Released 35 years ago today, this is the first album from Christian rocker Ashley Cleveland. She's known for her powerhouse vocals as well as mixing genres, as there are elements of Gospel, country, and more in her rock music. I bought my first Ashley Cleveland album about 20-25 years ago, and at least a decade or two ago, I went to Ashley Cleveland's website and she said this album was out of print, but then had a link to the full download of this album. And I immediately loved this album! Reading about it later, Cleveland was signed to Atlantic Records, but was dropped after this album for her music being "too Christian". On the other hand, Christian music audiences found the music "not Christian enough". Frankly, I love this kind of music that mixes honest songs about struggling with love and relationships right in with other songs about religious themes. Ashley Cleveland talks about her struggles with men in songs like "Willy", "Tentative Man" and "I'll Call You". Songs like "Angel", "We Can Dance" and "Walk To The Well" and the opening title track definitely have more of a Gospel flair than other songs. And well, "I Could Learn To Love You" might be about a man or about God; I'm really not sure. Another thing I love on all of Ashley's albums is the stellar guitar work from Kenny Greenberg, whom Ashley married only a few months after this album was released. It's an excellent debut from an all-time favorite rock artist of mine. She went on to release nine more albums and has appeared on many albums by other artists as a background vocalist. I think she has mostly retired from regular performances.

Release Year: 1991
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