I Will Praise You by Rebecca St. James

Some CDs take a while to come to love. I Will Praise You isn’t one of those. Since its arrival in our home last night our family has been singing along, dancing, and praising our Creator. This is our first Rebecca St. James CD (the first she has recorded after our conversion actually, so it’s understandable why it is our first encounter with her music), and we haven’t been disappointed.

This is truly an open-and-go worship CD. There’s no time needed to get acclimated to the music, it is upbeat, has memorable lyrics, and is filled with emotion. Whenever I put it on I instantly have a living room full of praising and dancing little girls. The opening track is going to be a huge hit – “I Will Praise You” is not only infectious, but its sole purpose is to offer worship to God.

Musically diverse, there are definitely pop, dance, techno influences felt in the music. One of my favorite tracks “Shine Your Glory Down” actually reminds me a bit of Depeche Mode’s work in the early ‘90s. And I like it. A lot. It is really, very hard to stop yourself from dancing to these songs – particularly the first three – hands held high in the air as your heart is lifted in worship.

Beyond the instantly likeable worship tunes there are also more introspective, lyrical pieces such as “You Still Amaze Me” (with some faint symphonic elements – love them). Even these slower paced songs are still very strong – the music is powerful, and the lyrics are highly visual and emotive. Even songs I thought I wouldn’t enjoy based on their openings, such as “Almighty God”, won me over with their achingly beautiful chorus and harmonies.

An element that brings an additional layer of depth to richness to most of the songs is a choral singing with deliciously intertwined melodies as groups of singers raise their voices in song to the Lord towards the end of each of the songs. This rich, full song adds an element to the worship that is impossible to achieve with a single singer.

After seeing St. James on screen and reading her written work it has been a delight to get to know her in the medium she is best known for. These are the kinds of songs that become fast friends within the first or second listening. I’ll be coming back to these often.

Jennifer Bogart is a child of God, wife and homeschooling mother of three young children (so far). She writes homeschooling resources with her husband at Bogart Family Resources, and reviews as a creative outlet. Passionately dedicated to promoting the work of Christian authors and artists, her blog Quiverfull Family features reviews, contests, family updates, homeschooling tidbits and well - a bit of everything.