Reviewed by Tony Cummings

"Reckless" accurately conveys the message of many of the lyrics on this set - an all-out abandonment to Christ taking us way outside our comfort zones - though as more than one critic has already observed, there is nothing reckless about the musical approach the CCM hitmaker adopts here. One reviewer even went as far as to suggest that "Jeremy Camp is an artist in desperate need of a change." What they meant by that is that the singer/songwriter, having found a pop rock formula which connects with US Christian radio listeners, stays tightly within those stylistic restraints. But though Camp's critics have a point, they rather miss Jeremy's clear strengths - passionate vocals which are as every bit as convincing as you'd find on a Nickleback record and more importantly, songs which express biblical truth with clarity. An example of this is "We Must Remember" ("We must remember that you have forgotten/And you don't remember our sins anymore"). Equally effective is the title track opener ("I will not be afraid to surrender my way/To follow who you are/I want to be reckless"). In fact, it's "Reckless" which is the best track on the album with a nagging piano figure adding much to the usual nicely mixed wall of guitars. Another excellent song is the worshipful "We Need". All in all, this is an album which will find support from Camp's existing fans who probably won't even register the generic quality of many of the pop rock arrangements.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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