The title track starts things off, and is a rousing song with influences of Pink, that displays a reliance on God: "Journey is the destination/Just let me see through Your eyes/Even though I'm searching, even though I'm searching/You're my guiding light/Let the blind and broken see" and "I don't know the answers hidden in the questions but I know that I believe/Follow in Your footsteps/Find me in the darkness falling to my knees." 'Remedy' is soulful and finds her assured in her faith: "Every time I cry and I wanna hide/Feeling like I'm damaged on the inside/You know just what to do/You've got what I need/You're the remedy" and "Jesus Your love is my hope, my hope/You're my remedy, You're my remedy." One of the writers of 'Savior's Face' is Ben Glover. It features nice keys and speaks of God's transforming power: "Do you have an ugly scar/Do you have a damaged heart/Did you know that that don't make you who you are?/It doesn't define you/All I wanna do is remind you that/And all this time we waste thinking about the past/And what we've done/He don't remember that/We sold our souls but he bought us back." Encouraging words! 'Beauty's just a Word' slows things down musically and tells us there is a purpose for the hard times in our lives: "It's dark so you can see the light and it's hard so you can know it's right/And pain nothing ever grows without you/And hurt is just a chance to heal/And tears are just a call to feel/And pain beauty's just a word without you."
'No Escape' is good to clap along to and features horns. It is about a prodigal being found: "Tried to go where You wouldn't find me/Tried to hide when I saw Your face/Hoping You'd just forget my name/I woke up and Your love revived me/I was running backwards/'Til my heart was captured." 'Unchartered Territory' is midtempo and documents a girl unsure of herself: "I'm usually not the one/To be afraid, hesitate, second guess/What I've done/Am I overthinking it, complicating it/Should I let go or let it be?/Never done this before/How am I supposed to know where to go from here?" The next two songs are two of my favourites. 'Elevate' is uplifting and about reaching your full potential: "In my dreams I've seen the view, and life above the clouds is beautiful/Don't let the circumstances keep you down/You might just lose your chance to leave the ground." 'My One and Only' is a highly danceable song of praise to God: "You rescued me from the weight of the world and I want You to know/You are my one and only/You're not like the rest/I know that You've got my back/You are, You are/You are my one and only/Right from the start You saved my damaged heart."
'Run to You' is partially written by Taio Cruz and is a ballad about finding hope and comfort in God: "Whenever there's pain in my soul/Whenever I'm losing control/And feeling like I'm all alone/Whenever I'm lost and confused/Whenever it's hard to break through/The only thing left I can do is run/I run to You always." 'Feel' is a ballad that builds that I'd like to hear Carrie Underwood do. It has Rachael longing for someone who understands her: "I don't need for you to try to fix the world this time/I just want your heart to break every time I cry/Stop the music, don't say a word/Cause what I need right now is something real/I just need to feel." Two bonus tracks follow. 'Human' features Jonny Lang and looks at the imperfections and limitations of people: "What would you do if you knew the truth?/When you find out it wasn't me that hung the moon/I'm not responsible for making flowers bloom/Didn't separate night from day or make the ocean blue/What will you do when you find out I'm human too?" The album concludes with a modernized version of Lampa's hit 'Live for You' from her debut project. It is written by industry vets Chris Eaton and Chris Rodriguez and contains these words we can draw confidence from: "You know everything about me/Before my life began/You held me in Your hand/You have walked these roads before me/You have known the pain a broken heart can bear/Won't You help me now to trust You?"
ALL WE NEED will appeal to fans of Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey, and Christina Aguilera. It is a smart, consistent pop album with meaningful messages. The photographs of Rachael Lampa are gorgeous, as is my daughter whom I named after her. I'm rating ALL WE NEED 82.5%. For more info visit: http://www.rachaellampa.com/, http://www.220entertainmentgroup.com/, and http://www.embracedbygrace.org/.