Twila Paris

Small Sacrifice is the twenty-sixth album of Twila Paris’ twenty-eight year career, and even more than her previous musical offerings, it faces the challenge of living up to past achievements while presenting something new. Though some musicians prefer to play it safe, imitating past hits and proven successes, there’s much to be said for the artist who is not afraid to innovate. Ultimately this is the wiser course; people change, musical preferences change, and successful artists change with them.

For Paris, striking this balance has meant creating a mix of the classic eighties pop ballad, the modern hymn, and the songs the worship team sang at the contemporary service last Sunday. But while the effort to combine these perspectives is always admirable, the result, in this case, is not a new genre but a subdued version of all three. Small Sacrifice consciously balances between traditional and contemporary music, but does so without taking a definitive step in any direction.

The album’s trend toward musical understatement is most evident in tracks like “I Can Do All Things,” “We Know Love” and the title track, all of which start with a bold premise but don’t build to a memorable conclusion. As the album’s opening act, “We Know Love” has the responsibility of determining whether or not we press “next” on the stereo, that is, it has to make a strong impression. While the first verse manages to be energetic enough to encourage further listening, Paris’ choice of breathy, echo-laced vocals drowns out the impact of the chorus. Lyrics like “some love is in the air, easy to start, some love is everywhere, hurting some heart” seem an overly simplistic prelude to the subsequent 1 John 3:16 chorus. Words like “powerful” are diminished by soft vocals that fail to reflect their meaning.

Other songs, like “I Can Do All Things” and “Small Sacrifice,” feature weightier lyrics and better arrangements, yet still fail to unite the album. The latter, as title track, could have been the cohesive bond between Paris’ distinct styles, but an underlying “folksy” feel effectively places it in a world of its own.

The former fares somewhat better, largely because of its captivating intro and intimate lyrics. The song slowly builds to a crescendo, aiming for significance with higher notes, higher volume, and louder percussion. On the whole, “I Can Do All Things” accomplishes this, musically conveying the strength that its theme indicates. Nevertheless, it is a lone ship in a sea of suppressed, forgettable songs; like the token modern hymn “Alleluia.”

An attempt at traditional lyricism, the track becomes repetitive (nearly every sentence ends with the title word). Paris exchanges the theological complexity inherent in her previous work for a simpler, “we-can-guess-the-next-word” approach. While this choice does make the song more compatible with the understated tone of the album, it virtually cancels out the hymn’s purpose. “Alleluia” would have benefited from a grander, orchestral arrangement; but winds up sounding like the victory march to Paris’ understated and confused musical escapade.

Though Small Sacrifice does not offer the originality we would expect from such a seasoned artist, it will most likely appeal to the Twila Paris fan base, if only for its consistency. Paris’ “new songs” are barely disguised versions of her older songs— “You Are a Great God” representing the contemporary worship faction and “Not Forgotten” written in the style of her signature “How Beautiful.” Of course, with twenty-five records in her history, it seems almost unrealistic to demand something completely new. She is, after all, merely following the pattern of success that has made her a “great” in the Christian music industry. Sadly, Small Sacrifice is a product of the mistaken belief that “successful” is the artist who conforms to industry expectations, rather than the artist who changes them.

Does it Resonate with you?

Name (required)

Email (will not be published) (required)

URL