Reviewed by Kwaku

There are times when you want to hear the Lord's music full-on. And it probably doesn't come any louder or more full-bodied than Kirk Franklin's funky, celebratory opener "Brighter Day". One of the several charmers is Kurt Carr & The Kurt Carr Singers' "I Almost Let Go". It's a song that changes mood - from mellow, minimalist to full-on passages. To top it all, one of Kurt's vocalists echoes Aretha Franklin at her vocal best. Marvin Sapp demonstrates his beautiful, soulful vocals to great effect on the mellow, compliant "You Are God Alone". Ditto: Darwin Hobbs' "You Are God", Smokie Norful's "Still Thank You (Live)", and Tonex's groovy, socio-conscious R&B-soulster "Doesn't Really Matter". And that's just the first six tracks on this double-CD, which contains some of the popular tracks from the last year or so from the likes of John K Pee, CeCe Winans, Shirley Caesar, Fred Hammond and Donald Lawrence & Tri-City Singers, plus Donnie McClurkin's blinding "Holy"! A worthy package.

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