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CD Review
Brave
Nichole Nordeman
© 2005 Sparrow Records.
Review by Jo van Leerdam
After a couple of years break since her last album, Woven & Spun,
Nichole Nordeman has delivered yet another fantastic album. Brave is
characterised by outstanding vocals, sensitive yet powerful expression,
and top quality song-writing and instrumentation.
The songs on this album speak of a journey of faith and growth in which Nordeman has learned to follow God’s leading. This is borne out by her testimony in the cover notes, in which Nordeman describes the challenges God has laid out in her life over the past few years and how she has had to learn to trust and obey His will in her life.
Each song touched me as a listener. It was easy to identify with the themes of each song and the emotions expressed, and I felt strong empathy with Nordeman as I was drawn into the words and music of each track. Nichole Nordeman has an amazing ability to lead her listener to sharing in her reflection and contemplation, but also to participating in her rejoicing and delight in God’s love and blessing.
This album clearly points to Jesus as the only Saviour, Guide and Restorer of humanity. ‘Live’ rightly points out that Jesus did not come so that we would merely survive – He came that we might have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10) – so we must not settle for apathy, but rather we must live life as He intended us to, taking hold of his blessings and actively working and living for His glory and praise.
That challenge is extended in Nordeman’s excellent revamp of the Bob Dylan classic, ‘You Gotta Serve Somebody’. It doesn’t matter what job you have in this world – whatever you do, wherever you do it, you have to choose who you’re going to serve. “It may be the devil, or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.” This song has always reminded me of Joshua’s words to the Israelites: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)
Nichole Nordeman’s evident desire is to serve the Lord wholeheartedly, not only in her songs but in all of her life, through both the good times and the difficult experiences in her life. This is communicated in the heart-felt expression of faith and passion for living for the Lord that is found in every song on this CD.
I believe this CD will hold a powerful appeal and message for a very wide audience. The pop/rock/ballad musical style is very easy to listen to, and there’s no monotony or sugary sweetness to cause the listener to lose interest. Brave would be appropriate and appealing to anyone from pre-teens to the progressive elderlies among us, although those ranging between late teens and young-mid adults might identify best with Nordeman’s sentiments and experiences. This would be a great album for a family collection, and I suspect that there might be a few family cars or homes in which at least one person says, “Turn it up!” when this CD is playing!
I don’t usually give ‘ratings’ for albums, but this
one definitely gets 5 stars! I wholeheartedly encourage you to give it a
go!
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