Ginny Owens: Without Condition

Without Condition
Ginny Owens

1. Be Thou My Vision
2. I Wanna Be Moved
3. Without Condition
4. Free
5. If You Want Me To
6. Land of the Grey

7. I am Nothing
8. Springs of Life
9. Someone Searching
10. Symbol of a Lost Cause
11. Own Me

I know I talk about the music I've done a lot, but if you don't go to my church you have no reason to believe me (yet, I really am working on it). Although most of my music is Christian Contemporary kind of stuff, I don't really listen to it a lot. Part of the problem is the local Christian radio station is iffy receptionwise. The Christian bookstore is across town, and I don't know who I'd like to listen to anymore anyway. This release is a prime example of my dilemma: I actually was listening to WBGL, and I heard this really neat song -- so I wait patiently for the end to hear who it was. Nope -- during the next dozen times I heard the song, they never gave the artist's name. Finally, while my wife was looking at various things Veggie at the bookstore, I wandered over to a little listening box which -- Hallelujah -- had the song I'd been wondering about on it, along with the name of the singer. My curiosity sated, and my wallet lightened by the purchase price, I took this out to the car for a listen...

The quickest description for her would be Suzanne Vega singing like Alanis Morisette -- meaning, the same low airy voice of Suzanne singing songs with the same rythmic sense you find is some of Alanis's music. It works well -- better than the description might lead you to believe. To be even more diverse, the opening track is rather Enya-esque, with atmospheric dronings behind Ginny's lilting voice. I Wanna be Moved, Free and a few of the others show the same syncopated, almost yodeling style of singing that reminds you of Alanis. Symbol of a Lost Cause could have been one of the songs on Suzanne Vega's Nine Objects of Desire, Without Condition from 99.9 (substituing Suzanne's guitar with a piano). If You Want me To is might remind you of Bonnie Raitt's I Can't Make You Love Me. There's also a bit a Jewel and Joan Osborne sprinkled in the stylings. Being a Chrisitan artist, the message is also important, and her message is well spoken and worthwhile for anyone to hear both religously and socially. It's nice to finally have something to look for besides anything from the old timers I usually listen to.....