Review: Vanessa Bell Armstrong: Experience

Let me start by saying this. Vanessa Bell Armstrong is one of the greatest voices of our time. To me, she is in the same class as Aretha, Patti, Gladys...the great voices of soul. She is a song stylist. Her voice is unmistakeable--and you can hear all the younger girls (and boys) taking her runs and doing lesser imitations of them.

Ok. Having said that.

It has to be hard to be Vanessa Bell Armstrong. She came out under the wing of the legendary Mattie Moss Clark and her first two albums were produced by the brilliant (and sadly departed) Thomas Whitfield.

Whitfield set her up for a hard lot. Those first two albums were so incredibly profound, that Armstrong has struggled in the subsequent years to come up with material that could match the fire of her beginning albums.

Her transfer to Jive Records in the mid-80s took her from being a classic singer singing classic material to a contemporary singer attempting to remain viable in an ever changing market. While she had great singles during those years, she never really managed to come up with cohesive albums that expressed the fire and passion of "Peace Be Still" and "Chosen". Perhaps the closest she has come was "The Secret is Out" (produced by John P. Kee) and "Desire of my Heart" (produced by Jon Cleary). Those producers at least attempted to write material specifically geared for her instrument that displayed the range of who she is as an artist. There were some disastrous moments as well: "Brand New Day" (produced by Deitrick Haddon) is perhaps the greatest tarnish on her crown. The album seemed more of a portrait of her struggle to find herself without Whitfield, who I would declare, unabashedly, as her musical soulmate.

EMI signed her and three years ago, she released "Walking Miracle", a car crash of an album, that was, however, an attempt to rebuild her recording career. They called on Smokie Norful, the Jerkins Brothers and Victor Caldwell to all attempt to come up with something. "It's Over Now" seemed to be the track that struck a cord, while the rest of the album, in my opinion, came up flat. If Smokie Norful had been Daryl Coley, then his compositions might have worked for her. Instead, it was just a cavalcade of gospel charades that left the listeners tired.

So, finally, the label came up with the idea to record her live, which I agree, needed to happen. They brought in gospel's most sought after producer, Donald Lawrence, who has recorded a ton of successful projects for himself and other artists. Another great idea. He produced the comeback CD for The Clark Sisters a few years back and it seems logical. I must say, in addition, I have no doubt that this album will be huge success.

And now here's my opinion of the album.

Vanessa Bell Armstrong is flawless as a singer. Her vocals on this album soar. She has the craziest and most soulful runs on the planet and she emotes with her every breath. She is, as Thomas Whitfield established in the 80s, a consummate song stylist and she does her best to bring this material to life.

My problem with this album is with the material and with Donald Lawrence's production. It is far too clean (my same gripe with The Clark Sister's Reunion CD) and does not sound live. It is overproduced and over-overdubbed. The production is simply too big. Vanessa feels almost hollow in the middle of this overdone project. The audience sounds canned (with exception of "I Will Praise You" and the conclusion of "The Glory") and everything sounds like a recreation of a live album versus being a live album itself.

"Good News", composition-wise, is a jigsaw puzzle, clamouring for ideas like a bad trip on Mapquest while the Kirk Franklin-esque spoken intro on "Hand of the Lord" feels awkward and contrived.

There are great moments. Her union with Rance Allen on "You Bring Out the Best In Me" was an inspired idea and Rance most definitely steals the show...and we definitely needed her revisit of "What He's Done For Me" (from 1983's "Chosen)...even though I wish it captured the joy of her late 80s performance of it on Oprah. While the album's closer, "The Greatest Power" isn't my favorite lyric in the world, Vanessa certainly stirs it to a boiling point.

Regardless of whether or not this album is an artistic landmark, it is a great representation of the staying power and vocal prowess of Vanessa Bell Armstrong.