The tracks list is as follows: 1) The river cried 2) Something to believe in 3) As I came of age 4) Take my life 5) Some girls 6) Brown eyes

7) Love changes everything (the only song to have made it to the Andrew Lloyd Webber collection)

8) Good morning starshine 9) Alone again or 10) Yesterday 11) Bowling green 12) It must be tough...to be that cool

All the songs are ok, but because they weren't introduced to the USA or Canada, they are rare to me. I find that the best songs are tracks 1,3,7,11 and 12. The producer of "as I came of age" is neither Lloyd Webber nor Frank Peterson. The recording is produced and written by Val Garay. Look for a sexy "Barbie doll-esque" black & white photo of Sarah inside.

There's not much else to say. The album's more or less a take it or leave it creation, or shall I say love or hate?

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Sarah Brightman is doubtlessly one of the great singers of the early 21st century, with an outstanding, flexible and versatile voice that can whisper and soar. Alas, "As I Came of Age" shows that as a singer, she hadn't come of age when this album was made.

A few of the songs on here hint at her future brilliance, such as the heartbreaking "And The River Cried", the softer "As I Came of Age," and the rollicking "Some Girls" ("Some girls get carried away/others save it for a rainy day...") However, her renditions of such songs as the choppy "Something to Believe In," generic pop "Take My Life," faux-folky "Alone Again Or" and the unexciting, poorly-written "Love Changes Everything" are severely lacking. And "Good Morning Starshine" is painful enough when sung by anyone else. When Sarah sings it, the injustice of her singing "glibby glop gloopy" or whatever the words say, is too unbearable.

While "As I Came of Age" might work for a singer with a more limited range and more restricted skills, it doesn't work for Sarah. As she sings, her voice always has the frustrating feel of a brilliant artist who is not getting to go to the limit -- not unlike watching the Renaissance artist Michaelangelo doodling cartoon bunny rabbits.

Sarah Brightman has since gone on to fame, fortune, and a better selection of songs that complement her talents. "As I Came of Age" has a few good songs, but not enough to justify its existance. Distinctly lacking.

Age
As I Came Of Age is unlike any other of Sarah's albums. Recorded after her musical theater work and before her fabulous classical-crossover albums, this is an album of folksy, soft-rocking 80's-style pop.

I have to say this is probably the worst album Sarah made after she went solo. Some of the tunes are ok and the rhythms can be fun, but everything on here is mediocre at best and just plain bad at worst. There is not one really stand-out good song. The lyrics are just terrible at times, the musical arrangement lacks imagination, and what I personally find most annoying, every other track closes with a poorly done fade-out.

However, even the worst songs can't hide Miss Brightman's voice, and an album with her voice on it can't be all bad in my book. Here you see an unusual side of Sarah's voice. She sings in a strong, chesty pop-voice, not at all like the soft pop-voice she tends to use in her recent albums like La Luna. As always, her voice is clear and smooth, and the lower key that she sings in gives it an earthier, more human sound than you get with her ethereal soprano. And while the selection doesn't show off her upper range, you do get to hear the fullness and strength of her voice's lower ranges.

So as a bottom line, I recommend As I Came Of Age only if you are a fanatical admirer of Miss Brightman's voice (like me), because this album is substantially below par as far as Sarah Brightman's work goes.
Frist of all this album shows you just how versatile Ms. Brightman can be. Her versatility is her most postive contribution as a performing artist.
The songs on this Album are very catchy and nice to sing along with. The tempo is up beat and it's very very 80s. Sarah, of course, has a nice voice; but it is neither the breathy whisper of her current pop or the soaring sweetness of her rich soprano. This shows Sarah as a full-blown pop artist. If you are mostly a Eden, La Luna, and Time To Say Goodbye Brightman fan then you will not be likely to really enjoy this album.
For my own part I really liked it and think it is worth the purchase and the listening experience. Perhaps this means I'm simply too fond of Sarah Brightman, but I think not, it is a good sample of late 80s pop; if you like that you'll like this.
What I find truly fascinating is that we get a differnt aspect of Sarah's voice; something more akin to her music theatre voice, but more pop oriented. A deeper, lower octave, and more upbeat sounds marks her performance. This is something I would love to hear her incorporate with the soft pop and siren soprano that she currently relies on (as this would manifest her versatility in even more creative ways).

is too young
I have to admit, I was reluctant to order this CD, but happy I did! Sarah's debut is quite astonishing. You mustn't compare this to her later work, for it has nothing to do with it. It simply is a collection of guitar-based, English orientated popsongs. Nothing more, nothing less. Far much better than "Dive" if you really want to compare.
1990 album for Polygram by the acclaimed diva. 12 tracks, including 'The River Cried' and 'Something To Believe In'.