Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

If you can excuse the cringingly self-righteous cover art and the overtly saccharine nature of the first few tracks then the latest album from US composer and performer Kurt Carr is actually quite enjoyable. As its title suggests, the raison d'etre of this release is to encourage the listener to pass on God's bounteous blessings to another person and this worthy message is put across in trademark epic fashion with absolutely everything thrown at it to make as big, bold and occasionally bombastic an impression as possible. As well as a stellar group of backing musicians, the sharp-suited one employs not only his regular Kurt Carr Singers troupe but also a 25 piece recording choir to offer up a collection of pieces that take in modern gospel, schmaltzy soul, snippets of hymns and old style African American church music to provide an aural rollercoaster ride that never gets dull. For the most part, Carr acts as emcee shouting out singers' names or offering up hyperbolic words of encouragement and, as with previous releases, it's his singing group that should get the lion's share of the credit - not least on "I Never Lost My Praise" which features an impressive turn from millennial youngsters Tiya Askia and Travis Taylor. Elsewhere, fellow gospel star Le'Andria Johnson puts in a stunning performance on the emotive "Grace Brought Me Back" whilst a vast amount of other contributors put in the work to make their boss's latest release sparkle and shine.

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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