Personal

Description

Personal is the third solo album by the British singer and songwriter Joanne Hogg, lead singer of the progressive rock/Celtic fusion band Iona, released on Kingsway Music in 2008.

This latest solo project from Iona‘s lead vocalist brings a collection of 10 songs that stem from a deep and prolonged time of Joanne seeking and being hungry for a very real experience of God’s presence; her hope being to impart some of that hunger through these songs. Well it certainly achieves that without a shadow of a doubt as from the outset, the lyrics reach down and are likely to grab anyone who has ever sought the God’s presence. Without exception I found myself connecting to all the tracks, especially «Forgive Me», «I Was Sad In Church Today» and «Waiting» thinking “Yes, I’ve been there too” and “Wow, I’m so glad it’s not just me”! This is a very chilled-out CD which given the title it’s not wrong to expect and although touted as Celtic, the music doesn’t have any distinct leaning towards the Celtic or any other direction. I have to say that despite the excellent musicianship and Joanne’s wonderfully smooth vocals, I found the melodies a touch too prosaic, lacking the sparkle of Iona’s best material. The strong point of this CD has to be that goose-bump-inducing voice on lyrics that can only come from such a voyage of discovery. [Simon Redfern, Cross Rhythms, October 2008]

> iTunes (https://music.apple.com/us/album/personal/562217482)

CD tracklist:

01. More – 4:46
02. Forgive Me (Song of Compassion) – 3:35
03. O Lord I’m Crying For Help (Psalm 34) – 4:19
04. Waiting – 5:37
05. The Fire When You Delay – 3:51
06. Personal – 3:42
07. Dancing – 4:12
08. You Are My Strong Salvation (Psalm 27) – 3:14
09. I Felt Sad In Church Today – 4:07
10. Where Grace Is Hiding – 3:51

Note: Personal and Looking Into Light were re-issued by Kingsway Music in 2010 as a 2CD.

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