Reviewed by Paul Poulton

Four year gap from Yolanda, and what she has come up with is pretty much summed up by the word tasteful. The first tune is not really indicative of the album as a whole, called "Victory", it's a first beat of the bar stomp while moving along apace. The pace is then immediately slowed down by "Tonight" which does capture the feel of the CD. Exquisite texture with a soft lilting voice, minimal instrumentation leaving pregnant gaps all over the place, it's airy and as refreshing as opening a window in a stuffy room. We've been playing it for sometime now and every time it's played there seems to be something new to listen to and there are not too many albums you can say that about. There are some great songs here: "Alwaysness", a piano-based ballad not unlike an '80s Randy Crawford-type song, not quite sure what alwaysness means though. "Lift Him Up", featuring the unmistakable Mary Mary and a nice gospel organ, Donnie McClurkin is on here too. "It's Gon Be Nice", is a medium paced heavily syncopated groove, supporting acoustic guitar chords, yeah, it is nice. "Show Me" is written by Kirk Franklin, swooping backing vocals, more empty space, soaring vocals over a string backdrop, tasty nylon strung guitar added as a neat topping. It's a great performance by Yolanda, who is now in her fifth decade. It's not cutting edge gospel or R&B but I'm more than happy to fill my boots with it.

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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