to listen or purchase
Deitrick Haddon created a very tough act to follow. His Lost and Found was perhaps the finest Gospel disc of the new Millennium. So, while I greatly looked forward to the follow-up, Crossroads, I was also secretly wondering how it could be anything but a disappointment compared to its predecessor. The good news is that it is another gem. As ambitious as Lost and Found, Crossroads moves effortlessly and effectively from Michael Jackson-like dance numbers ("God Is Good," "U.N.I.T.Y.) to sensitive Gospel ballads ("Trusting God" "Amen") to joyous reggae ("Happy") to Sam Cooke-style Gospel doo-wop ("Prayer Changes Things"). Best of all are his forays into 70s soul grooves on the Memphis sounding "Won't Stop Praying" and the album's highlight, "Stir the Gift," a soulfu
Deitrick Haddon created a very tough act to follow. His Lost and Found was perhaps the finest Gospel disc of the new Millennium. So, while I greatly looked forward to the follow-up, Crossroads, I was also secretly wondering how it could be anything but a disappointment compared to its predecessor. The good news is that it is another gem. As ambitious as Lost and Found, Crossroads moves effortlessly and effectively from Michael Jackson-like dance numbers ("God Is Good," "U.N.I.T.Y.) to sensitive Gospel ballads ("Trusting God" "Amen") to joyous reggae ("Happy") to Sam Cooke-style Gospel doo-wop ("Prayer Changes Things"). Best of all are his forays into 70s soul grooves on the Memphis sounding "Won't Stop Praying" and the album's highlight, "Stir the Gift," a soulful cut that sounds like Bobby Womack at his best. At twenty tracks, Crossroads is chock full of music, and there is not a bad cut in the bunch. Like his Verity labelmate Tonex, Haddon is a brilliant artist who is now at his creative peak (think Stevie Wonder with Songs In the Key of Life or Marvin Gaye with What's Goin On), but unlike some of Tonex's experimental forays (which sometimes leave me scratching my head), Haddon's music is consistently imaginative, engaging and accessible. For my money there is no greater artist in Gospel music today.
CR