Life In the Word, the first project in the joint venture between Fred Hammond’s fHammond Family Entertainment and Universal Christian Music Group has debuted at #2 on the Billboard Gospel Albums chart. Fred’s 2009 release, Love Unstoppable, came in at #6 this week, so he’s got TWO albums in the Top 10. Congrats!
Also, kudos to Lowell Pye for debuting at #10 on the chart, with his solo debut, Finally, which hit stores last Tuesday. Click here
The rest of the top 10 shakes out to look a little something like this…
The full run-down of the top 10 looks like this…
#1 | Marvin Sapp - Here I Am
#2 | Various Artists – Life In the Word
#3 | WOW Gospel 2010
#4 | Hezekiah Walker & LFC - Souled Out
#5 | Trip Lee – Between Two Worlds
#6 | Fred Hammond - Love Unstoppable
#7 | Brian Courtney Wilson - Just Love
#8 | Forever Jones – Get Ready
#9 | BeBe & CeCe Winans - Still
#10 | Lowell Pye - Finally
To be honest, I haven’t grabbed Lowell’s project yet– anyone got it? Anyone lovin’ it?
Tell me about!
I've been a fan of Lowell's for a while (since the John P. Kee days), and MOS has long-been a favorite group of mine. (Also looking forward to Isaac's upcoming release.) So, needless to say, I picked this one up as soon as it was available. That was a great decision. I highly recommend this album. It's a wonderful, anointed and well-produced mix of styles -- from the urban contemporary to urban pop to contemporary gospel choral to the traditional quartet sound. Lowell blazes most of the tracks alone, but he does team up with some great, well-known guests: PJ Morton ("Better"), Deitrick Haddon ("Praise in the House"), Sheri Jones-Moffett ("Over"), Marvin L. Winans & Rance Allen ("He'll Make a Way"). And although I don't have the liner notes (none came with MP3 download), it sounds like Alex "Asaph" Ward [Kim Burrell, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Smokie Norful, Virtue, Brent Jones, and more] produced much of the album; "Better" sounds like PJ Morton production, Deitrick Haddon produced "Praise in the House," and some of the other songs may have been produced by others. (If someone has the liner notes, maybe they can offer that info.) Nevertheless, even with different producers and a variety of styles, the album is cohesive. Ultimately, I think anyone can find a favorite on this album. But, don't be surprised if SEVERAL of these songs become favorites! By the way, I think this album is heavily radio-ready. So, don't be surprised if you hear a lot more of Lowell Pye!