Adie - Don't Wait (2006)

The former frontwoman for the Benjamin Gate, Adie figured she was done with music when her band broke up in 2003, so she settled down with her husband (fellow Christian rock star Jeremy Camp) , started raising a family, and opened a clothing store. Then the idea occurred to her that she'd like to do a solo album. She didn't say anything about it, but the idea refused to die -- it next emerged a few days later, when her husband said "Honey, I think it would be really cool if you did a solo album." The pair began writing songs immediately, and this small gem of an album was the result. With Christian rock there's always a danger of either leaning too far in the direction of wide-eyed blandness or making too heavy a point of one's heavyosity; Camp makes the golden mean seem easy, creating songs that rock without making too big a deal about their rockishness and that appeal instantly to the heart with their bright, poppy hooks. On Don't Wait, electronic elements temper the harder tendencies that typified the Benjamin Gate sound, but there are still moments of darkness and ambivalence on songs like the emotionally complex "Your Way" and the gently admonitory "Don't Wait." But the album shines brightest on the gorgeous "If I'll Ever" and, especially, on the jubilant cover of "Turn! Turn! Turn!" that closes it out. Non-believers may find the heart-on-sleeve religious sentiments off-putting, but those without ears to hear will be missing out on some of the year's finest pop music.