::ALBUM REVIEW::

After getting needed exposure from his recordings with the New York Restoration Choir, in whom he served as choir director, and making a good impression with their big hit “Speak To My Heart", Donnie McClurkin was well on his way to a promising solo career. He later landed at Warner Brothers in 1996 and released his self-titled well-acclaimed project on their gospel label. Verity Records, the gospel imprint of mega-superpower Zomba, led him to higher ground. It was McClurkin’s intention to record his next project in a live setting and travels in one of his musical hero’s footsteps - Andrae’ Crouch - to London, England. Live In London and More... takes place at Fairfield Hall in Croyden, located on the outskirts of London, and surrounds a brilliant showcase of praise-and-worship, congregation-friendly choruses, familiar revisits and the occasional gospel firecrackers; delightfully positioned by Kevin Bond’s master production. Within the set, McClurkin solidifies his place in the rankings with Gospel’s super composers using impressive lyrical content and well-constructed musical framework within his original selections.

Just the majestic tone of the album’s milky ballads alone are girded with overwhelming tenderness. The emotional “I’ll Trust You Lord”, with its hearty, soulful vamp punctuated even greater by superior background support, is a definite highlight on the disc, as well as the impressive, eight-minute showcase on McClurkin’s remake of Don Moen’s “Great Is Your Mercy.” “Just For Me”, which paints a striking narrative of Jesus Christ’s enduring love for mankind at Calvary, flourishes over a warm backdrop of Bond’s sensitive piano and McClurkin’s passionate lead. The same applies for the album’s signature standout, Kyle Mattews’“We Fall Down”; recorded previously by Contemporary Christian artist Bob Carlisle. The song, though simple in its nature, is warmly produced using Steven Ford’s impressive string arrangements and ascends into a moving gospel-like vamp that showcases McClurkin’s need to minister vigorously using commanding ad-libs.

The album’s glow surrounds the ballads - no doubt - but there are delicate performances centered around more upbeat contemporary gospel. The album’s opener, “That’s What I Believe”, feels like an R&B gem staged with lots of attitude from the background singers. Again, Bond works a sweat with punctuating instrumentation and carves this selection into one of the album’s essentials. “Who Would’ve Thought”, previously recorded by Ron Winans during one of his Family & Friends sessions, features a stunning duet with Marvin Winans and impresses with its likeable sing-a-long vamp. “Victory Chant (Hail Jesus)” and “Carribean Medley” dig deeper into familiar up-tempo worship choruses and places funky grooves on top of its familiar foundations. “I Do I Do”, the sole studio production included, reveals Bond’s sharp production in doing urban-sliced material and works well on McClurkin’s prolific vocals.

While the album feels like a praise-and-worship project on the second half of the project and tends to stray away from McClurkin’s gospel roots in certain spots, he does a fine job patching up those voids by using gospel-infectious arrangements and placing soulful emphasis on the congregation-friendly numbers. Other than that and possibly having too many slow burners attached to one another, Live In London and More... is McClurkin’s brightest work to date.

Live In London and More... climbed to number one on three of Billboard’s charts: Contemporary Christian, Gospel Albums and Heatseekers. It even peaked at number 69 pop and number 22 R&B - making this album one of contemporary gospel’s best-selling efforts ever.