Kansas

EDITORIAL REVIEWS Kansas [Audio CD] Knapp, Jennifer .COM Self-described as "just a girl with a guitar," Knapp, the winner of the 1999 Dove Award for best new artist of the year, crafts acoustic folk-rock in the vein of Lilith Fair rock-maids, yet founds her lyrics on her relationship with God rather than on that of a beau. Kansas basks in both the relative youth of Knapp as a woman and as a Christian, featuring her smartly communicative songwriting, which examines matters of spirit and faith in an era dominated by pop culture. Rather than railing against the inevitable, Knapp has wisely chosen to embrace this seeming dichotomy with the back to back "Undo Me" and "Trinity" the former, an infectious rock anthem and 1999's Dove rock song of the year, the latter a harmonically layered scripture-based examination of the Holy Spirit. Blessed with an agile, earthy contralto that reaches from matter-of-fact talkiness to power yowl to melodious balladic lilt, coupled with her taut and circular guitar lines and inspired string arrangements, Knapp's Kansas is a testament to her well-used talents. --Paige La Grone REVIEW After doing the indie thing for three years, Jennifer Knapp's experience singing night after night to churches and youth groups has served her well, drawing listeners in to her unwavering vocals and her rootsy music's smart use of repetition. The singer/songwriter's youthful voice carries just enough gusto throughout the record that producer Mark Stuart (Audio Adrenaline) smartly used little or no effects on it. Knapp tends to overuse her Natalie Merchant-esque vocal treatment throughout the album, though, and would do well to experiment with different tonal colors the next time out. Still, the combination of simple song structures and instrumentation--which accompanies her "what you hear is what you get" pipes that belt out consistently direct, evangelistic lyrics--makes kansas a very unique, honest and understated record for 1998. All of Knapp's tunes are quite listenable, but the two songs that just don't seem to want to vacate my brain's pop-hook hemisphere are "In the Name" and "Martyrs and Thieves." These ditties serve as perfect bookend examples of Knapp's songwriting range. The former title is a fast-paced, foot-stompin' roots rocker in the vein of Vigilantes of Love, while the latter features Knapp sounding like Joan Baez and Merchant doing a mellow folk duet. And there's more where those come from as well as plenty of stuff in between, featuring deft use of fiddle, flute, organ and mandolin. Knapp's lyrics are unabashedly Christ-centered and focus mostly on her own brokenness as a way to inspire Christians to lead holier lives, but she also knows how to communicate strongly and smartly to non-Christians, as these lyrics from "In the Name" attest: "Picket fences may build up our defenses/In domestic wars of leisure suits/That's OK, it doesn't bother me, you can hold on to your philosophy of/What's mine is mine, what's yours is yours but what's the truth?/When the walls do crumble/What will I find to hold onto/That's stronger than my Jesus?" Who'd ever believe the hard, flat ground of kansas could be so inviting? -- Dave Urbanski (c) 1998 CCM Communications, Inc. -- From CCM Magazine -- Subscribe Now! See more