For The Record: Fred Hammond - Love Unstoppable - GospelPundit.com // a new blog for gospel lovers

For The Record: Fred Hammond - Love Unstoppable

by EJ on Sep.24, 2009 at 3:32 pm, under Music

Fred Hammond is back and the entire industry is buzzin’. When it comes to new music from this pioneer of the Black praise & worship experience, we’re practically insatiable. He is among a handful of gospel artists that the entire industry watches to receive instruction on how gospel music should now sound.

It’s been 3 years since his last release, but with this new offering, Love Unstoppable (due in stores on Tuesday, September 29th), Fred reminds us that he is still committed to making music that will enhance our praise and worship– both private and corporate. And he does so with the unmistakable stamp of excellence that we’ve come to expect of him.

The 15-track project opens with an intro featuring his son, Darius, praying, and his daughter, BreeAnn, singing a worship chant (the full version of which is featured later on the album). From there, the album jumps from zero to 60 with an instant praise team hit, “Awesome God.” Losing no momentum, Fred transitions into “Nobody Like You Lord,” a song with a “classic gospel” sound strong enough to have been a single itself.

The album changes paces a bit, but only for a moment, with “Lost In You Again,” a rock-infused worship ballad with the melodic complexities that Fred does so well, and “Best Thing That Ever Happened,” before hitting listeners with “They That Wait,” the first radio single that turned heads months ago, featuring a driving vocal contribution from gospel favorite John P. Kee.

Listeners will also appreciate the fact that, on this project, Fred Hammond displays quite a bit of versatility– from “Find No Fault,” a Caribbean-influenced praise chant to “Thoughts Of Love,” a track with a melody and sound so authentically “jazz” that we can’t help be reminded of the depth of Fred’s musical ability. Other notable tracks on the album include: “Take My Hand,” a gritty and raw plea for God’s help set to an old skool R&B sound reminiscent of live sets with soulful crooners of the 1960’s; “I Know What He’s Done,” an impressive churchy praise song in the vein of his earlier hit “Jesus Be A Fence”; and “Thank You,” a simple, yet powerful worship chant sure to make the repertoires of praise teams across the nation.

Lyrically, the project’s theme is clear– there’s a pervasive and powerful love that Fred urges us to recognize (and rest in). My only concern is that, musically, the project doesn’t feel instantly cohesive. I definitely don’t mind the varied styles reflected in it, and it’s certainly not a deal-breaker by any means, but I’ll have to live with it a bit longer before it feels like “one album.” It will, though.

As an aside, people have questioned whether Fred is making music like he used to. If we consider his Inner Court or Pages Of Life: Chapters I and II albums, it would be hard to ignore the breadth of those albums’ significance in the landscape of contemporary gospel music at that time. But perhaps we’ve set the bar higher than one could ever reach and, for good measure, unfairly tacked on a bit of nostalgia to his earlier works. In light of that, could he ever top those projects? Maybe.

Either way, I encourage you to take a moment to strip away some of your expectations and longings for “the old Fred.” In doing so, you’ll see that, musically and lyrically, this project is one of the best we’ve seen in the 2009 calendar year. In my opinion, it still goes without saying that anything from Fred Hammond needs to be added to your music collection. And quickly.

Click here to purchase!

:breeann hammond, darius hammond, for the record, fred hammond, john p kee

4 comments for this entry:

redge
September 24th, 2009 on 8:05 pm
…man! “Take My Hand” brought tears to my eyes, whick is indicative of Fred’s ability to take us before the throne. I keep all of Fred’s music in the car. None of it seems to get old. I take everything else out and replace it, except for the old BeBe and CeCe stuff.
Fred Hammond remains in an arena all by himself. He is the Class of Gospel Music. The Frankie Beverly, Earth Wind and Fire of The Gospel. The Man is God’s “personal Psalmist.”
ray
September 25th, 2009 on 8:25 am
I anticipate anotha great project from this brotha! Although I was a little disappointed with his last project, I’m sure this one will redeem him for me!! lol I’ve heard him do “Lost In You Again” live and I think that will be my fav on this project….
Zoy from South Africa
September 25th, 2009 on 9:47 am
For the last two days I have been listening to the album at the Verity site. It took a few spins for the new Fred to sink in. Had it been from another artist, the album would have been ‘instantly’ enjoyable. Like EJ said, it’s not as cohesive as his previous releases (particularly Free to Worship).

It has grown on me. In a big way. This album is excellent. Suffice to say, I’m copping when it comes out!
Josh P.
September 26th, 2009 on 9:53 am
I hear your heart in your review, EJ and I think you bring up some salient points. I think this record is great. I kind of have subtitled it Free To Worship part II. It follows in the same spirit of that album in that the hooks, verses and vamps aren’t necessarily ground-breaking, but are all-inclusive in the sense that everyone can ’sing-along’ and join in a corporate praise and worship session. He excels more than any other artist in this brand of music. I think it’s important to know that Fred is transparent as a psalmist. You can hear his heart through his music. He was sort of wandering on the ‘Something ‘Bout Love’ album and then he moved his entire operation to Dallas and found freedom through simplicity (read: ‘Simply Put’) and has now produced to classic records back-to-back on the foundation of unadulterated, uncompromised and uncomplicated adoration of Christ. (For another nod to uncomplicated worship, look no further than one of the most classic songs of the past decade; ‘Never Would Have Made It.”) In addition to this stripped down and honest approach to gospel music, he has added more musical variety (’Find No Fault’ and ‘Thoughts of Love’) on this record in the same vein as his last album (’Lord, Your Grace’ and ‘L.O.U.D.L.O.U.D.’). All in all, this is another fine record from an artist, who after thirty years or so has figured out that the shortest distance between us and God is a straight line.