LaShell Griffin – Dreams Are Possible (DAP Music 2008)

LaShell Griffin
Dreams Are Possible
DAP Music 2008
www.lashellgriffin.org

She won Oprah’s Pop Star Challenge in 2004. Her first single, the inspirational anthem “Free,” debuted at #3 on Billboard’s Gospel Charts and even climbed as high as #11 on Radio & Records’ Urban AC charts. Her performance of “Free” at the Gospel Music Workshop of America that year was breathtaking. TBGB thought it to be one of the best songs of the year in any classification. She’s since traveled the world and recently sang the National Anthem for Barack Obama in her native Michigan. She will be singing for another Obama rally in December.

In the wake of all this, Detroit’s own LaShell Griffin, she with the powerfully expressive voice, has released a second full-length CD, Dreams Are Possible, on the DAP (Dreams Are Possible) label. The title cut is a ballad in the anthemic mold of “Free,” sounding turnkey ready for a television or film soundtrack, or even for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Given her story, one might conclude that the song is autobiographical. At the least, it comes from well within her soul.

Other songs on Griffin’s urban inspirational CD are unabashedly religious and Biblical. That is, despite the album’s crossover potential musically, Griffin is not selling out. She sings the “J” word, “G” word or “L” word with abandon. The band backs the singer effectively while reveling in its own grooviness. The hip-hop influenced techno work on “I Almost Blew It” is particularly ear-catching, providing the perfect backdrop for Griffin as she deadpans the lyrics like a gospel Mary J. Blige.

The magnificence and dexterity of Griffin’s voice shines through especially on the piano-accompanied “Man From Galilee,” and I can’t imagine “Because of Your Mercy” not pulling a congregation to its feet and bringing them to shouting by the conclusion. It is a long track – clocking in at nearly nine minutes – so it’s hard to say whether it would become a radio single, though it certainly deserves the honor. On the other hand, editing the performance down to four minutes or so would be irresponsible, as the song is well crafted and deserves to be heard in its entirety.

No question: LaShell Griffin has a beautiful voice and can really sell a song. Dreams Are Possible does her gift the highest justice.

Three and a Half of Four Stars