Hiding Place (CD - 2004)

Selah: Allan Hall (vocals, piano); Todd Smith , Nicol Sponberg (vocals).

Additional personnel: Biff Watson (acoustic guitar); Jerry McPherson, Jakk Kincaid (electric guitar); Gordon Mote (organ); David Hungate (bass guitar); Steve Brewster (drums); Eric Darken (percussion); Paul Mills, Scat Springs, Vicki Hampton, Kim Fleming.

On its first several albums, Christian pop trio Selah delivered an unusual mix of straight-ahead faith-based pop and traditional African music. As the children of a missionary father in the Congo, group members Todd Smith and Nicol Sponberg became intimately familiar with the exotic sounds of their adopted homeland, a fact that adds an easy-flowing authenticity to even the most unlikely stylistic match-ups. On HIDING PLACE, the siblings and their friend Allan Hall continue to draw from a wonderfully wide palette, performing everything from sweeping, Celine Dion-esque ballads ("You Raise Me Up") to hard-edged funk rock ("There Is Power in the Blood") with unfaltering passion and aplomb. minimize