GOSPEL MUSIC REVIEW: Walking In My Destiny / Malcolm Williams & Great Faith / BlackGospel.com - Your Music Ministry Source! - March, 2006

Review Of
Walking In My Destiny
malcolm williams & Great Faith
March, 2006 on BlackGospel.com, Review by Jennifer Belot

Chicago’s traditionally energetic choir sound had its greatest impact in the 90’s with unforgettable choirs such as The Milton Brunson Community Singers and Ricky Dillard & New Generation at the forefront. Their no-holds-barred, in-your-face harmonics rang the church bell during a memorable era in gospel music that undoubtedly influenced the full-bodied sound of contemporary choirs today.

The circular nature of music and its familiar trends now bring us back to that classic sound with the [re]emergence of an old hand of Chicago-era gospel. Malcolm Williams & Great Faith present WALKING IN MY DESTINY, their premiere offering on Univocal Records, the independent record label spearheaded by industry veteran Shawn Tate (EMI, Worldchangers). Recorded live at God’s House of All Nations Church in Chi-town, this dynamic project features a revived and renewed Chicago sound with the vocal support of some of the most prolific music ministers in the area lending their talents to the Great Faith family.

The clear diction of Great Faith underscores the first track of the album, Everything That Has Breath, an astute praise hymn punctuated by Baltimore’s Mo Horns Company ensemble. The praise continues on with A Chance - ”There is breath in my body so that means I have another chance…” the lyrics of this song of encouragement speak to the blessed assurance of God’s hand in the midst of the direst of situations. Inspired on the day Williams met with the misfortune of losing his job, this song is a faith testimonial avowing that circumstances do not dictate the need or inclination to praise God.

Walking In My Destiny, the mid-tempo, contemporary title track makes up for its lack of vocal flamboyance with an attitude of expectancy that in the director’s own words “…embodies where we are and where we are headed… It defines us." Due Season could have (in my humble opinion) been the title track of the project with its poignant lyrical content and colorful vocals. From a plaintive trill to a throaty shout, vocal extraordinaire Kim McFarland of the Grammy-award winning Tommies fame textures Due Season with her unmistakable soprano, rendering this song an early classic.

Churchy My Everything is the definitive hand-clapping’ toe-tapping’ song of the album. It has a ubiquitous flavor, making it a favorite in the Sunday morning church pews or shortly thereafter at the afternoon potluck. Rounding out the Chicago chorale flare are All To Jesus, I’ve Got A Right, and by virtue of its name alone Chicago Bump II, all characterized by fast paced cadenced sounds.

As the only song not written by Williams, The Lord Never Failed is distinct in its sound and presentation, yet blends seamlessly with the remainder of the project. Produced by D Corey Shipley, this ultra-contemporary track begins on an old-school funk rhythm and culminates by bringing together the best of traditional chorale vocals, complete with echoing sectionals intermingled with enlivened Latin percussions. That whole melting-pot musical temperament is also evidenced in Hold On featuring Chrystal Jenkins, as an interesting piece made up of modernized big-band-swing spiced with a customary church sound.

Relying on the jazzy vocal talents of management-mate Paula Payden-Champion, former background singer for R&B legend Gerald LeVert, God Can is a traditional ballad supported by Brian Lofton on the organ and Great Faith’s dynamic harmony. Another organ-tinged ballad, Until He Saved Me features Chicago’s native-son and reputable recording artist Pastor DeAndre Patterson in a smooth-as-silk duet with Williams that draws on the traditional phraseology of “Oh to Be Kept by Jesus”. Balladry also closes out the project with the talented tenor intonations of Williams in the soul-stirring Meant To Live.

One might have guessed that Malcolm Williams has a special anointing on his life when at the age of six, he first directed the junior choir at the First Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church back in Waukegan, Illinois. One may even have thought him precociously gifted when at the age of fourteen he penned his first song. But nothing could have prepared the thirty-six year old musician for the explosive reception of his talents over the last couple of years. In the last fifteen months alone, this young man has seen his original compositions interpreted by some of the most prolific voices in gospel music including Dorinda Clark-Cole and Dottie Peoples (his collaborations are certainly noteworthy).

Malcolm Williams possesses a musical phrasing which is simple yet effective and uncontrived. The earnestness with which the psalmist approaches each song speaks to the hearts of believers and skeptics alike as he unapologetically avows his unshakable faith that God “will lead [him] to the expected end”. Thus whether in balladry or in jaunty exaltation, the message remains the same, that since praise waiteth for no man, Malcolm Williams & Great Faith will walk into their destiny and praise whilst they have breath.