Christian and Gospel music reviews

Easily his best album. I love the instrumental piece titled "The Journey." Two other great Christian releases are Delirious's "World Service" and D. C. Talk's "Jesus Freak." Lifehouse's self titled third album is also quite excellent.

This album is awesome. I love the song Dive. This song kinda reminds me one of the songs that I used to sing in my church youth group. He always sings how a true christian (or should I say disciple) should feel. Especially in the song The Change. I saw him in concert in California. I was sixteen years old. The feeling that I had while I was at that concert was the best. I own all his albums. He never disapoints me. He is the main reason I listen to Christain music.

I love this cd. It has great praise and worship music. Speechless has both great lyrics and rhythm. I love all of the songs on Speechless. Steven Curtis Chapman has such a soulful voice. I play them during daycare hours. My daycare toddlers love the music too.

One the best things about this album is that Fred was selling it at $12.50 when double albums were going for at least eighteen dollars or maybe more (I bought it in a name brand record store on Independence Drive in Charlotte, and I don't remember the name) in those days. Fred not only blessed my soul with this great collection of songs, but he blessed my pockets, too. This album started great ('Let The Praise Begin' was an absolute smash I still hope I can sing somewhere in a church) and, although there are some dead spots and some sketchy production of songs that had the potential to be huge (sometimes the way Fred presents some songs seem to lack the oomph the song needs to truly be great, although the lyrics are normally superlative and, at the least, fitting), the studio album leaves you with the confidence that you have bought a quality album. My personal favorites are the last two on the first disc, 'You Called Me Friend' and 'Lord, You Are My Song.' I started to like both of these after a while, though, because nine of the first eleven songs on this disc tend to monopolize your attention. The best of these songs are the aforementioned 'Let The Praise Begin,' 'Your Steps Are Ordered,' 'All Thing Are Working,' 'Please Don't Pass Me By,' 'Jesus Is All,' 'I Will Bless His Holy Name,' and 'He's God.' I would always listen to 'Jesus Is All' and 'You Were Much Closer,' but they always seemed to be not my cup of tea. That being said, only 'No Way, No Way [You Won't Lose],' 'Your Love,' and 'I Wanna Be Yours' weren't immediately enjoyable.
The second disc, Live, can be summed up in one word: fuggedaboudit! The live portion of the CD is awesome because it not only takes you down memory lane, you really only have to remember until 1995! It is the greatest short attention span theater in the history of man. I'm writing this review in 2006, eight years after this album was released, and the live disc resonates in my spirit even now. GET THIS DISC SET. It is essential for christians. You do not want to miss out.

Wow! What a gift Fred Hammond and RFC are to us! These were my first cd's and I absolutely fell in love with the music listening to a sampling at the music store. Fred and RFC are my very favorite gospel musicians and singers!!!

This is still a gospel super work. I have been listening to this CD for years, and I recently started listening to it again.

I think it's still the best gospel album ever produced. It's a rich and anointed piece of work. Once you get this CD you will absorb every song for months.

If you are just getting into Fred Hammond I would recommend this CD the most, followed by "Hooked On the Hits".

This video is on my top 3 list of dynamic videos. It's moving from the very first song to the last. The video allows you to see what's really going on, the stuff that doesn't air on the cd. Kirk is spectacular! I'd really like to give it 10 stars but you guys won't allow me so I'll just say "Kirk, here's two times (5) stars!

These CD is fresh. I love how real the songs are and how many people these songs can reach

This is his best CD to date. I have them all and this by far my favorite one. Very inspirational.

I bought the CD when it first came out back in 2000 not knowing much about the artist or his music. I still get so moved everytime I listen to this CD. I acutally feel as if I was there at the concert. You also can feel the presence that GOD had in that place. It is truly an awesome CD. I love all of the songs but my favortie is "Great is Your Mercy".

This CD was my introduction to Donnie McClurkin sometime ago and remains my favorite. It is passionate and inspiring. Donnie has the voice of an angel and the words to these songs minister to the spirit.

I owned another CD by Donnie Mcclurkin and thought it was the greatest, most spiritually uplifting cd that I had ever heard, until this one. Again, I have been experincing health and personal issues, really going through the fire. This cd has helped to keep me uplifted, inspired, ministered to and incredibly blessed. Thank you Pastor McClurkin for using your talent, as The Lord has clearly instructed you to and sharing it with the world. We are truly blessed to have you in it. And I believe that one day, I will have the opportunity of hearing you preach in person. May God continue to bless and keep you!

