CD Review: Treasure (Janet Paschal)
Rating: 4 stars (of 5)
Producer: Wayne Haun.
Song List: We Shall Wear a Robe and Crown; God Rides on Wings of Love; Jesus is Alive and Well; Hide Me Sweet Rock of Ages; Come See This Man; Sail for the Other Side; Come Morning; I Will Joy; He’s Just as Real to Me; I Am; I’m the One; Through Every Storm.
* * *
Treasure is a collection of new versions of songs from Janet Paschal’s repertoire. In a video posted here, she has said that these are the songs that she got the most requests for from fans at concerts.
There are twelve songs on the project—six each from her Rex Nelon days and from her solo career. The Rex Nelon Singers songs on the project are “Come Morning” from 1979’s Feelings, “We Shall Wear a Robe and Crown” and “I’m the One from 1980’s Expressions of Love, and three songs from 1981’s One Step Closer: “Jesus is Alive and Well,” “Hide Me Sweet Rock of Ages,” and “Sail For the Other Side.”
“Sail for the Other Side” is a duet with Ivan Parker; Paschal and Parker perform a number of concerts together and wanted a song they could do together at those concerts.
Her solo career is represented by one song from 1986’s Janet Paschal Live (God Rides on Wings of Love) and, surprisingly, five songs from 1990’s Language of the Heart: “Come See This Man,” “I Will Joy,” “He’s Just As Real to Me,” “I Am,” and “Through Every Storm.” The five songs are individually and collectively a good enough fit that I’m not complaining. Yet it was slightly surprising.
If you have a habit of following the back cover track listing on your first listen to a CD, prepare to be slightly confused. The list is so disordered that the only song in the place it actually appears on the CD is the first song, “We Shall Wear a Robe and Crown.” The actual order in which the songs appear is: We Shall Wear a Robe and Crown; I Am; Come See This Man; God Rides on Wings of Love; I’m the One; I Will Joy; Jesus is Alive and Well; Come Morning; Through Every Storm; Hide Me Sweet Rock of Ages; Sail For the Other Side; He’s Just as Real to Me.
As someone who has only heard a few of the original versions of these songs, I’m not really in a position authoritatively comment on how these versions compare to the originals. But standing on its own merits, this is a strong and enjoyable recording.
