Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Remember Volume I? Heavily featured back in CR32 it brought the underground sound of gospel garage to general public. Now finally a second volume is out, and this time the dominant style is Timbaland with fresh and phat sounds which will undoubtedly appeal to those who like club music and those who want to go beyond the ordinary in their gospel search. Producer Paul Cumberbatch has assembled some excellent singers, pride of place going to Melanie Ephson whose brittle, little-girl-lost tones reminded me of the gone-but-not-forgotten Minnie Ripperton. She sings "On And On" and "You'll Be Missed" and even raps on a couple of tracks. Junior Robinson is no stranger to aficionados of British gospel and turns in smoulderingly soulful vocals on "Brighter Day" and "Could It Be", while Eska and Jason Yarde add to the album's musical diversity. If you liked the first volume, you'll definitely want to check out Volume 2.

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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