Kathy Troccoli has been making records for a long time: 25 years of music ministry in 2007. But she can still surprise you. Check out "The Story of Love" if you doubt me.
I wasn’t expecting coolness. Since launching her career as Reunion Records’ flagship artist back in 1982, Troccoli has been an iconic CCM performer, with 2 million in records sales, 19 GMA nominations, and a strong secondary career as an author and conference speaker. But cool?
Maybe the coolness gene pops out for some of us only in our later creativity. That’s certainly the case with “The Story of Love.” Troccoli has found her niche, I believe, in singing standards with swing. She adds a touch of worship and her smooth timbre to the ten tracks of “The Story of Love,” making it all work gloriously.
The swing strains of the old Jerome Kern chestnut “Pick Yourself Up” took me completely by surprise, which is not to say I wasn’t delighted. Troccoli gives the song just the right jazz flair, her sultry tones perfect for the classic standard. I’m a big fan of standards, and she does the song justice, and then some. The following track, the self-penned “Dancing Me Through This Life,” is more classic CCM/Troccoli, proving that in 25 years, she hasn’t lost a drop of her vocal powers. “Talk to Jesus” is a quiet guitar ballad, rendered tenderly. But things heat up again with the surprisingly sizzling “1 Cor 13,” where Scripture meets samba via gentle acoustic guitar. Smooooooooth.
The entire album comes off like great dinner music: emotive, leaning toward the mellow side, and containing an air of the classic. Troccoli has included several dramatic piano ballads that give her opportunity to shine that unique voice of hers (“Lifting My Hands,” “Mercy,” and the classic Troccoli track, “Friend For Life”). She covers Melody Green’s “Make My Life a Prayer to You” with her usual intensity and warmth. But I most enjoyed her own melodic ballad, “Psalm 34,” co-written with Jeff Franzel, its quiet violin gently underscoring her passionate delivery.
Closing the project perfectly is the swinging title track, Troccoli’s voice skimming through the jazz arrangements expertly. Like I said, I think Kathy Troccoli has found her coolness, and in the process discovered her niche. Her cozy tones are made for the world of swing standards, and there are plenty of the old songs, like this one, that fit the Christian message superbly. Hey, if Rod Stewart can get away with singing the standards, I surely think Kathy Troccoli can. Her inner coolness beats his worn out street cool anyday, right? Look for “The Story of Love” on November 14.
