Reviewed by Simon Eden

On 1st August 2006, with the release of this debut album, Destiny's Child lost their Simon Eden Music Awards crown as the best girl band in the world. This is one of the best albums I have ever heard. There is no need to categorise it into R&B, gospel or hip-hop. This has the potential to be a number one album in the mainstream charts, with most of the tracks deserving radio power-play as potential singles. V3 are three sisters from Atlanta, Georgia. LaToya, Sacha and Shelley Vinson are the children of a pastor/father and a mother who was a professional singer, songwriter and recording artist, and that heritage is reflected in their musical style. What is most remarkable about this album is how the contemporary R&B is so perfectly intertwined with the relevance of the gospel. This isn't a gospel album like Mary Mary, or an R&B album like Beyonce; it is a perfect balance of both. The instrumentation has a touch of the spirit endearing love, peace and joy. "Thank You" is a lullaby of love whilst "Let's Take It" inspires some funky footwork as hip-hop break beats take up the tempo, but it's the opening track "Let Go" that blasts out an R&B vibe that clearly means mainstream success without any loss of integrity. The vocals with production by Antonio Neal, and Josiah Bell and Robert Marvin - known as Double Dutch - along with tracks written by Juan and Debbie Winans among others shows professionalism at the pinnacle of creativity.

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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