Gladys Knight – Where My Heart Belongs
Gladys Knight Where My Heart Belongs Shadow Mountain Records (release date: September 9, 2014) www.gladysknight.com By Bob Marovich Like many R&B and soul artists, the multi-Grammy winner Gladys Knight got her start in the church. It’s to the church she returns for her latest release, Where My Heart Belongs. The album [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: September 8, 2014
“Mighty God” Valerie Woodard (2014) www.valeriewoodard.com Melding an ‘80s R&B musical background to a decidedly contemporary melody, much like the Clark Sisters who she cites as an inspiration, Valerie Rogers Woodard expresses her admiration for God with an infectious, shoulder-shaking rhythm. The wordless interjection in the chorus is guaranteed to [...]
B. Chase Williams & ShaBach – Live Again: Bigger, Better, Greater
B. Chase Williams & ShaBach Live Again: Bigger, Better, Greater Dream Gospel / Capitol Christian Distribution (2014) www.bchasewilliams.com By Bob Marovich Organized in Cincinnati more than 20 years ago by singer/songwriter/musician B. Chase Williams, ShaBach is a full-throated choir that performs with zest. They follow their 2010 R3 –Redeemed! Reconciled! [...]
Kebra – Under the Influence
Kebra Under the Influence Mokeb Entertainment (2014) www.kebramoore.com By Bob Marovich It is no understatement when, on her new EP Under the Influence, singer-songwriter Kebra Moore sings “I have a testimony.” On Christmas Eve 1999, Kebra, her fiancé, and fourteen-month-old son were heading home to Arkansas from New Orleans, where [...]
TBGB Pick of the Week: September 1, 2014
“Deep Down” Kendra Smith From the DeVine Records Management CD Something New (2014) www.kendrasmith.org Independent artists fuel the future of gospel music. Without their hunger and desire to be heard, the genre would be in perpetual danger of stagnating. Proof positive: seventeen-year-old Kendra Smith of Florence, South Carolina. The 2012 [...]
The Soul of Designer Records
Various Artists The Soul of Designer Records Big Legal Mess (2014) www.biglegalmessrecords.com By Bob Marovich In the days before YouTube and other social media outlets, before mp3s and CDs and music maker software for home computers, gospel artists looking for greater promotion but without a major label deal sought out [...]
“Everything Must Change” – Dottie Peoples
“Everything Must Change” Dottie Peoples DP Musik Group (2014) www.dottiepeoples.com “Everything Must Change” is Dottie Peoples like you are not used to hearing her. Dottie doffs the traditional pulse for which she is so well known and goes Nina Simone on this slow inspirational ballad about that which is inevitable. [...]
“More of You” – Canton Jones feat. Darlene McCoy
"More of You" Canton Jones feat. Darlene McCoy From the CD God City USA (2014) Cajo Records By Libra Boyd, Guest Reviewer Gospel Music Fever In one of several collaborations from his newest release, God City USA, singer/writer/producer Canton Jones teams up with songstress and radio personality Darlene McCoy for a moderately-paced [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: August 25, 2014
“A Lil' Louder (Clap Your Hands)” Rance Allen Group Tyscot Records (2014) www.tyscot.com A gospel trio that was blurring the barriers between the music of Saturday night and Sunday morning in the late 1960s, the Rance Allen Group returns to the funky style that brought them national attention with “A Lil' [...]
Sherry Songbird – Made For You
Sherry Songbird Made for You Family First Productions (2014) www.sherrysongbird.com By Bob Marovich Singer-songwriter Sherry Songbird’s sophomore release is an EP called Made For You. The six selections are sunny vertical praise songs written by Songbird, and the understated instrumentation, led by acoustic piano and guitar, spotlights her light but [...]
Joe Douglass & Spirit of Praise – Redemption
Joe Douglass & Spirit of Praise Redemption Daveshand Productions (2014) www.joedouglassministries.com By Bob Marovich Joe Douglass & Spirit of Praise pulls out all the stops on Redemption. Douglass, a twenty-five-year-old Californian, organized Spirit of Praise a few years ago. The group released a single, “It Belongs to You,” in April [...]
Smokie Norful – Forever Yours
Smokie Norful Forever Yours Tre Myles Music / Motown Gospel (2014) www.motowngospel.com By Bob Marovich Grammy Award-winning vocalist Smokie Norful burst upon the national stage in 2002 with the breakout hit, “I Need You Now.” The song, featuring Norful’s trademark melismatic tenor, not only garnered significant gospel radio airplay, but [...]
Preachers of L.A.: New Season, Same Drama
"Preachers of L.A." Oxygen New Season Starts Wednesday, August 20 10/9C By Bob Marovich "Preachers of L.A.," the reality series featuring six successful Los Angeles-based pastors and their families, enters its second season today on Oxygen. Bishop Noel Jones, Minister Deitrick Haddon, Bishop Clarence McClendon, Pastor Jay Haizlip, Pastor Wayne [...]
Eddie Reddic – Above All
Eddie Reddic Above All Reddic Records (2014) Available at CD Universe By Bob Marovich Above All, the third album from Houston, Texas, native Eddie Reddic, ties traditional lyrics to contemporary sounds and resourceful arrangements. For example, Reddic gives the church classic “I’m a Soldier” a deep, funky treatment, while “Lead [...]
“When the Church Begins to Pray” – Dorothy Norwood feat. Melvin Williams
“When the Church Begins to Pray” Dorothy Norwood feat. Melvin Williams From the Dorothy Norwood Music Group CD An Incredible Journey (2014) Recorded live at Reid Temple AME Church in Washington, DC, “When the Church Begins to Pray” is a paean to the power of congregational prayer. Starting in spoken [...]
Pick of the Week: August 11, 2014
“Your Destiny” Kevin LeVar & One Sound From Destiny Live at the Dream Center and More… (album release date: August 12, 2014) www.kevinlevar.com Inspirational balladeer Kevin LeVar has sung his way into the hearts of many with such lovely selections as “A Heart That Forgives,” “You Are Not Alone,” and [...]
Thank You For All You’ve Done – Beverly Crawford
Beverly Crawford Thank You For All You’ve Done EchoPark JDI (2014) www.EchoParkJDI.com By Bob Marovich Hearing Beverly Crawford sing is always exciting. Hearing Beverly Crawford sing live is even more so. That’s what the listener gets on Thank You For All You’ve Done. A live recording done at Antioch Fellowship [...]
“Turn Up Your Praise” – New Christianaires
“Turn Up Your Praise” New Christianaires Carter Classic Records (2014) www.thenewchristianaires.com Although Rhythm of Gospel Awardees the New Christianaires are better known for “Remember Me,” no one should overlook their shoulder-shaker, “Turn Up Your Praise.” “While you’re waiting on your change, you need to turn up your praise,” sings Jarmain [...]
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