Closer

Reading Mike McGonigal's review of Ms. Ashton's foray into country music leaves me wondering why he didn't do his homework. The singer's 1993 self-titled album was in fact not her debut, but her third album in the contemporary christian genre. Having heard and read numerous interviews with Ms. Ashton, I can safely relate that her reasons for waiting to name her third album after herself were that the songs on this work most closely reflected her personality and artistic style. Having grown up in a country environment, and with more than average equestrian skills, Ms. Ashton clearly feels at home in the country music realm. "Susan Ashton" the album makes that evident. Mr. McGonigal should have spent the time to listen to this album. He also should have listened to 1992's excellent "Angels of Mercy," which spawned one of the biggest hits ever for a female CCM artist, "Here In My Heart." (Which, by the way, was later covered by country...Read more

The greatest blessing I've received from Susan's music has been the spiritual aspect of it. I fell away from my faith for a number of years, and when I came back, I was searching for music to listen to and stumbled upon Susan's. Her lyrics have always been so real and rich with meaning. If I were to come across this album without knowing her other music, I'm sure I'd love it. But my husband and I have waited years for her new album and had no idea she was only going to put one very generic spiritual song on the album. We sat on the couch, read the scripture on the sleeve, and couldn't wait for each song. Then we realized - it wasn't what we expected. Susan - please, we can get this kind of music from anyone else! Martina McBride, Faith Hill, Patti Loveless, etc. They're good at what they do. You've always been good at what you've done! Stick with what blesses your brothers and sisters in Christ...or at least put a FEW songs on your CD that express your faith. I...Read more

This is a good album but I like her first 2 best. They were poetic and heartfelt and showed her intelligence and incredible voice. The faith she sang about felt real and not pablum like a lot of other christian artists.

I'm sorry she wanted to cross over.