Welcome to this week's cMusicMail! This week we have a review of
last week's "pick" CD, the new one by Rebecca St. James, definitely
the best of her career so far. Also, we hope you guys have a safe
time this Halloween, and hope the WoW 2001 stuff below doesn't scare
you away!

TRANSFORM (2000)
"All Christians do is mimic popular styles." "Yeah, and it's usually
years behind!" Heard this argument before? Well, don't take it
lying down. On Transform, Rebecca St. James takes today's dance
beats, tomorrow's electronica rock, and some of her past acoustic
influences to craft a thorough and remarkable batch of songs. The
London Sessions Orchestra leads off with a stirring, 19th century-
esque "Intro," and the opener impels listeners to live life "For the
Love of God" in this surrendering, shifting creed. Altering an
eighties programmed sound to jive with a millennial beat, "Reborn"
finishes wandering and takes hold of an unhidden, celestial Love.
Voguish vocal delivery and propulsive acoustic guitar dilate on Luke
12's "Don't Worry" message in a very singable story-in-song. Rebecca
undergoes a heart-check as the gypsy-like strings and syncopation
of "Merciful" back a soulful admission of sin and wrong choices. A
revved-up engine of worship, "One" tells of fascination with God and
the ways He works, a robust, unitary melody written by two of the
Cd's fifteen songwriters. Based heavily on scripture, "Universe"
toils at lofty thoughts of the high, wide, and unstoppable love of
God. Among the album's profoundest songs, St. James balances her
piousness and progressive rhythm on "Wait for Me," a personal
profession of chastity (and the only Transform cut solely by
Rebecca). "Let Your Spirit loose and be alive," cries the vertically-
directed single "In Me," followed by the paltry Earthsuit-
authored "Lean On." Choppy guitar joins with dazzling harmonies
on "All Around Me," a peppy track about the God who tumbles worlds
and touches hearts. Reminiscent of Luna Halo, the united
anthem "Stand" is an electrifying, jubilant chorus written for Teen
Mania's "Stand Up 2000" event. A fitting close to this exemplary
project, a meditative, Spanish-tinged praise melody regards the Lord
alone as "My Hope." More pumpin' than the "hottest" dance albums in
mainstream outlets, the punchy, dimensional music of Transform proves
that Rebecca St. James is growing as a cultural role model and
musical diva.

Find out more about Rebecca St. James, including an exclusive
interview:
http://cMusicWeb.com/alternative/rebeccastjames


AVAILABLE TODAY (on cMusicWeb.com and at your local store)

SOUL ANCHOR - MICHAEL CARD
Inspirational artist Michael Card brings more nad more of his
acouustic guitar sound.

SMELL THE COLOR 9 - CHRIS RICE
The guy who spends most of his time working with teens and youth, and
who wrote that quirky "Cartoons" song, is back with another album of
acoustic pop with catchy lyrics and praise tunes. This album is the
PICK OF THE WEEK.

WOW HITS 2001 - VARIOUS
With this release, the big labels in Christian music hope to suck you
in to this collection! The CD includes a cooler new logo on the
inside, plus a pretty good collection of hits. Plus, it includes a
code to get a FREE custom 5-song CD of 20 tracks picked out by the
WoW people. If you have a good radio station in your area, chances
are you've heard most of these before. But, if you don't, try this
one to get a sample of the most popular (but not the best) in
Christian music. Also, get these 2 discs for only US$9,99 at
http://www.musicforce.com/?ForceID=79


AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER (on cMusicWeb.com)

ALTERNATIVE: http://cMusicWeb.com/alternative
Intermisson: Greatest Hits - dc Talk [11/21]

POP: http://cMusicWeb.com/pop
Freedom - Michael W. Smith [11/21]

BOOKS: http://cMusicWeb.com/books
The Mark: The Beast Rules the World - Tim F. LaHayle and Jerry B.
Jenkins [11/14]

Click on the album titles on the genre page to order them and recieve
them on the release date.


CHRISTIAN HIT RADIO CHARTS FOR THIS WEEK
> The Newsgirls and V*enna are off the chart, and we
> have great tunes from City on a Hill and delirious?!
1. Center of Your Love - Jaci Velasquez
2. Don't Worry - Rebecca St. James
3. I'm Alright - Jars of Clay
4. Learning to Breathe - Switchfoot
5. I Wanna Be Moved - Ginny Owens
6. God is in this Place - PlusOne
7. Your Love, O Lord - Third Day
8. Into You - Jennifer Knapp
9. God of Wonders - City on a Hill
10. Everything - delirious?

SOURCE: CCM Update (http://www.ccmupdate.com/)


cMUSICWEB UPDATES
• d:overhaul: new delirious? articles and reviews!
http://cMusicWeb.com/features/glo
http://cMusicWeb.com/rock/delirious
http://cMusicWeb.com/worship/delirious


Sorry for the scarce updates, but I'm working on a couple minor
changes throughout the site, which should make it run more smoothly,
so please bear with me. We're also workin' on some great new
features for you which may be up as soon as tomorrow! Thanks for
reading, and we will be back next week with even more cool stuff!
Please send us your comments!

Dan Ficker
http://cMusicWeb.com/
a different approach to music
ICQ - 43224317 AOL IM - dMusicWeb