Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

I have to admit that I'm always a little suspicious of soul singers who "return to their gospel roots" to release gospel albums when their soul careers begin to dry up. Unlike those dedicated to gospel music, it's often the case that they have a fairly bland notion of what gospel music sounds like and consequently their gospel releases are never as interesting as their mainstream work. Where those at the coalface of the gospel scene are frequently trying to push back the frontiers of the genre, soul singer crossovers tend to play it safe. And that's where this lands, right in the middle of a pile of safe. The opening title cut sounds like one of Regina's soul hits from the '90s and will immediately appeal to her established fans. The first single "God Is Good" is a simple gospel tune in an old fashioned style and dedicated to Regina's daddy and designed to "sound like gospel music" which it does. Wailing brothers and sisters join together to raise their voices backed by just some old timey gospel clapping and to be honest, it's pretty soulful. It's certainly better than the generic stomp of "Can't Nobody" or the dull almost '90s sound of "Almost Slipped" which could have been recorded by anybody! Ballads like "I Hope He Understands" and "Come Into This Place" are perfectly performed and of course, there's no arguing with the quality of Belle's vocal performances. I'm just left feeling that the whole affair is a little too generic and just a bit dull.

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.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.