It took a little longer this time around, but Cherie Call's newly released seventh album, "Grace," is her favorite yet.

 The singer/songwriter said a desire to make the album just as she wanted it and working with talented musicians and producers have added to her satisfaction with the 11-track album.

"This is my favorite project of anything I've done," she said. "I don't really feel like there is any song on it that I wish could have been replaced by a better song."



Her last album was released in 2006, and since then she and her husband, Joe, have built a home and had two children.

That last life change caused a few changes in her approach to songwriting as she found herself including stories and insights about her children in the lyrics.

She said she resisted singing about family life at first, as she hasn't always liked other artists' renditions, but before long, she was writing tracks such as "Walk you Through the Night," and "Already a Butterfly," which include family anecdotes.

"I couldn't help it," she said. "That's what I wanted to write about."

In recent years she has reflected on the things she's grateful for, and how gracious she feels God is, which is where the album derives its name.

"Sometimes when I think about the blessings I have, I realize I haven't really done anything special to deserve everything ... and I know that it's just by the grace of God that I have such blessings in my life. ... I just want to appreciate every minute of it," she said.

Call put some overtly religious tracks on the album, but to her, even the songs about family and moving to a new home can be considered songs of praise.

"To me they are because I see God in every piece of my life," Call said.

"Grace" was released by R Legacy Entertainment in Las Vegas and produced by Utah's Scott Wiley.

Wiley likes to be creative while recording, Call said, and sometimes there were more than 10 musicians playing simultaneously in the studio rather than each of them playing individually. That made for fun recording sessions, Call said. "Us playing all at the same time definitely added some fun energy to songs."

Call also played guitar on more tracks than she has in the past, resulting in a CD that "sounds even more like my personality."

Working on a project like this takes a lot of effort and required all of her creativity, to the point that she wondered if she had it in her to write another song. But she said it won't be long before she's back to writing and recording something new.

"It's kind of like right after you have a baby, it's hard to think about having another baby right away," she said. "I know that once I've gotten this out there ... and a little bit more time has gone by and I've had some more experiences in my life, I'm sure I'm going to want to write about it."

"Grace" is currently only available for purchase online at www.positivemusicanddownloads.com, but will be in LDS bookstores and on iTunes in coming weeks. The CD will also be available for purchase at Call's CD release concert on Oct. 19 at the University of Utah

E-mail: mfarmer@desnews.com