Rebecca St James
This self-titled 1994 release introduced a then-17-year-old St. James to the world. What's so interesting about this album is just how uninteresting it really is. Listen to later releasesGodandPray, and you'll wonder if this is even the same artist. Then again, this sure beats Debbie Gibson or Tiffany at 17. Clearly, songs like "Here I Am," "Way Up Here," and "Above All Things" are driven by the clean, slick production of Christian master-producer Brown Bannister. If nothing else, this album sounds like a young St. James being groomed as the next Amy Grant. Listen to the chorus to "Way Up Here" and ask yourself whether it doesn't sound like Grant's "I Have Decided." No matter--we all have to start somewhere.--Michael Lyttle