I was always of the opinion that Sara Groves was a visionary, a prophetic troubadour. “Add to the Beauty” confirms it, by both its timing and its power.
With her fourth sterling offering, Groves gives us a project so superbly constructed and anointed that it all but demands our concurrence. She makes her point, the potential beauty of God's kingdom here and our supreme opportunity to play a role in advancing it, in a way so appealing as to be almost irresistible. And then it is released a scant two months after Hurricane Katrina ravages the New Orleans area, both daring and equipping us to respond authentically. The "Add to the Beauty" dual disc is especially powerful, giving you opportunity to let the sheer magic of her astounding music carry you away to the land of genuine faith before flipping over to the DVD portion and showing Sara herself demonstrate the possibilities as she leads a crew to Slidell, LA, to give out baby supplies from her tour bus.
At its essence this is life changing music, a stunning musical treatise.
Groves can do more with a mic and a piano than ten full orchestras, delivering her quick penetrating lyrics with a quiet passion that somehow turns your world upside down gently. Thematically she doesn't waste a measure, from the love-endorsing "When It Was Over," a telling slice-of-life view of relationships, to its final reprise. "Just Showed Up For My Own Life" is a joyous affirmation of life's glorious possibilities; "It's Going to Be Alright" is similarly encouraging, one of my favorites. The title track is, simply put, brilliant, in both message and delivery. Groves manages to convince us, in this misspent consumer culture, that her vision is a reasonable possibility, indeed, a delightful and necessary adventure. The DVD portion shows us, through behind-the-scenes glimpse at her studio work, a live performance and her LA mission, what it looks like to enter sincerely into this faith adventure. The dual disc experience delivers a one-two punch to the heart, probably much needed for most of us.
"Kingdom Come" is another standout, again demonstrating some particulars of how the kingdom is built, bit by bit, through acts of sincere kindness. The tremulous "Why It Matters" continues in the same vein, "like a single cup of water." I loved the quirky "To The Moon" and "Loving a Person" gorgeously extols the power of a persevering love.
When it's all said and done, Sara Groves has created one of the decade's best, a work that I dare say she has not done on her own. It is the new gold standard.
