Not worthy of the Amy Grant I thought I knew

I've never been the type of person to butt into other people's business or to sit in judgment of them. I've frankly never bought into the idea that a Christian is his "brother's keeper." I try to keep Jesus' words, "Judge not that ye be not judged" in mind when I begin to feel the temptation to nose into someone else's personal life.



So, I was faced with a bit of a dilemma as I sat down to review this album. The influences from Amy's personal life are in evidence everywhere. Should I just ignore them and focus strictly on the work itself or on Amy's public persona?



Normally, I'd say "Yes." But the problem with doing that this time is that Amy has admitted herself that her personal life is hopelessly intertwined with her work. She's made no attempt to keep them separate and has admitted as much on several occasions. For example, she recently told an interviewer that she wrote a song about Vince Gill while still married to Gary Chapman. She has said that she loved Gill from the minute she first saw him, again while she was married to Chapman. And anyone who saw her Christmas specials of the late 90s on which Gill guest starred knew that something was going on between them. To top it all off, she left Chapman and took up publicly with Gill before the ink was dry on her divorce papers. No, I'd say Amy hasn't done much at all to keep her personal life private. If anything, it's the other way around. If I didn't know better I might think she was intentionally out to hurt Gary.



So, I hope you'll pardon the fact that I occasionally stray into Grant's personal life in this review. For me, they are inextricably intertwined. The life she has lived and is living is as much an influence on this album as anything she has ever done.



Now to the review.



I think the biggest problem with this album is that its soul is missing. As with most of Grant's work, the vocals are good, even great sometimes. The melodies themselves are okay, but fall far short of inspiring. What's completely missing, though, is the soul of the work itself. And the introduction of Vince Gill into the mix doesn't help anything. He's no Gary Chapman, and even Amy doesn't seem to be Amy on this one, at least not the Amy I thought I knew.



Before buying this album, I had been away from Amy's music for awhile. A long time fan, I returned recently to discover that she had left Gary Chapman, married Vince Gill, and had had another baby. Boy, things change in a hurry don't they? You turn around twice, and everyone is married to everyone else! Relationships you thought would stand the test of time don't. It's a sad world we live in sometimes. In my grandparents' day, it was understood that there would be ups and downs in a marriage and that "for better or for worse" meant exactly that. Mid-life crises weren't invented in the late twentieth century, it's just that people in the old days didn't divorce over them as often. Even now, I'd like to think that Grant's behavior is not the norm. Amy isn't the first woman to wake up in her forties and realize that she wasn't exactly head-over-heels in love with her husband, it's just that most women stay the course and some even find a deeper love for their spouse than they ever realized existed - they find something far more profound and more lasting than the initial euphoria that comes with a new relationship. To put it succinctly, they make different choices than Amy has made, and, as Meryl Streep's Francesca said in The Bridges of Madison County, "We are the choices we make."



But regardless of whether you buy into the thinking that Grant's divorce from Chapman and subsequent marriage to Gill was a sin against God, you can't help but notice the complete lack of inspiration in this material. It's a pretentious, contrived mess. Amy, if you want to leave your husband and take up with another man in full view of the whole world, I suppose that's your business. But please don't put out any more stale claptrap like this. Your work is missing the ineffable quality Gary gave it. I can't quite put my finger on it; all I can tell you is that it's gone. Stay home with Gill, have some more kids and enjoy the money you've made. But please don't foist this type of uninspired drivel on the world of pop music - it's in bad enough shape already.



I read an interview the other day where Grant opined that if two people are in a marriage which is not "healthy" for either one of them, they should throw the marriage out and start over. Fortunately, not everyone feels that way, Amy. Some know that there are ups and downs in any marriage, sometimes more downs than ups. Some find happiness and peace in keeping their promises. And many find comfort and direction in their sessions with that Wonderful Counselor you used to sing about.



I've always found it funny that anyone would consider Vince Gill a songwriter of any repute. I'm pretty sure that history will view him quite differently. But I do have to give him one thing: he came up with one heckuva line to lay on the then-married Grant (according to an interview I read not long ago): "How are you progressing in your songwriting?" See, this portrays him as some sort of songwriting guru, innocently inquiring of a young understudy how she is progressing on the path of life. I'll have to remember that one the next time I want to seduce a married woman.



Amy, please get back to where you once belonged. And, please, no more old pop song remakes. Those are fun to sing, but you shouldn't record them - someone else already did that, and you aren't likely to top it. Do something original, just once. I know you have it in you. At least pretend to be an artist.

This should've been Amy Grant's comeback!

I'm honestly not at all sure what happened with this release. Somewhere... someone dropped the ball BIG TIME in making sure American radio heard this CD. After a few years off to sort out some personal things, Amy returned in 2003 with this release and it is truly phenomenal.



The disc starts off with "Happy," a song that, musically, easily rivals anything on pop radio today. Honestly. You have to hear it to believe it. Lyrically, it's an in-depth look at how to "show" someone you love them... it's not just about the words.



"Eye to Eye" is another progressively sounding tune. Beautiful lyrics about reconciliation and forgiveness. The words "'Cause one day we will find a road to peace for you and me... and our children in their innocence will follow what they see. Oh, we've got to find a way to live our life, though we don't see eye to eye." Classic Amy.



"Simple Things" and "Looking for You" are simple, fun pop tunes.



"Touch" is a very sensual song that will make you long to be close to the one you love.



"Innocence Lost" has become one of my favorite Amy songs of all time. Such a simple song in its arrangement and very lyrically moving. This one alone is worth the price you will pay for this CD.



Overall, SIMPLE THINGS is a very well-rounded CD that should be getting much more attention.



Thanks for reading!

Chad

Wonderful Music.

This is an amazing CD. From the first song "Happy" right through to the end "After the Fire". Amy sings with depth and emotion on every song. They range from up-beat to sadness. The song "Beautiful", which she sings with husband Vince Gill, is by far the best song on here. If you can listen to this and not get a tear in your eye then you have ice in your veins. This may not be the same Amy that you are used to but it is just another dimension of her talent. You can still hear her smile when she sings. And you will find yourself smiling right along with her.