Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Ever since Sounds Of Blackness stormed the ramparts of clubdom with their explosive gospel house fusion the redoubtable Ms Nesby has been recognized as a diva extraordinaire. Her powerhouse vocals show no sign of taking a more laidback approach and she attacks the songs on this, her seventh solo album, with the energized ferocity that few singers half her age could muster. Sometimes billed rather preposterously Queen of Inspirational Soul, Ann continues in her usual vein of mixing gospel and mainstream R&B material. The title track is a storming piece of funky R&B co-written and produced by Kendrick Dean (Mariah Carey, Mary J Blige) while "Look Back And Remember" is an inspirational song exhorting us to remember times of joy during the difficulties of the present. There's a classy ballad, "I See Beyond", exhorting listeners to find strength that comes only from the Lord (Psalm 121) while on the love song front there's the ballad "Through With You" which with its pained lyric ("Many nights I wanted to cry/But then I realized/You don't deserve my tears") was a bit too embittered for my taste. But there's no doubting that Ann remains one of the most arresting vocalists in R&B, mainstream or gospel.

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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