Reviewed by Peter Dilley

After the urban groove oriented sounds of her 1995 release 'More Than A Melody' Yolanda Adams makes a surprising return to conventional gospel territory for this live retrospective, recorded at Jericho Baptist Church, Washington DC. Not the wisest of moves in my humble opinion, for despite Ben Tankard's production talents there's an obvious lack of power and versatility in Yolanda's vocal performances - she needs to put in a bit more 'screamin' and hollerin", or some other way of bringing it all to life, if she really wants to make the songs work for their full seven minutes or more apiece. Happily, when the groove creeps in things do look up and "This Joy" and "Praise Your Holy Name" are much closer to her recent form. However, when Yolanda and the 100-strong choir wind up with all they've got on the Hammond whirring "Thank You", it's too simply too late to make amends for the album's earlier weaknesses.

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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