This CD has a wonderful array of worship and contemporary gospel songs. My favorite song is 'In the Midst of it all'. Therefore, if it were the only song on the CD I would be thrilled.

Buy it, it's worth your investment!

THIS IS JUST AWESOME. ALL OF THE SONGS ARE GOOD AND FILL WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. THIS NEEDS TO BE IN EVERYONES GOSPEL COLLECTION. THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST CD THAT I HAVE. THIS CD IS AWESOME. YOLANDA ADAMS DID AN EXCELLENT JOB ON THIS CD. THIS IS GREAT. EVERY SONG ON THIS SONG IS NICE HAVE NICE BEAT AND YOU GET A BLESSING EVERYTIME YOU HEAR IT.

This is Yolanda Adams at her very best! "Open My Heart" is breathtaking, but just as stellar is "The Things We Do", with audio footage of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the background. This song lets you know that it's the little everyday things we do for the people we love that matter. Yolanda, the things YOU do and the things YOU say are the greatest gifts you'll ever give away!!!

Karen's CD has provided healing for ten years to date. I was junior and/or senior in college when I first heard her CD. Ten years later, it is one of two CDs that I listen to on my way to work. For Healing, Intimacy with God, thanksgiving and praise to the Almighty, this CD is a must.

NOW I CAN SEE WHY PEOPLE LOVE THIS CD. THIS CD IS OFF THE CHAIN. I FINALLY GOT IT AND I LOVE IT. KAREN IS THE BEST. HER VOICE IS AMAZING. MY FAVORITE SONG IS "JESUS IS A LOVE SONG" SHE LET HER SELF GO AND LET THE LORD USE HER IN A MIGHTY WAY. THIS CD IS OFF THE CHAIN.

My mother always played the Clark Sisters as I was growing up but I kind of lost track of them when I starting choosing my own music (I.e. hip-hop, etc). When I heard Karen was doing a solo project I went out to buy the CD. Now I know why my mother listened to them so much and I started to remember the classics she played: "Is My Living In Vain," "Miricale," "Sunshine", etc. They're all gifted and anointed singers.

If you've read any of my other reviews, you know I have not rated any of Karen's other albums higher than 4. This debut album is a 5 1/2. It truly is perfect from start to finish.

My favorites are:

"Praying Spirit"
"Holy, Thou Art Holy"
"Jesus Is A Love Song"
"Bomb in Gilead"


Who am I kidding, the entire CD. (smile). It's truly a classic!!!!

I think about buying other albums but end up changing my mind because I haven't *quite* played this one out yet. Buying anything else right now would be pointless because I'll just end up putting it to the side while I listen to "Everlasting Life" non-stop. Every song! From "Over and Over, Again" to "Holy Ghost" to "I Come To You More Than I Give" to "I'll Keep Holding On"...I'm only disappointed that I didn't buy it sooner. People tried to tell me how BAD she was, but I had no idea. Her tone, the lyrics, the band, her RUNS - the whole CD is so inspiring, especially for me being a singer. Someone lent me "Live in Concert" before I got this one - a good CD, but not nearly as impressive as EL. Kim Burrell has a new fanatic! Thank God for her and her amazing talent.

When you have to rewind parts of the song several times to get ONE riff, somebody is doing something. This project is one of my favorites. Surprisingly, the shortest song "Oh Lord" is my favorite. It's just me, Jehovah, and Kim all in my room lol Though people may try (I know I do lol), no one can touch Kim. I recommend this CD to anybody :)

Let me start off by saying that there are very few artists (secular or gospel) who can hold a candle to Ms. Kim Burrell...Oh my goodness! This lady has some rips and runs and can do all kinds of things with her voice that will make you tremble and weep!
I love the renditions she does on here. If you like jazz, mixed with worship and praise, this is a winner. If you want to bump and grind, look for another CD! :)
She's been out for a few years, but I think she is one of the mose under-rated artists today. But not to worry, I have a feeling, that her new album (through Sony music I believe) is going to catapult her into the lime light where she deserves to be. She came to town last year, and she is as gracious as she is talented.
In my mind, I can just see all the other female vocalists lined up to go against her and she is like doing her nails and hitting all kinds of notes and keys and they try one by one to follow her, but cant (LOL!!!)
Hold on Kim, you are a STAR and the world is in need of your gifted talent!

