Review

I continue to be amazed at the quality and number of new artists who are emerging in the CCM field. Jen Carrozza is one of those fresh voices being raised adding her unique gifting to the fountain of worship that is rising from the earth.

Rust and Velvet is a combination of original music written by Jen and some of her band members, as well as some fresh arrangements of other well known worship songs. For instance, it never crossed my mind to do Tomlin/Reeves' "This is the Noise We Make" in a bluegrass style! But I'm glad it crossed someone's mind. I really liked it. The musicianship on it was great. It made you want to take a look at some other popular worship songs just to see what you might be able to do with them. I'm not talking about doing a song different for novelty's sake. I am talking about hearing a song in a fresh way that brings new life to it. That is exactly what Carrozza and her team have done with this song.

I really liked her rendition of Sara Grove's Come Be Who You Are. It has such a nice easy feel to it that invites you to worship with its message. Their original I Choose You carries a lot of power lyrically and musically: "Everybody's worshipping something/'Cause that's what we were made to do/If everybody's worshipping something/I choose You."

Probably my favorite song on the album is Billy Foote's Sing to the King. When Jen adds her powerful vocal to this already powerful tune the effect is electric. The background vocals add even more strength to the song. It's a great arrangement. The band returns to a bit of a bluegrass feel on Kathryn Scott's Hungry. This mandolin/violin flavored version of this worship favorite is really sweet.

Have you seen those sections in the video store where it says, "If you enjoyed this movie, you'll like these." And then they give you some additional selections of a similar genre or theme. So... if you like Jami Smith, you should try Jen Carrozza. Same great voice and passion. On a lighter note, on the last tune, Come to Jesus, I thought Billy Joe McAllister was about to jump off the Tallahatchie Bridge! Jen could have passed for a twin of Jeannie C. Riley on this one!

All kidding aside, here is a lady with a great voice, a great band, some really good original music and some wonderful new arrangements of some worship favorites. You'll love adding this new voice to your worship music library.

Review by
Danny Mullins