Well, I finally managed to get a copy of Heath Rosborough's CD, "Clarity In Heaven." How that came about, of course, reflects on the legendary coolness of Heath Rosborough himself. I'd already spent my monthly "CD allowance" on Michael Sweet's new solo CD. I was hoping I'd have it delivered on Thursday or Friday for some weekend listening. But as dumb luck has it, it arrived at work on Saturday ... with me, very notably, NOT at the office.

Heath Rosborough to the rescue. Intending to only pick up a $5 CD single he's offering ("In My Father's Eyes"), Heath made sure to send me off with a review copy of the full CD in spite of my frugality. Weekend music problems solved. And very nicely at that.

As I approached my table at Koinonia, I'm greeted by a lot of first-timers. So I kick into an all-out public relations department for all things Koinonia, including trying to talk the newcomers into sticking around for Heath's performance later on. It was a measured success, but not for any lacking on Heath's part. Heath did put on a one-man show and I was pleasantly surprised to see his piano chops on full display.

The strongest selling point about Heath's performance, however, is his voice. Among the questions I had from the new arrivals was "Well, what kind of music does he sing?" Even after watching and listening (and listening and listening), that's still a tough question to answer. On one level, it's not terribly difficult to describe it as just plain old fashioned CCM. But Heath's voice invokes a bit of traditional gospel flavor thrown in for a nice twist. Performing live, it's a bit reminiscent of listening to Marc Cohn at a piano bar (which probably doesn't help much if you don't know who that is). Spinning the CD offers a bit richer experience due to more instruments. But the similarity in the experiences is that it's Heath's voice that carries the show.

About the only drawback to the Koinonia show is that it's not a format that lets him sing as loudly as needed to fully display that particular strength. But there were a few songs that showed off what he can do at low volume, including the number he started off with, "I Praise Your Name." It's a very slow and meditative song, which came in handy for an early morning Sunday rain. The separate single, "In My Father's Eyes" was another case in point. To borrow a quote from my tablemate, "It's like there are certain cars that just perform best when going very fast." Point being that much of the strength of Heath's voice comes when he's able to belt out a tune at the top of his lungs. But these songs give a good glimpse of that gift in slow motion.

I mention that "In My Father's Eyes" is a separate CD single for good reason. It's a good tune and it's worth making sure you get is in addition to the CD. I should have some information on how to get your hands on the CD outside of Heath's Koinonia performances later. In the meantime, just bring an extra $5 to Koinonia the next time Heath performs (sadly, he's not booked for September).

There's a range of styles that ought to make most musical tastes happy. "I've Got My Victory" stands out as perhaps the most bluesy of tunes on the disc. Listening to it, I'm reminded of Marcos Witt's sermon from a while back about how he found it easy to meditate on God's word because he could simply write a song about it. So if you're lacking the songwriting ability to capture some good Lakewood-style encouraging Scripture, Heath and wife Wendy have done that with this song.

"Let Go" starts off heavily before gliding into a more manageable blues-rock number that serves much the same purpose, telling us to "Let go of the tangible/God works in the supernatural/Nothing is impossible/When you let go and you let God."

The title tack is a good mid-tempo example with a good deal of richness in instrumentation (I'm a onetime guitarist from an era time has since passed by, so my bias is laid bare). It stands out as a bit unique among the songs, many of which have an identifiable Lakewoodian stamp in the lyrics that's always good to hear.

On the slower side, "Here I Am" is a catchy and memorable number. Likewise, another good song put on display in the one-man live format - "Weep Not My Child," which I'm ranking as an early favorite from the disc. Another personal favorite has to be "You Took My Place." It's a good mix of rich textures behind Heath's voice and a melodic hook that stays with you a while after listening to it.

I took a few of the songs and put together a sample pack below. If you don't see anything there, then get a free (and quick) Flash download. If you like what you hear, the full CD Is available in the Lakewood bookstore as well as Amazon and other online record stores. If you like what you hear on "In My Father's Eyes," check back for more distribution notes.