Bob

“Pray About It”Donnie & ShirleyFrom the EP Never Too Late (2011)www.cdbaby.com/cd/donnieshirleyShirley Morgan sounds like she took voice lessons from Mavis Staples and Tina Turner.Her deep, throaty alto and soulful shouting, coupled with Donnie Morgan’s deep southern guitar licks, could give one the mistaken impression that “Pray About It” is an [...]

LaShun PaceRebornShanachie Entertainment Corp. (released June 28, 2011)http://www.shanachie.com/On a salute to Tarrian LaShun Pace that opens Reborn, sister Lydia Pace comments that “there’s a price to pay to sing the songs of the Lord.” LaShun has paid that price. Her eleven year-old daughter, Xenia, died of heart trouble. Two marriages fell [...]

“To Praise You”Michael NelsonFrom the VeeKay Music CD Nikao! (2011)http://www.veekaymusic.com/On “To Praise You,” God picked Michael Nelson up, dusted him off, and sent him on his way. In the process, He changed the singer’s life. Nelson and his strong band of vocalists give praise for such a blessing on this [...]

“Free”Voices of PraiseFrom the EP Voices of Praisewww.cdbaby.com/cd/vopraise2“Free” is a simple, delicate, very lovely worship song by the Voices of Praise. The crystal-clear tenor lead pleads to “be free from all my guilt and shame…make me free, make me more like you,” all the while supported by well-balanced musicianship. The [...]

T.D. Jakes PresentsSacred Love Songs 2: Music Inspired by the Film Jumping the BroomDexterity Sounds (2011)http://www.dexteritysounds.com/By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.The most popular entry on The Black Gospel Blog lists gospel songs for weddings: TBGB’s recommendations and those offered by readers.T.D. Jakes Presents Sacred Love Songs 2 is an [...]

Shawn McLemoreOne Percent Miracle Any Minute NowBlacksmoke Music Worldwide (2011)http://www.gospeltruthmagazine.com/By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.Most gospel music enthusiasts know Shawn McLemore as one of the three authoritative gospel tenors on James Fortune & FIYA’s chart-topping smash hit, “I Believe.” On that single, McLemore’s piercing, tough tenor voice complimented [...]

“God”Gail HolmesFrom the Habakkuk Music CD I Receive Your Love (2011)http://www.habakkukmusic.com/Written by the incomparable Donald Lawrence, “God” receives an effective reading by psalmist Gail Holmes (“Whatever It Is”). A songwriter herself, Holmes flexes her lilting-to-muscular soprano to lift this ballad of anthemic praise into a thing of beauty. Her voice [...]

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.Macey J. Wright’s debut album, The Intervention, is a distillation of the artist's varied musical influences and life experiences, “starting from adoption, marriage, and having children."I wanted to make a CD that everybody could listen to," Wright told TBGB during a telephone interview earlier [...]

“What God Says”Pastor Evaughn HighFrom the Highest Praise Records CD What God Says “Unleashed” (2011)With embellishments that evoke the sound of Aretha Franklin and Jennifer Hudson, Pastor Evaughn High declares that what God says about you settles it, no matter what the enemy says. The warbling B3 behind the co-pastor from [...]

FalishiaI Long for YouSky Walkz Music 2010www.myspace.com/falishiaaliceFalishia A. Roberts is a chilling artist.Not as in frightening, but as in relaxing, mellowing, a peaceful, body temperature-lowering songster. The sacred selections on the Los Angeles-based artist's I Long for You are wrapped in smooth, atmospheric jazz: easy and meditative. The fedora-wearing Falishia has the finest [...]