Award-winning artist/songwriter/producer
Fred Hammond adds a third chapter to his popular
Pages of Life series with
Speak Those Things: POL Chapter 3. The 15-song set begins with two live tracks, the upbeat "You Are My Daily Bread" and "Lord of the Harvest." They are followed by the contemporary-flavored "Show Yourself Strong," which is the first of the 13 studio tracks making up this project. The track features a punchy, in-your-face rhythm arrangement, augmented with some effectively placed horn accents. Keeping it on the funky side are two tracks sure to give speakers a workout, "Great" and "That Ain't Nothin'." The former, written and produced by
Hammond and the popular
Warryn Campbell, features a bumping rhythm track along with scorching hot vocal performances from
Hammond and special guest
Mary Mary. The latter features many of the same elements, together with piercing horn and basslines. When
Hammond decides to slow the pace down, the project loses none of its artistic quality or effectiveness. Tracks such as "A Song of Strength," "Show Me Your Face," "You Are My Life," and "He Is Not Just a Man" show
Hammond's ability to craft beautifully written, urban-flavored praise & worship ballads. "A Song of Strength" features a lead vocal performance from
Hammond discovery
JoAnn Rosario.
Speak Those Things is a definite winner. ~ Tim A. Smith