Margaret Becker was born on July 17, 1959 in Bay Shore, New York. In 1987 she put out her debut album NEVER FOR NOTHING. In 2002 she won two Dove Awards. One was 'Rock Album of the Year' for SIMPLE HOUSE and the other was for 'Rock Recorded Song of the Year' for 'Simple House'. Fast forward to 2007 and she released AIR (modernm Records). Becker produced eight of the tracks, while Stephen Leiweke produced two of them. Margaret thanks "World Vision-for giving it all meaning" in the liner notes.
Starting off the album is 'Coming Up For Air', one of three co-writes by Margaret Becker and Kelly Minter. It's an upbeat pop song about refreshing oneself: "I'm coming up for air/I'm gonna do a really slow repair/Gonna take some time to taste the tide of what it means to be alive/I'm coming up for air/I'm moving out/I'm driving on 'till I can stare/At a winter sun setting on a beach/And wide open space in front of me". 'All I Need is Love' offers these words of confession: "I must be crazy, a pompous fool/Got nothing good enough for You/No shiny trinkets, no precious jewels/Nothing but the simple truth that/All I need is love, love, love, love/Love is all I really need".
'Fly' is one of six songs Margaret wrote on her own. It speaks of having faith: "It's amazing how much you can do with just a slingshot and a stone/When everything inside you says/It's not what you see, but what you know/And, oh, no wings no right/I shouldn't glide/Oh, but I believe/Therefore (3X)/I fly". 'Just Isaac' is a soft adult contemporary song that draws from the Old Testament: "Complications and Ishmael's/Why couldn't I believe that You'd be faithful?/You'll have Your way, either way/With all my extra's or just plain/Isaac/Nothing more/Just Your promise, not my forced crude hands/Helping out/Adding stuff till it crashes down".
'Surrender' is a pretty ballad about letting go: "Surrender, surrender/Let it all fall where it must and just/Trust, trust/Surrender, be ground, be crumbled/Nothing grows on rock and steel/So let's just yield to surrender". 'Said and Done' is a great song of encouragement: "You gotta stand up/And get yourself a piece of chalk/Go outside and trace the steps that you were meant to walk/By faith and truth/And the good sense God gave to you/Cause Hon/It's not all said and done/Who wrote that anyway?/Come on, get up, and run/You be alive today/It's not all said and done".
Next up is 'Dear John'. This adult pop song reads like an honest diary entry: "Dear John/Thought you would like to know that I'm doing really good/Since you've gone or since I let you go/Things have worked out like they should/The fear of losing you/Was much worse than the coming true/And alone is not so lonely/At least not most the time/And starting over has been kinda fun". Margaret co-wrote 'Beautiful' with David M. Edwards. It talks of God's work in us: "Trying to hold the image of You/Imperfectly perfect/You shine through/Smelling of Eden, heaven's perfume/It's beautiful/Now I am seeing through tinted hues/Your fingerprints leaving traces of You/Unfinished vessel with scars and wounds/And they're beautiful/Well, they're beautiful".
'You're Still God' ultimately places trust in God: "Feet of clay and a heart of glass/So many mysteries I just can't get past, but/You're still God (2X)/So forgive my fumbling, forgive my brain/Forgive all my questions, forgive my pain". Last up is 'To Be An Indian'. It's easy listening and I like these lyrics from the chorus: "Oh, to be an Indian/To hear the things that no one hears/Like healing in the break/Oh, to be someone who can look at the desert/And hear rain".
AIR clocks in at 38 minutes and 43 seconds. Seven of the ten songs are on the slower side of things. Six are adult pop, three adult contemporary, and one is easy listening. This album reminds us that God is working in and through us imperfect vessels. We can trust Him and step out in faith into the world to do His good work. When we fall or fail, we are encouraged to get up and try again. Our God is a God who heals. This album reveals a more mature, content Margaret Becker. The last song 'To Be An Indian' advises us not to rush through life being out of tune with the world we live in. I'm rating AIR a perfect 100%. For more info visit www.margaretbecker.com and/or connect with her on social media.