Amber Bullock – Thank You

Amber Bullock
Thank You
Music World Gospel (2011)
www.musicworldgospel.com

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

Amber Bullock is the latest gospel chanteuse to earn top accolades on BET’s popular Sunday Best, taking home the crown during Season Four.

Bullock’s debut CD, Thank You, is a seven-track EP with a smart song selection and diverse arrangements to showcase her singing. The current single and title track is a spunky reworking of the Walter Hawkins classic and the album’s finest moment, although a close second is “For Every Mountain.” The Kurt Carr ode to thanksgiving teams Bullock with a small brush-on-snare jazz combo. Bullock sings with such intimacy that the song sounds quasi-autobiographical.

Another high point is Bullock’s rendering of Chris Tomlin’s iconic P&W anthem “How Great is Our God,” which she gives a far more gospel workover than most artists do.

The 80s-style beat supporting “If It Had Not Been for the Lord” seemed somewhat heavy-handed. Similarly, the Brazilian jazz accompaniment to “A City Called Heaven” is clever but mismatched. On the other hand, Richard Smallwood’s “Secret Place” and J. Moss’s “We Must Praise” are ideal binders for Bullock’s vocal arsenal of colorful and well-placed runs and trills.

Overall, Thank You declares that Amber Bullock is an artist with plenty of promise. My wish for her, and for her labelmate Le’Andria Johnson, is that they will be able to get beyond the initial novelty of being Sunday Best winners and go on to develop successful careers in their own right. They both have the chops for it.

Four of Five Stars

Picks: “Thank You,” “For Every Mountain.”