Review by Tess Chierici Deyo's voice and lyrics portray a desperate desire for the Lord.

Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Reviews | Send mail to The Voice Deyo's new album echos his Sonicflood days Jeff Deyo, lead singer, rekindles his passion for worship in this album. Gotee Records, photo Jeff Deyo, former lead singer of Sonicflood, rekindles the passion of worship in his debut album, "Saturate." Deyo and his band blend prayerful lyrics and intense rock music, creating an ultra-passionate jam session. Deyo's band is made up of guitarist Rob Hawkins, bass player Jeremy McCoy, keyboard player Fred Williams and drummer Nate Winters. Deyo, Otto Price and Bryan Lenox produced the album, released by Gotee Records in March 2002. The album's 12-song track includes nine new songs and remakes of "More Love, More Power," "This is My Desire" and "I'd Rather Have Jesus. "Saturate" has an uncanny resemblance to Sonicflood's debut album, "Sonicflood." Considering that Jeff Deyo wrote most of the songs for the "Saturate" album during his years with Sonicflood, the similarity does make sense. "Saturate" does have a voice of its own, however. The album blends rock 'n' roll, soft ballads, modern pop, hymns and classical orchestra to create an amazing worship collection. New songs include "You Are Good," an instrumental piece with piano and orchestra, and "Sing To You," a techno song featuring Rebecca St. James. The album's strength is in Deyo's rough tenor voice. In every song, Deyo's voice and lyrics portray a desperate desire for the Lord. The chorus of the song, "Lose Myself," reflects Deyo's desire: "Saturate my life. Fill every part of me with you. Drown me in your love. Let me lose myself in You." The lyrics hold the album together. The strength of the album is in the simplicity of the album's songs, such as "All I Want." "All I want is just to see you, Jesus. I long just to hear your voice. And I need to just be near you because your presence is all I want." For the traditional album listener, the prayer times included on the CD might become annoying. At the beginning of the CD, Deyo prays over the worship time. Even if listeners have heard the prayer several times, they must listen to the two-minute prayer before they can get to the first song. The last track on the album contains more prayers from Deyo and unknown others. The prayer times give the album a real corny feel. Deyo sounds as though he rehearsed his prayer, which diminishes some of the sincerity of the songs. The album is interactive. Deyo's use of the word "we" allows the listener to become part of his songs. His beautifully simple lyrics are easy to catch on to, and the melodies are aching to be sung. If the listener doesn't mind overly dramatic prayers between songs, "Saturate" is perfect for those who enjoy listening and becoming part of sincere worship to Christ. "Saturate" can be bought at any Christian bookstore or online at www.jeffdeyo.com for $16.98. Back to Table of Contents | Back to Main Index Previous Reviews | Top Of Page Send mail to The Voice| Journalism department website © 2002 The Voice. No part of this publication may be reproduced in written or electronic form without prior written consent from the journalism adviser of Multnomah Bible College. All rights reserved.