Release Magazine Article (July/August 1996)

       It's hard to say what's more compelling: 16-year-old Jaci Velasquez's refreshing honesty and sincerity or her wondrous voice. Whatever the case, her debut Myrrh release will take you to a Heavenly Place.
       Lyrically, Velasquez rounds up the usual suspects: sexual abstinence, the importance of prayer, making a difference in the workd, and the need for shelter from "the ways of the world." However, this teen's dynamic, polished voice and unpretentious delivery make Heavenly Place unusually memorable.
       In her songs--and even in the liner notes--Velasquez means what she says. And she doesn't place herself above her audience. Explaining the ballad "I Promise," for example, Velasquez writes, "Everybody says, 'Don't commit fornication' from the pulpit, but I wanted to put it in the positive as somtehing young people could say for themselves. I am saying it for myself, and it's not like I am not tempted like everyone my age. I just choose not to act on those thoughts."
       Heavenly Place is an exeptional work. Here's hoping that young artists like Jaci Velasquez and Sarah Masen hold fast to their sincerity, integrity and hunger for the truth.