Fred Hammond & Radical For Christ
Pages of Life Chapters I & II (Verity)
The youngsters in God’s Property made urban gospel all the rage last year — but Detroit’s Fred Hammond, as the title suggests, wrote the book and offers two soulful chapters here, one culled from the studio, the other the concert stage. As a career move, Hammond describes this two-CD project as his “Songs in The Key of Life,” and while not quite the artistic equal of Stevie Wonder’s masterpiece, “Pages of Life” still deserves lavish praise. “Pages of Life” strikes an impressive balance between studio precision and concert stage power. One constant throughout is passion, as Hammond plows through the both CDs with unbridled joy and groove-savvy musicianship that moves the body and spirit. On the studio CD, “Let The Praise Begin” is a jubilant curtain-raiser bouyed by Hammond’s thunderous choir; “No Way, No Way (You Won’t Lose)” marries jazz, funk, reggae and hip-hop into a celebration of salvation; and the fragile ballad “Don’t Pass Me By” shows Hammond fearing that Jesus might be too busy to hear his prayers.