Live for You (CD - 2000)

Personnel includes: Rachael Lampa (vocals); Chris Rodriquez (acoustic, electric & nylon-string guitars, background vocals); Jerry McPherson (guitar); Brent Bourgeous (piano, programming, background vocals); Bernie Herms (piano, programming); Chris Eaton (piano, background vocals); Dan Muckala (piano); Jim Hemerly (Hammond B-3 organ); Tommy Sims, Jimmie Lee Sloas (bass); Chris McHugh, Steve Brewster, Chad Cromwell (drums); Eric Darken (percussion); Jeremy Bose (programming); Lisa Cochran, Nicol Smith, Nirva Dorsaint, Tiffany Palmer, Gene Miller, Wendy Moten, Darwin Hobbs, Michael Mellett, Cindy Morgen, Nicole C. Mullen, Molly Felder, Rachel Gaines (background vocals).

Producers: Brown Bannister, Brent Bourgeois.

Recorded at Sound Kitchen, Franklin, Tennessee.

This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.

On her debut album Live for You, Rachael Lampa mixes her powerful yet sweet voice and pop and Latin elements into a a distinctive twist on CCM. Songs like "Shaken," "Blessed," "My Father's Heart," and the title track showcase the depth of Lampa's faith in a wide array of song styles ranging up-tempo pop to gentle ballads. Though it's hard to believe Lampa was just 15 when she recorded Live for You, it makes her debut that much more impressive. ~ Heather Phares

Sunday school was never like this. If you didn't notice the Christian message implicit in her lyrics (that is to say, if you were completely unfamiliar with the English language), you wouldn't think twice about classifying Rachael Lampa as part of the breed of young female singers that took the charts by storm in 1999 and 2000. Her blend of pop songwriting, R&B vocals, and hip-hop production techniques places her stylistically in line with the likes of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, et al.

What makes Lampa different is that her lyrics are spiritually oriented without even nodding toward gospel's musical tradition. She moves easily from churning dance grooves to big-production balladry without straying towards the secular. Even on the title tune, when Lampa declares "I live for you," it's no mere object of earthly desire she's talking to; it's the big man upstairs. minimize