Music Review: If You Want Me To by Ginny Owens

Stars: 5 out of 5
Pros: Solid collection of anyone who likes Ginny's music.

Cons: We already have several copies of most of these songs.

The Bottom Line:

Some truly great songs

That will lift spirits for years

Do we need this disc?

Should Please Casual and Hardcore Fans

More then any artist I follow, Ginny Owens has repackaged her music. She has released four studio projects to date. In addition to those, she has released an EP with stripped down versions of her songs and a live recording. Now comes If You Want Me To, an official best of that takes the studio versions of those songs with a few new goodies. Do we really need this release? Probably not. But these songs are so wonderful.

Any best of collection stands or falls basted on two things, how good the songs are, and what "extras" there are for the hardcore fans. This CD succeeds on both levels.

Ginny has had a steady stream of thought provoking hit songs. Frankly, picking the best of the bunch would be hard. Here, we get a steady stream of radio hits. "Free" is a nice R & B flavored pop song that celebrates the freedom we have in Christ. "I Am" reminds us of God's working in the past. From her second CD, the song is more straight up pop then much else she's done. "Live Once" is a slow ballad that reminds us to think about the consequences of our actions before we act. Her R & B influences come through loud and clear on this cut. These are just a sample of the hit radio singles collected here. They cover all four of her releases well, picking the best songs. Even the casual fan will find songs they already love here.

This disc provides some great stuff to entice the die-hard fan to get it as well. The booklet, while not including the words, includes thought from Ginny about what these songs mean to her today. These comments are well worth reading. In a surprising move, the title track is not the original studio recording but a live version originally from the CD "A Night in Rocketown." Here it's just Ginny playing piano and singing this moving ballad of surrender to God. The simpler production helps me focus on the words. I'm glad it's here. Plus, there's an added verse in this version. They've also included the intro from that live CD where Ginny tells the story of how she came to write it.

Also in the new arrangements department, we get a new arrangement of "Wonderful Wonder" from her last CD. This one includes heavy drums. The original song was a simple but powerful ballad, but the attempt to make it more of a pop song distracts from the simplicity of the words. I don't like it as much.

Ginny has recorded several songs on CD's not her own. Two of them show up here. "Remember Me" is a haunting duet from Mark Schultz's self-titled album that fits in just fine. "40" originally showed up on label mate Apt.core's release. Since that band does Electronic music, this is a departure for Ginny. Both are good tracks, and it's nice to have them on a Ginny CD.

Finally, there's one new song, "Open Arms." This song is the most upbeat thing she's done in years. In a first for Ginny, it has a decided Latin flavor to it as well. It took me a couple listens to really appreciate it. It's a fun song, and I like the reminder that God waits for us with open arms.

The CD also comes with a 20-minute DVD that includes a total of four songs recorded live and interviews with Ginny.

While we already have several collections of Ginny's best to choose from, If You Want Me To includes enough new goodies that even long-term fans will be glad they picked it up.

CD Length: 48:43

Tracks:

1. Free

2. I Am

3. Ginny's Story (spoken intro to next song)

4. If You Want Me To (from A Night in Rocketown)

5. Remember Me (from Mark Schultz)

6. I Wanna be Moved

7. Wonderful Wonder (new version)

8. Something More

9. Call Me Beautiful

10. Fellow Traveler

11. 40 (from apt.core's Rhythms of Remembrance)

12. Live Once

13. Open Arms

Bonus DVD contents:

1. Free

2. Bread

3. Live Once

4. Who Are You Listening to