Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

Back in the '80s Lavine Hudson was touted as the breakthrough hope of the British gospel scene. Her voice was strong enough to garner comparisons with Whitney Houston and Mica Paris. The mighty Virgin Records signed her to a multi-album deal that left her with complete artistic control and it seemed that finally we might have a gospel star able to have mainstream success without compromising the message. Released back in 1988 to a huge hurrah, the album sadly didn't deliver the hit singles that the label demanded although there are plenty of strong moments. The title cut is very much of its day and an excellent piece of perfect soulful pop with a message. But it flopped. Other highlights include "Celebrate Salvation" which musically sounds like something Luther Vandross might have recorded at the time. The gospel love song "Flesh Of My Flesh", penned by Leon Patillo, became a favourite at weddings. "Material World" is another sparkling '80s production and the ballads "Learning How To Love" and "Create In Me" both hit the spot. Ultimately this is great British '80s soul married to uncompromising gospel lyrics culminating in the gorgeous "Does Jesus Care" which closes the album. The fact that it didn't sell is a travesty. Lavine did a second album for Virgin which was much more of a soul record with less of a gospel message. That also flopped. Sadly Lavine Hudson became ill and dropped out of the music scene but these days by all accounts, she still sings with her church choir. She should be applauded for her pioneering work and delivering an album that 20 years on still sounds great. So many in the UK gospel scene dream of crossing over in an uncompromising fashion and getting that big label deal. Lavine went there, did it and even with all of her huge talents couldn't get the chart placings. Perhaps it's a lesson others would do well to heed.

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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