(3.9/5.0)
MUST LISTEN
-Take You At Your Word, Can't Live A Day

1. Take You At Your Word - (10/10)
2. In Not Of - (8/10)
3. In A Different - (7.5/10)
4. Can't Live A Day (9/10)
5. Always Have, Always Will - (8/10)
6. I'm Speechless - (7/10)
7. If My People Pray - (7/10)
8. Only For The Weak - (7/10)
9. Let Your Love - (7.5/10)
10. Hide My Soul - (6/10)
11. First Love 0 (6/10)

great CD! The very first Avalon song i liked, "Can't Live A Day", is on this CD....my faves are "Take You At Your Word", "In Not Of", "Can't Live a Day", and "Let Your Love."

This is my third Avalon CD and I still love them!
My faves are Take You At Your Word and Can't Live a Day. It's true that without Christ, we wouldn't be here and I wouldn't want to ever have to live without Him in control of my life.
Loved the CD and I rank it in my favorites.

Few come close to the lyrics of Rich Mullins! I enjoyed his side of the cd..even with the throwback cassette stopping noise. I was not at all impressed with the remakes by the newer generation. Rich Mullins truely was blessed with a gift for lyrics and music writing. We've been blessed to enjoy him.

Yes I realize people are going to jump all over me for giving this project less than five stars. What little disappointment I had was not due to the songs themselves. They demonstrate some of the finest work of Rich Mullins; thoughtful, profound, witty, and poetic all at once. I only wish (like everyone else) that Rich had been around to do a quality recording of them. Although the songwriting is undeniably Rich Mullins, the recording (on the disc with various artists) lacks the spark of musical genius we came to expect from Mullins. That shouldn't be a surprise of course, because there is no replacement for Rich and his talents. However, my impression was that the project didn't flow very well from start to finish; because there isn't really a dominant musical style, and because there is a different lead singer in almost every song. The common theme of Jesus Christ and Rich's lyrics hold it together somewhat, but the aura of Rich Mullins is noticeably absent. (It doesn't help that the hammer dulcimer is also absent, except for a few seconds at the end). I could speculate on how I think this record could have been produced better, but that wouldn't help anything. This is an incredibly moving project; I am only concentrating on the negative side because the other reviewers have covered the positive. Just don't be expecting to hear the final masterpiece of Rich Mullins. That's what I was expecting, and that's why I wasn't completely satisfied. But perhaps Rich would have liked it better this way anyhow, because the project wasn't supposed to be about Rich Mullins in the first place; it was supposed to be about Christ, and these are some of the best songs ever written about Him.

Being a big fan of Rich Mullins, and reading almost every article I can find on him, I went into this expecting big things. The last songs Rich every recorded, weeks before he died. After listening to the demo CD, this is the most powerful CD I have ever owned. Many songs sound like he knew his time was short on this earth. The stark compositions, either a single guitar or a piano, really bring to home the fact that Rich was pouring his heart into these songs. "Hard to Get" continues his unique way of relating to God. My heart cries everytime I listen to it. All of these songs seem to be praise songs, with "Jesus" being a particulary good one. I have not listened to the "cleaned up" version of this, but there's no need to. No other artist or way of recording could give this album more spiritual power.

I have been listening to this for a while now. I seem to be growing out of it. My first concert was a Stacie Orrico concert. I was 7. (I'm now 12.) I don't seem to like her as much anymore, but I still think she has got major talent. Bring up the age level, like she did in "Stuck," and I think we'd have a winner. Praise God!

P. S. Psalm 23

(3.9/5.0)
MUST LISTEN
-Don't Look At Me, Stay True, Confidant

1. Ride - (6.5/10)
2. Don't Look At Me - (10/10)
3. 0.0 Baby - (7/10)
4. Without Love -(8/10)
5. Stay True - (9/10)
7. Genuine (6/10)
8. With A Little Faith - (7.5/10)
10. So Pray - (6/10)
11. Holdin' On - (8/10)
12. Restore My Soul - (8/10)
13. Confidant - (9/10)
14. Everything - (6/10)
16. Dear Friend - (6/10)

I got this cd on sale, and I love it! It's very good!

Ride- 5/5 Very good song! I love it!
Don't look at me- 10/5 MY FAV ON THE WHOLE CD!!!! Great song!
0.0 Baby- 4.5/5 This song is really good!
Without Love- 5/5 Love it!
Stay True- 6/5 I love this song!!!!!!!
Genuine- 5/5 Good song!
With a Little Faith- 5/5 This is another good song!!!
So Pray- 4/5 Good!
Holdin' On- 4/5
Restore my Soul- 4/5
Confidant- 5/5
Everything- 5/5 Good song!
Dear Friend- 4/5

Overall I love this CD!!!!!!!!! The interludes are creepy, but other than that, I love it!!!!!!