In Feast or Fallow...Sandra McCracken

Honestly, until a month or so ago, I had never heard of Sandra McCracken or her album, In Feast or Fallow... definitely my loss!

For reasons totally foreign to me, Sandra McCracken's music publicist emailed me and asked me to blog a review of Sandra's new album. Here's the hilarious thing... I thought that email was a joke, mistake, or just a fluke of internet communication. So, I listened to the music download but never wrote a review... because, honestly, who am I to review anyone's music?!?

Well, this publicist is certainly worth her title! She emailed again and asked why I hadn't posted a review. Hmmm... guess she is serious about wanting my opinion and here it is, for whatever it is worth....

First of all, I love the title of this album... In Feast or Fallow. I love words that convey meaning or summarize thoughts and emotions. When I first read this title, I thought "I want to meet whoever came up with that title. In four words, they have described my spiritual walk with Christ!"

For me, the title was just the tip of the iceberg. Sandra's voice and music are impressive! She has a unique, gorgeous, earthy voice that is only enhanced by her guitar. Sandra's music isn't a tired remix of someone else's works. Instead, it's original and beautiful. This album is a graceful blend of instrumentals and vocals.

One of Sandra's gifts is to rewrite lyrics to old hymns. While this practice isn't new to her (it's been going on for hundreds of years... have you ever noticed different hymns that have the same melody?), she has an incredible gift of finding words to fit the melody that speak directly to the heart.

Because I love words, I love song lyrics. I often find encouragement or conviction in the words of a song. I have felt my Savior pursue me in through the lyrics of a song. He used Sandra's song "Justice Will Roll Down" to speak to my heart... "she who has been loved much has so much to give... mercy is the fragrance of the broken."

My favorite song on this album is the title track... I really liked "In Feast or Fallow". So much of this song speaks to my soul. This song reminds me of my marriage. I can relate to both the harvest feast and the fallow ground. "Whatever comes we shall endure" After 16 years, I know this is true in our marriage and I also know it is true in my walk with Christ... whatever comes, I will endure.

As I said, I have no idea why I was contacted for my opinion on Sandra McCracken's album In Feast and Fallow. Maybe it's because I never buy music for myself and God was blessing me with a gift from Him. Whatever the reason, I enjoyed this album and would recommend it! I'm grateful for the opportunity to be blessed by Sandra's beautiful music.

You can find out more about Sandra at www.sandramccracken.com and at www.newoldhymns.com.