Reviewed by David Faulkner

For a gospel release, this CD has so many of the right ingredients. Hot male and female lead voices, a thick powerful choir sound, tight instrumentation (special word for the brass section on that one) and an abundance of their own material rather than cover versions. Songs range from a funk base ("This Is The Day") to MOR power ballad influences ("I Lift My Hands"), and that's just the opening two tracks. If you are a fan of black gospel choirs, you can be sure there is something in this debut recording to please you. There's a "but" coming, though. And the "but" is this: it's hard to know what the AGMC offers that is unique, compared to other choirs. The performance quality is high, but I found that too many of the songs passed me by. Not only that, the lyrics limit the range of faith concerns to private piety and repeat stock phrases heard only too often in the genre. Is it compulsory to call Jesus "The Rose Of Sharon" on a gospel CD? With a bit more originality, this choir could make a great impact. For now, though, file them under "Promising".

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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