::ALBUM REVIEW::

Internationally-renowned worship leader Alvin Slaughter has been a key player in the worship community since his early days performing with the Grammy award-winning Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. And with seven solo projects on the shelf and a long-lasting relationship with Integrity Music - his label home since 1994, the deep, mature baritone of this Luther Vandross-styled singer continues forward with his latest musical offering on Overcomer. This time around, Slaughter leans on the popular production of New Breed musical director Aaron Lindsey; offering up a sophisticated style of modern cross-cultural gospel much different from Slaughter’s common approach towards streamlined worship music. This bold fifteen-track studio project bundles up big elements of funk, R&B and pop amid fancy synths and rhythms.

“O Give Thanks,” first recorded by Byron Cage & Israel Houghton on the Gotta Have Gospel, Vol. 2 compilation, gets a few adjustments including a key change and a deep percussion-driven disco vibe. When the vamp jumps in, the funky cool nature of Earth, Wind & Fire takes over the charming melody. “Mighty Praise” is a well placed transition song and feels like a pop-flavored version of Cage's “The Presence Of The Lord Is Here.” The cutesy “o-oh-o-oh” chants and rock-n-soul arrangements are colorful attachments to the cut - and it all fits comfortably around Slaughter’s cool performance. Most of the tracks are somewhat strung together like one long-playing medley - apparently appealing to fans of Slaughter’s live recordings. Pop ballads like the acoustic-bred “He Loved Me To The End” (even though it clocks beyond the normal time limit with seven minutes) and “I Receive Your Love For Me” are intense heartfelt expressions of praise for God’s abounding love. Slaughter also finds himself revisiting his gospel roots on the Andrae Crouch-esque “Power In The Name Of Jesus” and the moving ballad “Great Grace.” The latter, one of the album’s most poignant offering, is serenaded by a sweet ambiance full of glorified harmonies and passionate lyrics. Light instrumentation and a sweet showcase of keyboard-developed strings offer up an intimate presentation on “Hallelujah,” but it is clearly Slaughter’s big bold gospel vocals and his soft-spoken falsetto high notes that completes this sweet interlude of worship. “I Will Not Be Afraid,” located at the tail end of the disc, gets down-right funky and revisits the big energy of his 2000 hit “Shout” - yet with a milder slab of Prince.

Where Overcomer disappoints is towards the closing of the disc when sleeping disorder brings fatigue to listeners due to its overwhelming stretch of slow numbers. And while some of the songs are quite pleasant in delivery and production, the lengthiness of all of these slow cuts flowing from one to the next can be a bit insipid.

Throughout Slaughter’s career, he has jumped from one horizon to the next; working with a number of producers including Kevin Bond, Roger Ryan, Dana Reed and even Hillsong producers. And all of them have giving Slaughter different sounds and distinctive productions. The voice remains the same, but the projects are always different. Well, Overcomer is much different from his other outfits, but it isn’t as unpredictable and over-the-top eclectic as Israel Houghton’s most recent projects. For the most part, Overcomer is a pleasurably versatile album, even with the big New Breed arrangements on board. Lindsey was very much mindful of Slaughter’s previous work and does a good job in merging both advanced musical arrangements with Slaughter’s circle of pop worship.