Reviewed by Stephen Luff

The Ron Crichlow Ensemble is a 14 member group based at the Leverich Memorial Church, East Elmshurst, New York. This album recorded in 2007 is produced by Crichlow and Jamal Salter. The result is a mixed bag of 11 tracks offering the listener a combination of traditional and contemporary gospel with a credible R&B cover! Highlights for me include "I Will Bless The Lord" with its clever use of the lyrics of "I Will Take You There" (Staple Singers) at the start. Traditional Gospel comes with "I Walk With God" displaying great vocals and sax playing by Tony Smith but the speaking part and lead vocals are not great here. I also loved "As The Deer" with a beautiful string section but the piano/Hammond organ interval sounded amateur. Two tracks are standouts - "You Are" with a retro disco feel and the gospelisation of Alica Keys' "Everything Means Nothing" which features a stunning, soulful lead from Tisha Hunter which will delight lovers of deep soul. In the downside, I found the continuous inclusion of wild life sound effects irritating after several listens - I assume they were to highlight the concept of 'The Path' and the wood scenes on the cover. The album contains one or two great moments but such lame ideas dragged it down.

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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