::ALBUM REVIEW::

Preacher kid Kevin LeVar (born Kevin LeVar Gray; not to be confused with Kirk Franklin singer/comedian Kevin L. Gray) is a newcomer to the gospel stage. While he has worked up an incredible list of spectacular itinerary dates in the last couple of year that ranges from appearances on the Gospel Music Channel to a performance at the NBA All Star Weekend festivities in Denver, he is still relevantly fresh and surprisingly unknown to the world. But one careful introduction to his recently-released debut offering, Let's Come Together, on God Glorified Music and Habakkuk Music offers a world of certain promise for his foreseeable future in music. His influences may not be acutely visible from jump street, but you can still sense the direction of lush worship ballads and AC-styled pop putting him into the bracket of Israel Houghton or CeCe Winans. Still, he’s been around music legends like Myrna Summers and John P. Kee long enough to know what gospel music sounds like and carefully inserts small dosages into his more radio- appealing and modern sounds.

Unfortunately, the star of the show on Let's Come Together is LeVar (penning over half of the compositions by himself and the other half with collaborative producer Kevin Younger) but the gorgeous background efforts of One Sound remains an important, but overly shadowed personality throughout the project; possibly the label’s efforts to push LeVar way out front.

The album opens with a reflective, live-sounding personal chorus on “Here I Am;” possessing a warm acoustic piano glisten and a spirit-filled invocation from LeVar’s father. The introduction is very important to the disc since it places LeVar in very comfortable territory and in a well-controlled atmosphere that plays along with his vocal strengths. “I’ll Say Yes” is a Latin-tinged Enrique Iglesias-ish arrangement of the popular Shirley Caesar chorus that carries on that type of easy-listening grandeur. But throughout the disc, LeVar experiments with many world styles as he juxtaposes them with soulful gospel deliveries. Infectious gospel tracings are combined with pop sounds on the title track. To his advantage, it works for him. Other inventive works include the reggae-infused “Heaven Have Your Way” and the melding of sassy bossa nova and Latin rock grooves into “My Everything.” While they may not be easy creations to categorize LeVar’s sound and may not be rewarding features on gospel radio, it allows for good listening. While too short and should have been extended to become a full track, “What a Love” is as delicate as an innocent and simple Kirk Franklin ballad.

Probably the more dominant of LeVar’s musical sounds, the easy listening pop material can be traced on most of the last half of the disc. “Just Like You” is the kind of AC material that works well in worship settings. Gospel sensation Myrna Summers guests on the album and gives the pop flavored song an extra push of Gladys Knight soul. “You’re Not Alone,“ a fitting tribute to the victims of the Virginia Tech campus massacre on April 16, 2007, is carefully penned with the elements of modern pop/rock while possessing one of the album’s most memorable melodies. LeVar’s voice shines throughout the moving memoir and almost goes to the soaring limits of a William Murphy but without the use of overbearing-like screaming.

When the album drops into mundane, conventional situations like the cookie-cutter uptempo cut “Hiding Place” and the choral-hearted “He Reigns” is where the album runs across a few grey areas. Another tough spot: “A Heart That Forgives,” with its light strings and soft piano delivery, plays like a ministerial ad-lib moment than an actual song. The following reprise accentuates that truth with LeVar ministering and prophesying to a live audience. While welcomed, it does disrupt the flow of the musical aspect of the album and comes off as a bonus cut feature more than anything. “What-Cha Know About Jesus” is another super jump into worlds unknown for conventional gospel listeners: rock.

Still, LeVar remains one of the refreshing voices to come out of gospel’s incubator of young talent. He’s not as challenging musically as a Tye Tribbett - that’s a good thing. His resume’ is pretty short but that doesn’t disqualify him from being talented. Critical to his next move, without any real direction into a consistent sound or a defining genre, there could be more career problems ahead. If he remains too comfy with AC, both gospel and mainstream audiences won’t take him serious. Still, Let’s Come Together, when enjoyed in spurts and in small paces, can be a rewarding experience for the avant-garde in gospel.