Reviewed by Paul Poulton

A move from R&B to gospel is proving to be a good decision for Juanita. She's done her share of club dates and well received she was too; but her best receptions were always at gospel dates. The 9/11 attack finally challenged Juanita into focusing on gospel. She has flair and ability with a slight retro feel. Do you remember the guitar part in Odissey's 1981 hit "Going Back To My Roots"? (Yeah, great track wasn't it?) A similar feel has been grafted into "I Don't Know What U Come 2 Do". It's a startling arrangement using those thin electric guitar notes to push the song along, nothing like the original melody but worthy of respect. The retro feel is further enhanced by the heavy bottom end which does suit the material, songs well-worn and current. Juanita has written some of the songs herself, the strongest being "Do You Know Him" which has a lilting blues feel, strong chorus with a rock solid hook and some excellent electric piano playing from Kenneth Robinson, who also produced most of the CD. The rest, while not outstanding, are not poor either. The older classic songs on here: "Just When I Needed You" by Roberta Flack, "When We All Get To Heaven", "Glorify Thy Name" and the aforementioned "I Don't Know.." have the edge. There is in parts a vocal slackness which runs concurrent with the album's enthusiasm and is easy to forgive. Forgive Juanita too the poor sleeve.

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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