“Blessing Me” J. Nichole From No More Running (released October 2014) www.myjnicholesong.com Juliet Nichole Jones, aka J. Nichole, has a huge, soulful voice that is equally suited for sacred and secular music. Her original aspiration was to sing pop, but when she rededicated herself to the church, gospel music won [...]
Various Artists When I Reach That Heavenly Shore: Unearthly Black Gospel 1926-1936 Tompkins Square (released December 9, 2014) www.tompkinssquare.com By Bob Marovich Tompkins Square continues its stretch of quality black sacred music reissues with the three-CD When I Reach That Heavenly Shore: Unearthly Black Gospel 1926-1936. Using 1926 as a [...]
“He’ll Make It Alright” Pastor Antoine Hutchins featuring the Christian Unity Choir From the CD He Still Loves Me (2014) www.cdbaby.com/cd/pastorantoinehutchins No doubt the members of Christian Unity Baptist Church in Waldorf, Maryland, shout whenever Pastor Antoine Hutchins and the Christian Unity Choir break out the churchy Tommies hit, “He’ll [...]
Nothing But Love in God’s Water: Volume 1: Black Sacred Music from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement Robert Darden Penn State University Press (224 pages) By Bob Marovich “A singing army is a winning army, and a singing labor movement cannot be defeated.” So proclaimed labor leader [...]
“Mary Did You Know” The Bishops Quartet From I Know What Prayer Can Do (2014) www.thebishopsquartet.net Mark Lowry and Buddy Greene’s “Mary Did You Know” is one of the two or three Christmas songs to come out in recent times with real "legs," or longevity. The Bishops Quartet gives it [...]
“Do Life Big” Jamie Grace From the Gotee album Ready to Fly (2014) www.gotee.com Isn’t it a pity and a shame how many in the gospel music community ignored Jamie Grace’s “Beautiful Day,” despite its longevity on the Billboard charts? It reminds me of how songstress Heather Headley won a [...]
Fred Hammond I Will Trust RCA Inspiration (release date: November 17, 2014) www.rcainspiration.com By Bob Marovich One thing’s for sure: listen to Fred Hammond and you can't help but have a good time praising the Lord. His latest album, I Will Trust, is packed to the CD's brim with bracing [...]
Various Artists Motown Christmas Motown Gospel (2014) www.motowngospel.com By Bob Marovich Motown Christmas is the best yuletide album I have listened to in years. Gifted executive producer Aaron W. Lindsey (who also plays, writes, and sings on the album) seamlessly blends the old and the new with the sacred and [...]
“Share Some Love” The North Carolina Community Choir From A Malaco Christmas (2014) Malaco Records www.malaco.com The irresistible North Carolina Community Choir offers this easygoing reminder of the real reason for the season. A team of tuneful soloists handles the verses, the choir harmonizes on the chorus, and a saxophone [...]
"According to the Power” Bishop Charles R. Lyles & the New John Howard Gospel Caravan From the EP Payday (released August 2014) www.JHGCaravaninc.org The musicians set the drum machine tempo to rapid-fire, then all instrumentalists (including the human drummer) and the singers join in on this church-wrecking selection. Bishop Charles [...]
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