Small Sacrifice

In the ‘80s, Twila Paris helped to pioneer modern worship music by adapting Scripture into pop/rock idioms. Her honey-toned vocals and adept songwriting have been largely absent from the Christian music airwaves in recent years; Small Sacrifice is Paris’ bid for relevance in the current marketplace. The album surrounds Twila in tasteful sonic landscapes, favoring keyboard-centered tracks embellished with acoustic guitar touches. Some tunes — especially the Irish-accented “Alleluia” and the Chris Rodriguez duet “I Can Do All Things” — recall her earlier work, while “We Know Love” has a more contemporary feel. Paris explores the theme of a believer’s connection with God (and the struggles to maintain it) throughout the album. The title track and “Lord I Need You” are fervent expressions of awe and reverence. At times, the lyrics settle into simple repetition, as in “You Are a Great God.” More substantial is “There Is a Plan,” a dramatic look at recent world history in the light of Biblical prophecy. All told, Small Sacrifice is a work of maturity and perspective, done by an artist who remains close to the Spirit.