Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Ever since the Clark Sisters began their long hiatus in the '90s and Karen registered her first big solo gospel hit with 1997's "Balm Of Gilead" (included here) I've been a fan of the baby sis of the righteous Detroit sisters. Karen's vocal gymnastics have influenced a generation of gospel singers and R&B acts like Faith Evans and Mariah Carey. So if you enjoy your gospel divas with lashings of melisma and arrangements that duck back and forth between old school trad church and modern R&B this compilation is made for you if you're only now catching up on Karen's work. 'The Ultimate Collection' contains three tracks from 1997's 'Finally Karen', two tracks from 2002's '2nd Chance', four tracks from 2003's 'The Heavens Are Telling' and six tracks from 2006's 'It's Not Over' and though there's nothing from her 2010 album 'All In One' some of Karen's most popular tracks are here including her classic "A Secret Place", her powerhouse duet with J Moss "Praise Up" and another breathtaking studio track "Don't Change" where Karen swaps licks with her daughter Kierra 'Kiki' Sheard. The compilers have wisely put all the studio tracks on the first half of the CD and the live cuts on the second and with 15 tracks this is indeed an excellent overview of Karen's recordings from 1997 to 2006.

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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Few artists have had the kind of impact on Gospel music then that of The Clark Sisters. From the beginning, Karen, the youngest sister, possessed the voice that would “shock and awe” and eventually come to define The Clark Sister sound.

With the release of her first solo project, Finally Karen, the voice would at last be unleashed to do what it did best – the soaring high notes, the indescribable vocal runs and the passionate delivery.