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**Description**
Album: Live
Artist: Jennifer Knapp
Genre: Folk, Rock
Year: 2006
**Track List**
1. Romans (3:06)
2. Lay It Down (3:52)
3. Whole Again (4:50)
4. When Nothing Satisfies (3:43)
5. Usher Me Down (4:37)
6. The Way I Am (8:31)
7. His Grace Is Sufficient (3:26)
8. Martyrs and Thieves (6:17)
9. Fall Down (4:19)
10. Refine Me (4:13)
11. A Little More (3:35)
12. Into You (3:28)
13. Undo Me (6:57)
**Review**
This album is a perfect formed live album, featuring songs from live gigs recorded in 2001 in between the release
of Jen's second album, Lay It Down, and her third album, The Way I Am. The album has a fascinating story behind it:
Jen was touring with guitarist, Mark Lee Townsend, at the time, in the days before he was a producer and he offered
to record some of the live concerts so that the band members could take them home as a memento. These tapes of
recordings were subsequently lost, only to resurface in Autumn 2005. The songs, recorded on different dates, in
different venues, across different states, have been mixed and woven carefully to form a beautiful, flowing work
of art. The album has a different feel to her other albums, notably, due to the lack of a string orchestra,
but the sound is compensated with the guitars played by Mark Lee Townsend and Tony Lucido.
The album kicks off with Romans, a rocky, buoyant track from Kansas, and we travel on a twisting and turning
journey through every emotion until we reach the final track, a brooding, bluesy version of Undo Me. When Nothing
Satisfies You is played simply and acoustically with Mark picking on the guitar. The track is carried by Jen's
unique voice singing the beautiful melody. This is followed by Usher Me Down which speaks of repentance and
God's kindness and forgiveness.
My favourite song on the album is an early arrangement of the song, Fall down, which appears on Jen's third
album, The Way I Am. The bridge says, “Hold me up. Never let me go. Love me when I am broken and speak to me.” This
attitude towards tough times, is one that we should all follow. Instead of running away or giving up hope, we need to
learn to cry out to God in our times of need.
[Written 11/2007]
