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Avalon is one of my favorite groups, and when Janna Long's self-titled solo project was in the works, I was looking forward to great moments highlighting that superb voice in the same vein as "Adonai" or "Can't Live a Day." I'm certain the last thing Long wanted to do with her first solo project was to make a carbon copy of Avalon; however, despite minor variations, Janna is indeed a carbon copy of an Avalon project. Long's voice is front and center, but it nags me that her voice sure is not as front-and-center as it should be. A shame.

Where's the texture of the two solo-type Avalon songs I mention? Two wonderful moments! It's in "Somebody Loves Me" and the incredibly beautiful closure to this project, "In Christ Alone." Those two songs are worth the price of admission, as the former is just as much as an emotional roller coaster as Nicole C. Mullen's "My Redeemer," and the latter is beautifully unique, with piano and exactly what I was expecting from a solo Janna Long project, including the most lyrically heart-wrenching offering from _Janna_. I expected more of these ingredients. A close runner-up is "What Would I Do." More of these songs would have made _Janna_ a superb recording.

You've heard "Greater Is He" all over the radio dial. Okay, but I want to know what makes this production any different than Jaci Velasquez, Natalie Grant or Avalon. There's sweet, soulful production from Mark Hammond, Brown Bannister, but unfortunately, there are only two instances in Janna that wouldn't fit right into an Avalon album: the incredibly delightful and funky "Superman," featuring "MC Greg Long" (we got our wish: Janna and Greg Long have a duet, but it's ... er, unique!), and the other two aforementioned songs.

This project is sweet and soulful in places ("Think About That" and "Nothing is Possible") but is most often the dance side that we know from Avalon. Sadly, it wears thin after many listenings instead of growing on the audience. That particular formula is the formula I was hoping Janna Long would avoid with this project but didn't. Lots of background singers and instrumentation interject where they don't belong, and the interference takes away from Long's voice.

Given the strength of Avalon and the hit potential of Janna, I am certain Long will release more solo projects. It's my wish that she will lighten up on the big-hit formula and go heavy on her superb talent in the true formula of that voice that's so incredibly rich and deserving of its highlights. Next time?

Olin Jenkins  April 30, 2003