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Thank You
www.ekolorecords.com
Worshipful R&B with touches of African music

Daniel Nettey has some respectable musical credentials on his resume that help explain his sound. In 1998, he toured with worship leader Ron Kenoly as a back-up singer, and he later performed in the UK on the same bill as Ron Winans (of the famous gospel-singing family). Not surprisingly, Daniel's music is mostly a blend of smooth R&B, inspirational pop, and contemporary worship, not too unlike some of the music from BeBe Winans. His deep baritone on beautiful piano ballads such as "I Will Worship" and "Revive Us (Revive America)" even sounds a bit like Ron Kenoly's worshipful sound. His soulful performance on "Sanctify Me" recalls The Winans from the late '80s and early '90s. The pop/R&B of "In Your Presence" and "Thank You" have the same pop-R&B sound of Gerald Levert or Luther Vandross. What sets him apart from other similar-sounding artists is his heritage — Daniel originally hails from the Gold Coast of Ghana, West Africa, and he lets that shine through in some of his songs. The African groove on songs such as "Ywe Yie (Take Heed)," "God's Eyes on Africa," and "It's Not Hard" are buoyant and a lot of fun, blending reggae with rhythmic pop and traditional African folk (featuring a terrific — but uncredited — bass player on these songs). If only Daniel straddled cultures more often on Thank You. Those are the songs on which he demonstrates the most creativity, and the Winans-esque ballads begin to sound the same after the album's 14 tracks. Still, those ballads are easily adaptable into any church's contemporary worship service. There's plenty here for fans of worship and R&B to warrant a serious listen to Daniel Nettey.

Hope
www.rev21.org
Modern rock/pop

Referring specifically to verse four in the last book of the bible, Rev 21 is comprised of brothers Rick and Tim Hammond, who sing and play all manner of guitars. They are joined by the talented Christian producer Alan Shacklock, who did a smashing job on albums by Shaded Red (Red Revolution) and Phil Keaggy (True Believer). The Hammond brothers are relatively new to the Nashville community, so I haven't a clue how they scored such a talented producer for their debut album, Hope. His talents make a big difference, giving their songs that extra layer of sound effects and thick keyboards to make them more polished and credible. Rev 21's sound falls somewhere between the guitar pop of artists such as Jude Cole and Duncan Sheik and the modern rock/pop of Collective Soul. "The Captives Are All Free" starts off innocently enough with light guitar and drums only to explode into big heavy-metal guitars and drums on the chorus, proclaiming the joy of life conquering death. Similarly, "Hope" and "Confession" have that big drum-kit sound reminiscent of Phil Collins or INXS in the '80s, lending that much more ambience to Rick and Tim's powerful songs about man's sinful nature and God's plan for salvation through his Son. The big sound is cool but almost too bombastic for the duo's own good. Can they recapture this sound in concert without an awesome drummer, a bassist, and a keyboardist? Still, they balance the album nicely with the gentle guitar pop of "My Cup Overflows," the soft jazz-club sound of "A Soft Answer," and "This Ring," a sweet and joyous love song written by Tim for his wife. If these guys can lock down a full band and beef up their songwriting a bit, then Rev 21 has a hopeful future, which makes their debut's title even more appropriate.

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