::ALBUM REVIEW::

If the royal king of the Chicago choir gospel sound, Sir Ricky Dillard, had appointed a prince to succeed his throne and to help further advance his most powerful dominion, Malcolm Williams would be a perfect fit. Seems like Williams has developed a style that significantly compares to Dillard's musical anctics and he has also churned the gospel tide with his own brand of compositions; proving to be more than just the average handsome choir director. In just a two year period, he has left a stamp of his songwriting fingerprints on projects from Mark S. Hubbard, the GMWA Mass

There are plenty of songwriters that are unfortunate to put a face on their music since they have chosen not to take on the responsibility of being an artist. But you don't have to worry about Sonja Whitmore, renowned composer of Ricky Dillard's "More Abundantly", anymore. Her day in the spotlight has finally come with her independent debut project, "Praise On My Lips"; a fourteen track collection mostly saturated in a "praise-and-worship meets gospel" formula that demonstrates vibrant harmonies from the High Praise Chorale Ensemble. Production is handled by Dwayne Barrett and Whitmore and is layered in the excellence Chicago has been known for. While those names may not be synonymous with most gospel consumers for production, the amazing set of musicians on the live and studio tracks may conjure serious interest. With Phillip Feaster on keys, Wayne Barrett on lead guitar, renowned drummer Michael Witherspoon and keyboardist Terry Moore on the studio tracks, the album is charged with enough valuable intensity to grab the attention of most doubters.

Tanabe Gatlin, known for penning illustrious selections for Excelsior, writes the uptempo album opener, "Let's Just Praise". The song with its jazzy horn arrangements bears a radio-friendly R&B vibe that works well with the group's mature vocals. One can appreciate the modulations on the closing vamp. Immediately following is the rich love ballad of Dwayne Barnett's "Praises Unto You", which contains a rich melody and well-executed choral deliveries. When the bridge unfolds, the glorious tapestry of the orchestrated vocal parts will paint the same feeling one experiences when hearing the "ahhs" in Carliss Moody's majestic "Available To You". The title cut, led with Whitmore's commanding tenor, is delightfully energetic and is styled with enough enthusiasm to revive any church service. The creative bridge goes through a series of skillful glides up the scale and then, with a sudden shout, the song goes through bouncy repetitive phrases that are bound to attract attention. "Clean Heart" is another soft spot for the disc with its balladic lyrics and warm musical presentation. The song unfortunately ends a little too quick, but it still is one of the album's highlights. Other songs like "I Walk By Faith" and "Just For Me" bring about the familiar styles of John P. Kee towards this collection and are well received.

There are a few grey locations on the disc where the songs lack creative intensity or may need some extra input. "Don't Let Go", with its churchy traditional rock, sounds good to the ear, but hearing the lyrics float from first-person to second can be a little irritable. "High Praise", also known as the Ensemble's Praise Party, sounds a bit outdated, even with its old-schoolish synths and organ spells. Plus there's the studio harmonies rendered on "The Great I Am"; which almost sounds like an entire different group. The song is beautifully delivered with sweet piano renderings and mellow, jazz deliveries, but the vocals are not as polished and as comfortable as the performances on the live material. And some of the reprises may feel like obvious attempts to warm up to listeners and come off as being album fillers, since two of them barely present anything unusual from the original compositions.

It is also disappointing to mention the linear notes are hard to read with its small cursive print and there's important information of the song's composers and publishing data missing from sight. There's even obvious omissions of the names of each of the lead vocalists - ultimately damaging the credibility of the disc. Hopefully these problems will be addressed in a future re-release.

But "Praise On My Lips" delivers affectionate gospel to a praise-and-worship experience tailormade for choirs. Good production is on board, mature vocals are in place and a stew of meaty musical versatility helps make this a successful debut for Sonja Whitmore and the High Praise Chorale Ensemble.