 Lizz Wright
Fellowship (Verve Forecast)
Released September 2010
Josh Hurst
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Style: Lightly funky R&B with gospel overtones; liken to Jill Scott, Yolanda Adams, Aretha Franklin
Top tracks: "Gospel Medley," "Presence of the Lord," "I Remember, I Believe"
Fellowship is soul singer Lizz Wright's first gospel album, and she does it on her own terms. The familiar blend of light rock with funky, folksy R&B makes it feel similar to her excellent Salt and The Orchard, but there's also a wheezy church organ in "God Specializes," and handclaps, gospel shouts, and old-timey piano drive the nine-minute "Gospel Medley." African music flavors reveal the deep cultural history of these songs, and the universality of their message. The material—hymns, spirituals, holy rockers by the likes of Bob Marley and Jimi Hendrix—mostly bypass the theology of sin and salvation in favor of compassion, forgiveness, and perseverance, but it's "Amazing Grace" that gives the album its anchor, and its last word.
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