Rating:
Genre:
Gospel
Release Date: 06/05/2007
Recorded in 2005 at various venues including
the Hammerstein Ballroom in N.Y.C., this vibrant, spiritually uplifting two-disc set celebrates the renowned multiple Grammy and Stellar Award-winning performer's quarter century as a recording artist. Between the concerts and the album's release,
Richard Smallwood cemented his place in his genre's history with his induction into the
Gospel Music Hall of Fame. One would think with that kind of background -- he's the forerunner to later singer/producer/big-show ringleaders like
Kirk Franklin -- listeners wouldn't have to be subjected right off the bat to the somewhat self-indulgent spoken biography that introduces disc one. Fortunately,
Smallwood and his numerous all-star guests let their faith and exciting vocals and rhythms speak for themselves after that.
Smallwood offers his own testimony in song on
"I Won't Give Up" and then the parade of legends and future legends begins, led by
Kim Burrell's rousing
"Journey" and
Smallwood's stirring anthem
"I'll Trust You" backed by
Vision, his 21-voice choir since the mid-'90s. The powerhouse
soul vocals of
Burrell,
R&B star
Kelly Price (on the searing
ballad "Morning's Breaking"), and the famed
Chaka Khan (the
pop-jazzy breezes of
"Precious Is Your Name") are balanced by the intense operatic magic of
Janice Chandler-Eteme's lead voice on
"We Worship You." The powerful vocal soloing is complemented by one of the concert's best tracks, the lively toe-tapping
"We've Come Too Far," sung in perfect harmony by the renowned
Hawkins Family. The set closes with the collection's lone studio track,
"I'd Rather Have Jesus," rendered tenderly by
Smallwood sitting alone at the acoustic piano. The story goes that this was the only song he ever heard his mother -- the rock and foundation of her son's life -- play on the piano. As the concert well illustrates,
praise songs are as fun and funky as music gets. But sometimes, as
Smallwood shows on this last track, a simple note of gratitude to God communicates volumes.
~Jonathan Widran, All Music Guide
;)
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