Make a Wish (CD - 2005)

Personnel: Kevin Sharp (vocals); Pat Severs (acoustic guitar, steel guitar, banjo); Jerry Cupit (acoustic guitar); Mike Severs (electric guitar); Hank Singer (mandolin, fiddle); Roger Morris (piano, keyboards); David Hungate (bass guitar); Paul Leim (drums, percussion).

The title track of country singer Kevin Sharp's third album, and first after an absence of seven years, pays tribute to the charity which aided him on his road to stardom in the 1990s. "Make a Wish" recalls the meeting Sharp had with writer/producer David Foster when the former was stricken with a severe and usually deadly form of cancer. The song is a sweet, straightforward composition typical of the earnest singer, and his passionate voice is heard to strong effect here.

Like his mentor Foster, Sharp has a keen ear for hooks. From the opening chords of "I Am the Working Man," a rousing anthem for the working classes, MAKE A WISH is nothing if not catchy. Sharp can wrap his heart around a classic country melody (the invigorating "I Think I'll Stay") as easily as he can embrace a soul ballad ("All I Could Say"). While distinctly pop, Sharp also thrives in the traditional world of storytelling, as evidenced on the tender "What Some People Throw Away." MAKE A WISH closes by revisiting Sharp's most powerful moment, his Number One country reworking of the Tony Rich Project's R&B smash "Nobody Knows." minimize