Elementary

AMG Review of Elementary

Jonathan Widran
All Music Guide

This veteran CCM singer sets herself apart from her genre's popular counterparts Rebecca St. James, Erin O'Donnell, and Jaci Velasquez by writing her own tunes, and most convey the positive heavenly message with strong (sometimes anthemic) hooks. But both the greatest strength and weakness of this disc are the creative production touches of Brent Bourgeois. He turns "The World Needs Your Love" into a powerful, symphonic ock statement; the one drawback to the powerful energy of the tune is the way Cindy Morgan's voice sometimes gets lost in all the shenanigans. "Good Thing" takes modern production techniques and mixes them with a disco groove on the chorus, almost creating an Abba-like effect. Busy sonic ideas also infuse the title track and the Latin rock-flavored "New World," and Morgan's voice again is either distorted or blends too tightly with the wall of sound. Fortunately, Bourgeois pulls back for allads like Love Can," which allow Morgan's soft and truly spiritual side to shine through; her vocal grows more passionate as she goes along. Strange how she could follow this kind of vocal performance with a much more forgettable airy vocal approach on "Believe." "Sunshine" finds her doing her best Amy Grant imitation. Overall, certainly a bit more interesting sonically than the usual female CCM outing, but that intrigue also leads to some maddening listening moments.