Music Highlight: Karen Clark-Sheard-ALL IN ONE

Anyone that knows me know how much I love gospel music, not only the messages, but the incredible, and incomparable voices. One woman without doubt helps emphasize my point about the voice, and that is non-other than Karen Clark-Sheard. Her range is flawless and vocal abilities and attributes are second to none!

Recently, Karen Clark-Sheard just released her 5th solo album, ALL IN ONE. This album has been long awaited, especially after coming off a grammy high, winning 3 grammys with her sisters, The Clark Sisters, and another grammy with Pastor Donnie McClurkin. But not only is this album special for that reason, but also because this album has been produced on her own label, KaRew Records.

I listened to the album and well I must say that vocally, she's the baddest, and always will be! But as far as the sound of the record goes, I'm a little disappointed. Instead of giving a K. Sheard sound(basically the live sound), her album sounds more like her cousin J. Moss album, and/or daughter Kierra Sheard album. I am not saying that either of them are bad, but the albums do sound quite similar. But I guess they should sound alike given that J. Moss produced some of Karen's songs on this album (he'd produced on all her albums) and her son J. Drew also produced on this album (and who also produced for his sister Kierra Sheard). So in many ways, its not the songs that are bad, but its because Karen Clark-Sheard chose to go with a sound that is all too familiar. But to be quite optimistic, that is what people love about her, the fact that she is able to do many different sounds and that she is not bound to any particular one.

Karen Clark Sheard singing Prayed Up, LIVE

The songs on the album are real, uplifting and many of them go-hard like her first single off the album, Prayed Up. When the song is playing, you can't help but want to get up and dance, and that also goes for the track Crazy Praise! My favorite song on the album is Blessings; the flow on that song is tight!!! Other notable tracks include Take Me which features her daughter Kierra Sheard and her niece, Angel Chisholm, Jacky Chisholm's daughter. Also, the track, He Knows, which features her sister Dorinda Clark-Cole, is another dynamic track on the album, if its only for the vocals!

All in All, I think the album was great especially since everyone needed there Karen Clark-Sheard high! Although its not exactly the Finally Karen that everyone remembers with the choirs, and the organ, it's still Karen Clark-Sheard, and her voice accompanies any sound well!