Title: On My Knees: The Best of Jaci Velasquez
Artist: Jaci Velasquez
Label: Curb Records
Length: 17 Tracks / 1:06:00
From a beautiful woman, inside and out comes the gorgeous “On My Knees”, the opening track from Jaci Velasquez’s On My Knees: The Best of Jaci Velasquez. Perhaps more than any other Latino singer Velasquez has given a voice in the Christian music scene to Spanish speaking people. “On My Knees” originally produced by Mark Heimermann in 1996 in a bitter twist of irony probably holds more meaning for Velasquez now than when it was first recorded. In recent years she has battled depression, watched her parents divorce and her own marriage was over almost before it had begun. “On My Knees” written by David Mullen first came to light on the Heavenly Place CD and went to number one on the charts.
In the past Velasquez has said the song “Lay It Down” comes closest to describing how she has dealt with the disappointment and heartache in her life. “I Will Rest In You” (from Streams CD 1999) has become her personal prayer;
“Take me back to You,
The place that I once knew as a little child;
Constantly the eyes of God watched over me.
Oh, I want to be
In the place that I once knew as a little child,
Fall into the bed of faith prepared for me.”
When you see Jaci Velasquez in concert the song “Imagine Me Without You” takes on new meaning. This young woman is not afraid to bare her soul in the hope that the answers she has found in Christ will in some small way help someone else. You will often find Velasquez kneeling at the front of a stage and talking to young girls in a soft quiet voice. She comes across more as a caring big sister than a pop superstar. It is why she is able to deliver songs such as the fifth track “God So Loved The World” with such authenticity.
A best of Jaci Velasquez CD would not be complete without a trio of number one pop hits, “We Can Make A Difference” (1996), “Every Time I Fall” from the Crystal Clear CD and “If This World”.
One spin of this CD and you are easily reminded why Velasquez has been adorned with a Dove Award on seven occasions and received multiple Grammy nominations. This seventeen track treasure can be summed up by the name of the last song appearing on the CD, “Colors Of The Heart”. The twelve number one hits on this ‘best of’ collection paint vivid pictures of our relationship with God.
Copyright © 2006 Joe Montague, exclusive rights reserved. This material may not be redistributed without prior written permission from Joe Montague. Joe Montague is an internationally published freelance journalist / photographer.
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