::ALBUM REVIEW::

Gospel songwriter and recently-turned worship pro Stephen Hurd has encountered moderate success but seems to have trouble breaking into the top tier of gospel’s scoreboard academy. His greatest triumph leans on the gospel-friendly remake of the Steven Ford-produced “Undignified (I Will Dance, I Will Sing).” The Matt Redman tune got lots of airplay on gospel radio and catapulted his Integrity Gospel debut to number 15 on the gospel charts in 2004. My Destiny followed in 2006, but failed to produce a big follow-up hit. With an abrupt change of producers (now leaning on Jonathan Nelson protege' Justin Salvage) and a more intimate live recording setting arranged for worship leaders, pastors and other gospel artists, Hurd releases Times of Refreshing; his third project with Integrity. But this time around, there’s more trouble with the changes than meets the eye. Not that the production is all wrong: it’s structured differently and not as pristine as Ford’s contributions but it’s not overtly raw and local sounding. The problem mostly lies on a larger abandonment away from conventional album structures by inserting more talking segments, excessive interludes and album fillers. Even though he uses these gimmicks on previous releases, this one bites the bullet with twelve complete songs and twenty tracks in total! Talking and spoken word exhortations may be a friendly factor on worship albums (careful reminders of what authentic worship services should feel like), but Hurd comes off a bit indulgent and does his best in killing the insurmountable attention span listeners may have.

All things feel appropriate in the beginning with the bouncy rock/gospel mesh of “You Are” and Hurd’s synth-driven contemporary gospel groove “Great Name.” “The Prayer” is simply angelic and pure; showcasing lead vocalist Kevette Burwell’s intimate phrasing. After a forty-six second false start, “Amazing” finally kicks off into its infectious ‘80s sounds and bubbly melody. Salvage approaches the song with a bright sheen using delicate synths and pulsating background harmonies that excellently blends pop with gospel elements. Only problem found here is found in the center when the slowed-down bridge quenches the energetic vibes. The radio single, selected on the Gotta Have Gospel! 6 compilation, even though its much shorter, would have been a better choice for listeners.

“Above All/Lord I Lift Your Name On High” is a continuation of the urban tradition of taking popular mainstream modern pop worship songs and reworking them into sophisticated R&B balladry. Both songs, using a glistening adult contemporary tone, are carefully intertwined with intimate choral arrangements and becomes one of the album’s strongest highlights.

Towards the closing of the disc, the album quickly loses its intensity due to a lack of uptempo offerings. The big ballads (“Your Name Alone,” “The Water,” “Hymns of the Church Medley,” “The Wind of God”) follow one another and ends all possibilities of an awakening. Hurd, not the most favorable vocalist, leans on his worshipful phrasing and ad-libs to get him through a song. And with his skill he does a good job, but tracks like “Hymns of the Church Medley” and “The Wind of God,” done in a Donny Hathaway piano/organ fashion, lacks the vocal girth to carry such songs to a momentous high. “There’s Power In His Name” tries to recover some spunk with its traditional gospel bait, but it pales with energy to the original version recorded by the GMWA Mass Choir in the nineties. That fault is mostly accredited to Anthony Brown’s youth-sy vocal arrangement.

Hurd is very familiar with traditional and contemporary gospel music. His roots are traced back to James Cleveland’s Gospel Music Workshop and the historic National Convention of Gospel Choirs and Choruses and also harbors around D.C’s strong cabinet of gospel greats like the late Donald Vails. The man definitely has experience under his belt. Probably Times of Refreshing biggest plunder would have been voided if the skillfully gospel-trained Hurd actually recruited like-minded musicians to support him. Salvage and Brown, even though they have gained attention for their work with artists like Jonathan Nelson and Maurette Brown-Clark, are still in their infancy stages of learning the production ropes. Hurd is far from being a Donnie McClurkin, but if you want to get that kind of sound and celebrity, you have got to make decisions that would eventually make those kind of results. In the long run, Times of Refreshing has a few catchy moments but ends up suffering from an exhaustive playlist, excessive AC-oriented ballads and too much yack.