a little too perky for its own good. But, given the quality of the rest of the album, they're forgivable.

The closing "My Father's Heart" borrows a lovely melody from the English hymn "My Song Is Love Unknown," providing a last opportunity for Lampa to impress. With a fine set list and neck-hair-raising vocals (that, notably, stop short of show-boating or histrionics-you listening, Ms. Carey?), Lampa's debut is perhaps the best alternative Christian music has produced to those general market divas. Did I mention she's only 15? -- Beau Black (c) 2000 CCM Communications, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A voice so truly God-given, you cant help but experience Him, August 1, 2000

By	Michael-David R. Bradford (Fort Worth, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Every once in a while, an artist conveys something soperfectlyand intensely that it is impossible to resist understanding the Reason, the Heart of her inspiration. Rachael is such an artist. You simply cannot listen to her music and not experience God, Who is in her words "the only reason for all these changes in my life...." Rachael says to her Lord Jesus, "my gift comes from You alone, and I...surrender [to] be freely used by You." Listen and you'll understand why her producer Brent Bourgeois calls her voice "a most priceless gift," and Amazon.com says "the novelty of a child prodigy is made new again."

"Live for You" is the kind of album that'll (after hearing a few times yourself) make you run out and share it with everyone you know. God will use it to convict you...to move you...to inspire you -- and I can give no higher praise than that.

Rachael's voice is so obviously a God-given gift, that she has mastered every facet of vocal technique, allowing her to covey the message in song with an undeniable talent and diverse musical variety...from the pop sounds of the title track and "Shaken" to the gospel-tinged "I am Blessed" to the tribal sounds of "Day of Freedom" and "Free" to the techno-flavored "God Loves You" and "You Lift Me Up," the Far Eastern sound of "Hide Me," the country sounding "Secret Place" and of course the true masterpiece ballads "Always Be My Home" and "My Father's Heart" (my personal favorites).

The words behind the voice are penned by Christian music's most gifted writers...from Cindy Morgan to Chris Eaton, Brent Bourgeois, and Chris Rodriguez, fellow singers Jill Phillips and Ginny Owens, David Mullen and Anointed's Da'dra Crawford. The music supporting Rachael's voice is the London Session Orchestra, recorded at none other than Abbey Road Studios.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I can't stop playing this CD!, September 5, 2000

By	Amber (TN) - See all my reviews

Wow. What an awesome album. There is not one single song on here that I would skip! I heard "Live For You" on the radio and was immediately taken. Of course, I was disappointed to have to wait for the album to come out, but it was SO worth the wait. Rachael has a fantastic voice and she really uses it to give glory to God. This is pop music, but it has a universal appeal - younger people will like it, and so will some older people. It's not childish, like some young secular pop singers can be. Anyway, my favorite songs are "You Lift Me Up," "Shaken," "Free," and "Day of Freedom." But like I said, *every* song is awesome!!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Voice of a Young Angel, August 12, 2000

By	Andrea T Williams (Portland, OREGON United States) - See all my reviews

The first time I heard the song "Live For You" by Rachael Lampa, I was amazed. I knew right then that I just had to have this CD. Rachael Lampa sounds a lot like Christina Aguilera except with a Gospel feel. This is my first Christian CD and it won't be my last. I like most of the songs, especially "Blessed" and "Shaken"... I also like the fact that they have the lyrics to the songs. If you enjoy Gospel and/or Christian music with a Pop flare, then you'll love Rachael Lampa's "Live For You" album.