Testimony may be Dana Glover's debut album, but the former model has been around a while, playing sax on five Pete Cetera albums before her rough-and-tumble contralto came to the attention of former Band member turned A&R maven Robbie Robertson, who signed her to Dreamworks. Glover has packed away her unwieldy sax, instead accompanying herself with soulful, theatrical piano on the 11 mostly original songs on the disc. Recalling Laura Nyro, Glover relies heavily on her Southern Baptist upbringing; a specter of religion pervades the songs. She wrestles with loss of faith on the bleak and spare "Rain," but petitions God to help her make up her mind on "Thinking Over," her ponderous retelling of Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken." In addition, Glover employs the able services of a gospel choir on three songs, stopping just this side of being a contemporary Christian artist. What prevents her from ascending that thorny road to glory is her taste for pop and her fascination with dissecting failed relationships in song. But when she turns her attention to such earthbound topics, she loses some of her fire. Glover is better served letting her Southern gothic side surface. --Jaan Uhelszki
