If one didn't know a word of Spanish,
Kari Jobe's
Le Canto would sound exactly like what it is: the Spanish-language version of her wildly popular self-titled debut. If you do know Spanish, things are a bit problematic: the songs are often clunky, verbatim renditions of
Kari Jobe. What's striking is that Latin Christian music veteran
Susana Allen had a hand in the adaptations; you would think she knows her stuff.
Jobe, for her part, appears to not mind stuffing too many syllables where they don't belong or singing the weird line "Levántame en amor," which doesn't mean anything in Spanish. At least she sings the heck out of the songs; the purity and conviction in her voice remain her strongest suit. Interestingly, the best song in the set is one that wasn't included in her debut: the closer "Tengo Paz en Mi Ser," a version of the classic hymn "It Is Well with My Soul," is an example that adaptations, especially of the sacred kind, are better approached with fear and trepidation, or not approached at all. ~ Andree Farias