Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

A very international story behind this one; born in London of Nigerian parents, Martin is music minister at a church fellowship in the Netherlands; he travels extensively as a worship leader and evangelist/minister in Europe and the USA, which explains why this album was recorded, mixed and mastered in Oklahoma City! For this second release, Martin offers eight tracks, checking in at just over 31 minutes, of easy listening gospel music, and unfortunately, it's pretty ordinary stuff. His biog sheet under the heading Sounds Like suggests an aural similarity to Ron Kenoly, Alvin Slaughter, Donnie McClurkin and Larnelle Harris. Those four gentlemen can sleep easy, because Martin honestly doesn't possess the vocal chops to allow the comparisons to stand up to close scrutiny. Two of his own songs rub shoulders with a few well known pieces such as Archie Jordan's Chess classic "What A Difference You Made In My Life" and Morris Chapman and Delbert Spriggs' "Longtime Friends", and there's also a jog-along arrangement of "Amen" that builds to a bit of a climax, although with only three voices, the backing "choir" sounds decidedly thin. I don't doubt that Martin sounds a lot better live in a worship setting; this CD does him no favours.

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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