Excellent production value, great songwriting, and lyrics based on spiritualities that are uniquely appreciated by Catholics, Sarah Hart's new CD, SaintSong from the spiritandsong.com label, is contemporary Catholic music at some of its best. SaintSong, is what it says it is; the words of the saints put into song. Even though these songs are best appreciated by those who have a devotion to the saints, I think that this CD would also have a much broader appeal. As most of the songs are based on prayers of the saints, the lyrics (especially the choruses) don't fall too far outside the "praise and worship" category. It could be a wonderful opportunity for Christians everywhere to discover the beauty of the saints.

The music of Sarah Hart is generally classified as folk/rock or folk/pop. I would simply call it delightful. The slick Nashville production, which I find sometimes drains the heart right out of a project, serves the album well. The instrumentations are rich and authentic.

I also personally love it when a CD has a concept and it is carried through the entire album, and SaintSong, for the most part, does just that. In the age when more and more music is purchased digitally one track at a time, it is nice to hear a CD that is really best heard in its entirely. With the enhanced CD including printable devotions to complement the songs, there is all the more reason to own a physical copy. The only misfire of this great concept is the inclusion of "Our Blessing Cup (Psalm 116)". Although King David's words might be well considered as words of a saint, this well-known "Mass psalm" seems out of place on this album.

SaintSong by Sarah Hart is available from SpiritAndSong.com as well as iTunes.

Reviewed by Fr. Kent O'Connor

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