"WHAT HEAVEN FEELS LIKE," by Calee Reed, Shadow Mountain Records, $7.99
Mormon singer/songwriter Calee Reed pays tribute to family in her new album, "What Heaven Feels Like." The album showcases Reed's ability to sing in different musical styles and includes six original songs.
The overall style of the album is upbeat Christian rock, with a few slower moving pieces mixed in. The songs on the album speak of the importance of family and express an appreciation for God's love and grace.
"I Am Enough" and "Possible," two of Reed's most upbeat songs, talk about how God loves and helps his imperfect children. "Living Water" and "Miraculous," the first and fourth songs on the album, offer sweet testimonies of Jesus Christ.
The lyrics of the title song of the album, "What Heaven Feels Like," pay tribute to Reed's mother, who passed away in January 2011 of colon cancer. Reed shares her belief in eternal family bonds through the lyrics.
"Sunshine," the song immediately following, speaks of Reed's experiences as a new mother with her own daughter. The lyrics play on some of the words in the LDS hymn "There is Sunshine in My Soul." Reed released a song with a similar style on her first album, "The Waiting Place," released in 2012. Her song "She Put the Music in Me" was a creative marriage of lyrics from several different hymns of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Reed wrote the song about the influence her mother had on her life.
All of Reed's songs are deeply personal. However, it is the variety of musical style that makes her new album both fun and spiritual.
The concluding song on Reed's album is a moving arrangement of "Come Unto Christ," the theme song for LDS youths in 2014. The song is simply accompanied with piano and guitar, giving Reed's voice a chance to shine.
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