If you have customers who shy away from chant/mantra recordings but are not opposed to trying something new, Radiance would be a great recommendation.  Jaya Lakshmi's latest CD blends her heavenly vocals (mantras, as well as English lyrics on some of the songs) with her superb music, featuring Spanish, Celtic, and New Age influences.  Joining Lakshmi on the album are Deva Priyo playing sarod and Spanish guitar, Vince McClellan on assorted flutes, Nisha Calkin-Godfrey on cello, and Bobby Cochran playing guitar and keyboards.  Lakshmi's hauntingly beautiful voice will hold the listener spellbound, whether she is chanting or singing her self-penned English lyrics.  Easily one of the most accessible chant albums I've ever heard, Radiance is both joyous and serene. --New Age ReviewerOn Radiance Hawaiian-born kirtan singer Jaya Lakshmi works with a group of musicians centered loosely around producer Steven Gordon (Sequoia Records) and band mates from her old world-music collective Lost at Last, including her longtime collaborator Deva Priyo, who adds world touches via his classical guitar and sarod. The vibe for this outing expands and divides the difference between Priyo's ethereal Middle Eastern flavors and the clear, golden-hued voice of Lakshmi, which imbue everything with Northern soul and grace to spare. You can put this on the car radio and unless someone bothers to notice that the words to most of the songs are in Sanskrit, they won't have a clue that it's not just some sweet-natured FM-radio adult alternative-rock. Meanwhile a quiet joy and reverent love for all aspects of life and people will quietly manifest within them. Lakshmi lives up to the album's name, and playing the music spreads the glow.<P> Some tracks get deep into the flow of world spirituality, like "Giridhari," which follows a smoldering, Gypsy-dance beat with dazzling classical guitar, sitar, and sampled hand claps. Lakshmi sings the lead chant in a healing, absolving embrace that rides over it all, an angel passing over a thriving Marrakesh market. The slow and ominous "Shiva Maheshwara" opens slowly on just a coiling tamboura and the insistent longing, slightly echoing voice of Lakshmi, calling the faithful forward with love and solemnity, and joined by the mournful cello of Nishya Calkin-Godfrey.<P> Good as the album is, Lakshmi's voice is especially affecting when focusing on a simple phrase presented in a basic, straightforward, unadorned, achingly beautiful style. A jewel this lustrous requires no elaborate setting; you can hear the sound of light itself and forgiveness in Lakshmi's voice, as on the beautiful "Sita Ram." As it progresses the instruments slowly join in and she even includes a translation in English: "All I have is the shelter of your holy name / Nothing else fills my soul / Not even wealth or fame." Such a surrender to not be moved by, her blissful sense of surrender is infectious. Lakshmi brings you the message that will allow you to resume opening your heart, even when you have the urge to close it tight against the storm. With the simple sound of her voice, her expression of selfless love, she can move something greater than mountains. For Radiance Lakshmi sings the way the sun spreads light, evenly and absolving all the ears she to!  uches. --Daily Om, November 16, 2009