Tiffany Coburn “You Are More”Album Review

Prime Cuts: Matchless (featuring Point of Grace), Seasons of the Soul, Then There's Grace (with Joseph Habedank)

Overall Grade: 3.75/5

Tiffany Coburn is sometimes touted as the singer's singer. Being a featured soloist at Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Center, for the Boston Pops, and for orchestras across the country has exposed Coburn to a variety of musical styles which has perfected her singing techniques. When it comes to a ballad,  for example, Coburn's execution of control and nuance is peerless. She knows the perfect time to soar with her chest voice as well as when to be tender allowing her whispers to pierce our souls.  There are many examples of how she puts her glorious vocals on display on You Are More, her sophomore album for StowTown Records. 

You Are More is Coburn's follow-up album to 2018 Near to the Heart of God: Cherished Hymns and Songs of Inspiration. If you are a fan of Coburn's big and glorious ballads, this album bounds with them. "Matchless," which features harmony vocals from Point of Grace, is an introspective ballad with the protagonist recalling all the wisdom she has had received from her dad from over the years. If you want to hear Coburn at her vocal finest then take a listen to the album title cut "You Are More." The song, an empowering pop ballad about how we are more than our mistakes, is given a top-class rendition with Coburn's soaring vocals. 

Best among the balladry department is "Seasons of the Soul." Sounding like a piece taken out of a broadway musical, this dreamy ballad with lots of  string orchestration is a nod of how God is with us through the ups and downs of life. "When I Let Go" and "What If It's Us" try to re-create the bombastic but both suffer from a lack of strong and prominent hooks. The Isaacs join Coburn on the bluegrassy and banjo-led "Nobody Knows Better than Me," while Ernie Haase and Signature Sound offer their harmonies to the delightful country-sounding "Roll Back River."

One major weakness of the record is that most of these songs are testimonial offerings, such that they speak about how God has changed our lives. There's nothing wrong about songs of such themes, however, one would like to hear songs also that exalt God for who he is. Songs that are focused on God and his beauty alone. Other than such a quibble, You Are More is an encouraging record with lots of story songs that remind us of how God still works in our lives. Most rewarding is Coburn's voice and the way she uses it.  She is indeed one of CCM's better singers.

 

 

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