Fred Williams – Do a New Thing
Fred Williams Do a New Thing (independent; release date: March 17, 2017) https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/fredwilliams32 By Bob Marovich Living the holy life appears to be the overriding theme of Fred Williams’ independently-produced Do a New Thing. On the title track, the Aiken, South Carolina, singer-songwriter and music minister references Isaiah 43:18-21 in showing gratitude [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: October 22, 2018
“Blue” Juliana Schnee (release date: October 5, 2018) Available on iTunes By Bob Marovich With her soaring tones accented by endearing yodels, twenty-two-year-old singer Juliana Schnee sounds like a young LeAnn Rimes. Her inspirational song “Blue” is made all the more effective by the understated small jazz combo and strings [...]
“It Is Possible” – Jeanetta Williams
“It Is Possible” Jeanetta Williams (independent release 2014) For information: mdwil48@gmail.com By Bob Marovich If you are a gospel choir enthusiast, you know Jeanetta “Songbird” Williams from her solo turns as a member of the Thompson Community Singers. A few years ago, Williams gathered together friends and family to be her [...]
“Deepest Part of You” – Doe Jones
“Deepest Part of You” Doe Jones (digital release: October 23, 2018) By Bob Marovich Most of the gospel music world knows Doe (Dominique) Jones from her work with Forever Jones, and particularly her lead on the family band’s breakout hit, “He Wants It All” (though Doe’s “Most of All,” from Forever Jones's [...]
Shanrae Cheree Price – Long Time Coming
Shanrae Cheree Price Long Time Coming DuRee Music Ministries, Inc. (release date: January 18, 2018) By Bob Marovich Given that Long Time Coming opens with Shanrae Cheree Price delivering the Reverend Paul Jones’ classic “I Won’t Complain” to a warbling B3 like a seasoned church singer, it’s not surprising that the [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: October 15, 2018
“Time to Climb” Lee Walker and Spirit CCLT Records (release date: July 2, 2018) http://leewalkerandspirit.com By Bob Marovich The group name suggests a male-led small choir but make no mistake: Lee Walker and Spirit is made of solid quartet muscle. Appropriately, the “moving up to higher ground” theme of their [...]
“Won’t He Do It” – The Beard Sisters
“Won’t He Do It” The Beard Sisters DBJ Entertainment (release date: November 15, 2016) www.thebeardsisters.com By Bob Marovich The Beard Sisters of Memphis (Angela, Latonya, and April) are a harmony trio. They sound inspired by Chicago’s Brown Sisters, or a younger version of the Clark Sisters, because of their sassy vocals, multifaceted [...]
Christon Gray – Clear the Heir
Christon Gray Clear the Heir Fo Yo Soul/Essential Sound/RCA Inspiration (Sony Music) (release date: October 19, 2018) www.christongray.com By Bob Marovich Christon Gray has never been a shrinking violet when it comes to challenging the status quo of Christian music in style, arrangement, and lyric content. On Clear the Heir, his latest [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: October 8, 2018
“God Is Doing It” Ernest Billups & Tribe of Levi feat. C. Ashley Brown-Lawrence E’Mazin Entertainment (release date: October 5, 2018) Available on Amazon.com By Bob Marovich “God Is Doing It” is Ernest Billups & the Tribe of Levi’s finest single to date. This slow burner with a dramatic melody [...]
Soul Don’t Worry: Black Gospel During the Civil Rights Era, 1953-1967
Various Artists Soul Don’t Worry! Black Gospel During the Civil Rights Era, 1953-1967 NarroWay Records (release date: September 21, 2018) www.gospelfriend.com By Bob Marovich Soul Don’t Worry is the most ambitious project to date for NarroWay / Gospel Friend, the Sweden-based gospel reissue operation headed by producer Per Notini. In [...]
“The Man” – Keith “Wonderboy” Johnson
“The Man” Keith “Wonderboy” Johnson From the CD Keep Pushin’ Shanachie / SRT Entertainment www.shanachie.com By Bob Marovich Quartet maven Keith “Wonderboy” Johnson’s latest single, “The Man,” wraps a story about a man seeking salvation in smooth soul harmonies that hearken back to ‘70s quartet singing. Johnson’s vocal shifts from [...]
“Reset” – Jonathan J. Wimbush
“Reset” Jonathan J. Wimbush From The Calling (EP) www.jonathanjwimbush.com By Bob Marovich Christian urban contemporary artist Jonathan J. Wimbush rode “Reset” and The Calling EP from which it came through the 2018 Rhythm of Gospel Awards this summer. He garnered three statues in the process. To a taffy-like gait of burbling [...]
“Right Now’s the Right Time for Jesus” – Steven Cermele
“Right Now's the Right Time for Jesus” Steven Cermele From the SLC Records album HealThy Heart Available from Amazon.com By Bob Marovich Culled from his HealThy Heart album, Steve Cermele’s single, “Right Now's the Right Time for Jesus,” is a southern gospel track that, as I mentioned in my album review, “is [...]
All Above North – How Great It Is To Be Broken
All Above North How Great It Is To Be Broken Northwest Records (2017) www.allabovenorth.com By Bob Marovich If Joy Division had made a Christian album, it might sound like How Great It Is To Be Broken. All Above North’s latest album is equal parts retro ‘80s and current-day EDM. Prayerful [...]
Prof. Harold Boggs (and Lula Reed): Lord Give Me Strength
Prof. Harold Boggs (and Lula Reed) Lord Give Me Strength: Early Recordings 1952-1964 Gospel Friend Records (release date: September 21, 2018) www.gospelfriend.com By Bob Marovich Perhaps one reason Professor Harold Boggs is not as well remembered, or as appreciated, as his golden era contemporaries is his penchant for copying their sound. [...]
Jamie Lee Rake Reviews Milwaukee Quartet Program
Originally written for publication in online contemporary Christian and gospel music magazine The Phantom Tollbooth (http://www.tollbooth.org/) Lee Williams & The Spiritual QC's Lisa Knowles & The Brown Singers The Golden Bells The Christland Singers The Fabulous Luckett Brothers Tiffany Terry P. Wilson & Pure Worship Abundant Faith Church of Integrity, Milwaukee, [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: September 18, 2018
“Unto the Lamb” Kim Stratton Kingdom Records (release date: May 15, 2018) By Bob Marovich On “Unto the Lamb,” Chicago-based gospel songstress Kim Stratton sings “a brand new song.” Although she’s referencing salvation, in another sense, "Unto the Lamb" is itself a brand new song - her first in six years. After focusing [...]
Bonita Burney Simmons – This Time
Bonita Burney Simmons This Time Bursimslow Music (release date: August 6, 2016) www.bonitaburneysimmons.com By Bob Marovich Bonita Burney Simmons has been compared to Tramaine Hawkins, but I hear more than a touch of Gladys Knight in her voice on her most recent album, This Time. Especially on the opening track, [...]
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