Nothing But The Best - Helen Shapiro > Reviews > A great voice with interesting things to say

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Great voice, interesting range of songs, uplifting
Disadvantages:	Depends of what you are willing to listen to

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Helen Shapiro burst into the public eye in 1961at the tender age of 14 with number one hits 'You Don't Know' and 'Walking back to Happiness'. A quarter of a century later, her life changed dramatically when she became a Messianic Jew, ie a Jew who believes that Jesus is the Messiah, sometime called a Jewish Christian.

This album reflects this phase of her life, and I bought it after seeing her in a concert in Bush House (BBC) in the mid 1990s. When we moved the CD went missing, but it turned up out of blue last week and I have scarcely listened to anything else since.
Shapiro has a wonderfully velvety voice, and the production quality of this recording is top notch. This is a worship album, in a number of styles, jazz, funk as well as some more traditional numbers with a Jewish resonance. So strong is the Jewish influence that some of the songs have passages sung in Hebrew and in places Jesus is called by the Hebrew form of his name, Y’Shua.

The first track is a duet with Cliff Richard entitled 'We being many', which is a meditation on Romans chapter 12, and there are two songs from my favourite Christian singer, Michael Card – ‘Search me and know me’, which is a setting of Psalm 139 and ‘God will provide a lamb’, which tells the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22.

The album has a nice mix of up-tempo and more contemplative songs. 'You are my salvation' has plenty of energy while 'Be thou my people' almost sounds like a lament. 'Jerusalem' builds steadily to a climax, while 'Water on stone' has a dreamy quality, so you can imagine yourself sitting on a boulder in a stream as the light shines down. The album ends with the reassurance of 'There is someone'.

I found the words inspiring and uplifting, and the music varied and eminently listenable. Some of the songs I have listened to more than others, but it is very rare to get a whole CD where I like every single track.

Overall, I found the warmth and vivacity that I saw in Helen Shapiro in that concert ten years ago comes through in this recording. It definitely reflects her heritage and her life story, and therefore has a real passion and commitment to it. It is a welcome re-discovery and I would recommend it.