Secular Status Cement : CHECK LIST ****<i> Great Balls of Fire</i> ***<i> Good Vibrations</i> **<i> Maybe Baby</i> *<i> Running on Empty </i>

***AMY GRANT. “Lead Me On.” A&M.; This album should cement Grant’s status as a pop star, and not just a Christian pop star who has crossed over to secular hitdom. And purely on the basis of the way it sounds, it deserves mainstream success. Grant’s cool, clear singing and Brown Bannister’s tasteful production (combining Nashville sessioneers, Christian rock all-stars and such guests as Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench) avoid the frilly adornments that could turn the often sentimental lyrics and melodies into mush.

But at times there’s a vagueness to the lyrics that undermines the appealing--even seductive--qualities of the peppy pop songs and soaring ballads. The problem isn’t that you can’t tell whether Grant’s love songs are directed to God or a person. The trouble is that all we really learn about Grant is that she loves to love, and all we learn about who/what Grant loves is that she loves him/them/it. With the likes of Al Green or Van Morrison, spiritual love is a raging inferno in their souls; with Grant, it sounds more like a candle in the window. Of course, that’s still a lot more fire than you get in the average pop record.