::ALBUM REVIEW::

Since the release of Fred Hammond's "The Inner Court", the urban worship experience has been ablazing in the praise-and-worship world. And believe it or not, the sub-genre is usually accredited to the former Commissioned lead vocalist. "Somethin' Bout Love" and "Speak Those Things: POL Vol. 2" was a slight departure from the conventional Fred Hammond style that his worship audiences were expecting and focused more on an urban soul vibe that was highly driven by urban contemporary gospel artists like J. Moss and Mary Mary. Trademarks of Hammond's style was there, but it wasn't a continuation of "The Inner Court" or "The Spirit of David". When word leaked out that Hammond's 25th anniversary was fastly approaching and was staging a live recording/concert at The Potter's House in Dallas, Texas, many thought this was the perfect opportunity for Hammond to reclaim his title in the genre that he established.

Now the release of "Free To Worship" stands before us and gives us something to talk about. It provides a revisit to the conventional Fred Hammond sound and style from his well-respected collections. There is the deep balladry, the wordy but poetic lyrics that flows like a book, and the funky spunky slap of bass and thunderous live instrumentation that he has become more accustomed to providing lately. There are a few sing-a-longs offered here, but most of the songs are daring and challenging to memorize. With Fred providing meaty solos, orchestrating several vamp sections and developing endless songs at best, not all of these songs are going to make it into Sunday morning repertoires. But the energy of Hammond is pumped, charged and falls in between "Speak Those Things 2" and "The Inner Court" but with a few updates.

Without Radical For Christ (RFC) on board for background vocals, Hammond does a skillful job in using former member PamKenyon M. Donald and recruiting Charles Laster, Caltomeesh "Candy" West (of Myron Butler's Levi) and Candace Laster-Jones for this album.

Fun funk is propelled on some of the album's jams. "L.O.U.D. L.O.U.D." promises to inherit the qualities of a future single release. The acronymic cut showcases unique qualities and aims to revive the sounds of gospel party music. In case you didn't know, the lyrics are praise and worship friendly. L.O.U.D. L.O.U.D. spells out: "Lift up your voices/Out to the heavens/Under the anointing/Don't be afraid to/Let everyone know/Over and over/U've got the victory/Don't you understand". The song opens up with the rhythms and drum claps of the DJ Casper's "Cha Cha Slide" but then gets swallowed up into an onslaught of lead guitar from Aaron Delossantos, boisterous synths and a few perky strings. It's a funk fest at its best. "Keep On Praisin'" merges the Marvin Gaye's "Ego Trippin' Out" with triumphant horns styled with Earth, Wind And Fire power. Bobby Sparks delivers on the keys, rocking drum deliveries from Jason "JT" Thomas and pushes the song into one of the album's stronger delights. Towards the end, Hammond kicks out high-octane adlibs and pours out intense calls to worship that compliments the energy of the cut. "My Heart Is For You" also delights with its cute melody and passionate lyrics. It may conjure ideas of a slow-down version of "Lord of the Harvest", but the song is more popish and has a warmer melodic foundation than its predecessor. "More Of You", "And We Worship You", "There Is No Place" and "Simply Put" are great examples of Hammond's effective balladry and channels into his familiar and well-received form of songwriting.

Free To Worship does have a few minor burdens and unexpected surprises. First, the album only possesses two live cuts from the Potter's House session. The media misinformed us that that this was going to be a full-length live recording. And after listening to the live version of "L.O.U.D L.O.U.D." from the BET Original presentation, you begin to notice the departure of the intensity of the live version. Plus, the brilliant band jam is missing from the album version. Some cuts also have a few uncanny transitions that floats off into rebellious territory. "No Greater Love" is a beautiful ballad and will charm those who love a gospel version of a love jam. It has that Luther Vandross/Quiet Storm flair and works well in the beginning, but it gets overheated in the kitchen with choral fireworks and blasting drums. If it was a bit calmer, it would work well on the sensitive of ears. The lyrics and melody was strong enough to cause enough emotion, but the overworking of musical arrangements can bring a plunder on expectations. "Lord You Grace" is very different - a neat departure from Fred's creations. It's a smooth, lovely journey through breezy musical elegance and is topped of with Hammond's sensitive vocals. But the song is abruptly cut off on the end and sounds like an irritating record scratch. Different idea, but not a good choice to used on that song. Immediately following is an overdone arrangement of "This Is The Day" that is highly repetitive and feels like a mixture of hard-rock and funk with a children's sing-a-long chorus. Plus, add in the burning factor that the album title gives us the idea that this is a complete praise-and-worship collection. It has its moments, but it is too performance oriented and is highly complex in instrumentation and lyric development. Fred Hammond has always been known to deliver urban gospel with tidbits of praise-and-worship. But most of the songs offered here are quite tough to duplicate in a congregational outlet.

Vocally, nothing has changed for the king of urban worship. His voice is clear. His energy is still vibrant. He still delivers that distinctive Detroit male vocalist style of singing using the mature moans and crooning. The only big issue surrounding "Free To Worship" is the former expectations of this being a full-length live recording and the hopes of this being a complete worship experience. Nevertheless, this album is the comeback that Fred Hammond needed and is sure to keep his name out there for awhile.