Unlike many other artists, Steve Ladd is not claustrophobic.  There are some artists who are so vocally challenged that they hide their wispy and octave-restrained vocals behind glimmering weirs of auto-tuning hedged by a wall of blaring guitars and drums.  Not so with Steve Ladd.  Like a surging outflow of a geyser, Ladd's soaring vocals know no bounds.  His high tenor is not afraid to escalate to great octave-defying heights with percussive power.  And when he descends to the softer notes of a tender ballad, Ladd equally exudes a passionate that goes right to the heart.  Unlike many of his peers who are unafraid to garner songs from virgin territories, Ladd's choice of covers rangers from works as diverse as American Idol alum Mandisa to 80s relic-rock group Petra to a track written by John D. Vaughan in 1910.  "On My Own," rightly named, is Ladd's third solo effort apart from his involvement with Southern Gospel's The Anchormen and the Gold City.  The record is also Ladd's self-funded endeavor where he raised support from fans and friends via Kickstarter. But this does not mean Ladd is a lone ranger; rather behind every great record there is always a host of musical meisters.  Produced by Michael English, Michael Skyes with Steve Ladd, the CD also boasts a cadre of notable vocalists including Candy Christmas, Joyce Martin Sanders as well as English and Skyes.

The value of this record lies in its ability to speak to our life's situations:  we have all been in situations when we are at our wits' ends.  Our connections to our aspired job have been cut off; we have no reliable confidante to turn to.  And those we know could help us are playing hard to get.  Joel Hemphill's "Master of the Sea" tells us that we have the greatest referent and the best job search master, Jesus Christ.  To hear Candy Christmas (the daughter of Joel Hemphill) singing with Ladd:  "I know the Master of the wind/I know the Maker of the rain/He can calm the storm, make the sun shine again/I know the Master of the wind" bring such calmness to our tempest tossed hearts.   More intimate moments with Jesus Christ come with the prayer-laden Ashley Welborn's "It's Amazing."  Calling to mind (lyrically) Chris Tomlin's "Indescribable," "It's Amazing" is a mesmerizing ballad that finds Ladd lost in his prayer of amazement at all the things Christ has done for us.  The attention paid to the details of Christ's work is profound as well as heartfelt.  

If one has not read the credits, one would not have realized that album opener "We Need Jesus" was a former Petra song.  Instead of imbuing "We Need Jesus" with Petra's rock heavy guitars, Ladd has turned this song about evangelising to the world with our lifestyles into a country-pop effort with some gorgeous strumming of the acoustic guitar and some ear-soothing piano riffs.  Similarly stripped away from Mandisa's 2009 "Not Guilty" are the overbearing bass lines and crowded electric guitar waifs.  Rather, using his sky scraping tender to great effect, Ladd does well in bringing out the declarative praise that because of the Cross we no longer have to face God's wrath.  Greater Vision's Chris Allman's "Jesus Saves" may not win as far as the most original titles is concerned but it's a grabber.  Slowly starting innocuously with a soft balladry verse, by the time the chorus arrives, there is so much intensity that it grabs you by the heart dragging you into God's throne room in worship.  Kudos is in order to Ladd who ingeniously picks up on all of the song's explosive nuances.

 Ladd does go into some bluesy jazz with "I Went Away to Pray." And he does delve into some Southern R&B with the funky "One More River."  They are good but pale a tad relative to the aforementioned tracks.  Fans of Michael English may be thrilled to hear their English's 1991 "Heaven" being re-cut here with Joyce Martin Sanders and English on backings.  In sum, "On My Own" is never a moment soporific.  Rather, it's quite an adventure to hear Ladd's multi-dimensional vocals soar and croon over a plethora of diverse songs.  Yet, all in all, Ladd never slavishly copies the original but he makes them his own. More importantly, he makes these paeans into our own too by breathing new meaning for us today.