Stronger (CD - 2001)

Producers: Reed Vertelney, Tedd T, Phill Sillas, Bernie Herms, John & Dino Elefante.

Personnel: Natalie Grant (vocals, background vocals); Plus One (vocals); Dan Petty, Aaron Featherstone, Tedd T., Dave Cleveland (guitar); Terrence Elliot, Terence Elliott, Tim Pierce (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Michael Hart Thompson (electric guitar); Nashville String Machine (strings); Bernie Herms (piano, programming); Eric Foster White (keyboards, drum programming); Dan Needham (drums, programming); Eric Darken (percussion); Reed Vertelney (programming, background vocals); Danny Duncan, Phil Sillas, Tim Heintz (programming); John Elefante, Angel Cruz, Bernie Barlow, Windy Wagner (background vocals).

Audio Mixers: Eric Foster White; David Schober; Felipe Elgueta; Salvo; J.R. McNeely.

Liner Note Author: Natalie Grant.

Recording information: Antenna Studios, Franklin, TN; Audio Demension, North Hollywood, CA; Audio Dimension, North Hollywood, CA; Avatar Studio A, New York, NY; BanaHama Studios, Brentwood, CA; Black Dog Studios, Nashville, TN; Calabasa Sounds; Calabasas Sounds; Heintz 57; The Bike Shop, NJ; The Hook, Santa Monica, CA; The Soul Cantina, San Clementa; The Sound Kitchen, Cool Springs, TN; The Tracking Room, TN; Wildwood Studios, Nashville, TN.

Photographer: Phillip W. Newton.

Arrangers: Eric Foster White; Phil Sillas; Reed Vertelney; Tedd T.; Bernie Herms.

Natalie Grant's Stronger is one of the rarest treasures in Christian music: an original album that has a distinct voice and style. With so many CCM pop stars making decent but faceless music, it is a relief to see that there are still albums like this floating around. With a powerhouse voice and top-notch songwriters, Grant brings to mind a wholesome Britney Spears at some points and a spiritual Faith Hill at others. In fact, it is pretty weird to hear what would ordinarily be typical radio pop filled with lyrics about Christian topics and ideologies. But it works; in fact, it works very well. This is one of the freshest approaches to this genre in quite a while, bringing to mind Amy Grant's groundbreaking Heart in Motion. Much like the other Grant, Natalie Grant puts her emphasis on the hooks, something that most CCM artists put in a distant second behind their message. Because of this, she not only gets her message across, but gets it across using music that anyone could get into. This is a very good album that points to the direction that CCM has the potential to go in. Despite the stigma that the genre has with mainstream audiences, any fan of solid pop music should at least give this a chance. ~ Bradley Torreano minimize