Reviewed by Paul Poulton

Crystal Aikin won Black Entertainment Television's Sunday Best talent competition, a programme that discovers undiscovered gospel singers from across the US. So having won the gospel equivalent of American Idol the next step is to get a collection of songs that can be presented to the public and here it is. Crystal's name is the only writing on the front cover as if to say, here she is and this is what she has to offer. It's not hard to see why Crystal came out on top in the TV show; she has powerful vocal chords and a range that covers husky low tones and commanding lofty notes. It's produced by a conglomerate of fine gospel music producers including renowned hitmakers PAJAM so the quality is going to be there from the start, even though there is a faint sense of manufactured music about some of the tracks. Also, the songs here are not immediately accessible but repeated playing reveals some very nice parts, grooves and instrumentation. "Lord You Reign Forever" comes closest to being truly memorable with its 1980s chart-soul backing vocals.

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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