I cringe as I say so, but with this 1989 CD Jaci Velasquez really did burst upon the music scene. I know, I know, people don’t do that anymore. But she did. Really.
How does anyone sound this good on an eponymous, debut album, especially as freshfaced a Wunderkind as Ms. Velasquez?
There is no deep-in-her-career profundity in the album, don’t get me wrong. That would come later and Velasquez would need some time before trying her hand at writing her own stuff.
But there is a voice here that sounds way too strong and promising for the self-described ‘little girl’ on the album cover. It makes its biggest bang—similar to a burst—in the anthemic ‘Child of Mine’:
You decided long ago
To let me in to your deepest soul
You have given mne
A pride of place
Then somehow you let it fade away
I know you so well
And I can tell
When you’ve been hiding something from me
Just let it go
Let my love flow
Let it bring you releaseI have come
To breathe new life
Into the heeart of a child of mine
I have come to give you peace
So lift your head and believe
It helps that the orchestration and production of this album maintain such a high standard. If Velasquez were to show any vocal weakenesses, they’d no doubt be ironed out before her hungry public could declare them and profess disappointment.
Nobody walked away from this album disappointed.
By the time Jaci had worked her way through a dozen stronger-than-life tracks, it was clear there was a new voice in town.
It was a bursting, I’m tellin’ you.
Canter Bridge 
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