WOWZA!!!
5
By mrjlbrown
WOWZA! Welcome back Yolanda! 4 Years? Thought you retired! LOL! Anywho, lets go. Yolanda has NEVER been one to place in a box. She's never been afraid to deal with issues. From Through the Storm cd, she dealt with death on Forever with me. From Save the Word cd, she dealt with homelessness on Save the Word and suicide on Give it to Him. From More Than A Melody cd, she challenged us to consider the children. From Songs From the Heart cd, she dealt with loneliness on Never Alone. From Mountain High, Valley Low she dealt with our everyday interactions with The Things We Do and on Believe she dealt with low-self esteem and pursuing your dreams on I Gotta Believe and Never Give Up respectively. Well, on DAY BY DAY, Yolanda tackles something we all have, PAIN!
Track 1 - VICTORY is the rocking contemporary gospel opener which reunites Yolanda with producer Gregory Curtis (produced God Will Take Care of You and Just A Prayer Away). This is tied for my favorite on the cd! From the time Yolanda sang it on TBN's Praise the Lord or from the time I saw the preview for the movie The Gospel, this song rings in my ear. It's a triumphant song that gets in your mind and challenges you to believe God at any cost!
Track 2 - TONIGHT is penned and produced by Gospel Mega-Man Kirk Franklin. Lyrically and evangelistically, it's the best. It challenges you to seek the Lord and yield every area. For anyone experiencing blockage in your walk with Jesus, I dedicate this to you. It's a mid-groove song that finds Yolanda's vocals soaring and the background singers are tight.
Track 3 - SOMEONE WATCHING OVER YOU finds Yolanda working with Barry Eastmond and Gordon Chambers for the first time on wax! This urban AC song ran up the secular charts. It deals with someone who's been hurt in relationships and it ministers to anyone who feels as if they are alone. Always, know that Jesus is watching over you.
Track 4 - ALWAYSNESS relishes on the consistency of God. This borderline jazzy, contemporary gospel, ac song is lyrically beautiful and marvelously interpreted by Yolanda. The first appearance of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis on this cd will surely be a repeat in my player. I love the fact that it points out God's consistency and faithfulness to us, even when we aren't to Him.
Track 5 - DAY BY DAY is yet another Gregory Curtis production. It's an urban ac mid-groove song that admonishes to keep the spirit of Christ with us daily. It provokes you subtly to stay focussed on Him no matter what happens in your everday living. It reminds you that with Him you can conquer anything.
Track 6 - LIFT HIM UP is produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis you remember them, they worked on Open My Heart, Never Give Up and I'm Gonna Be Ready. This is one of the best songs they've given Yolanda. It kind of reminds you of Joyful, Joyful from the Sister Act 2 soundtrack. A lively, fun-filled, upbeat, praise song that prompts you to do exactly that, LIFT HIM UP! You'll find yourself giving God praise and adoration as you rock that big head (LOL). Of course, it doesn't help at all that Donnie McClurkin and Mary Mary are on this one.
Track 7 - My other favorite song is IT'S GON BE NICE! This Shep Crawford produced song (I Gotta Believe, Fo' Sho' and I Believe I Can Fly) is my jam! It's on repeat 5 times a day! This hip hop groovy profession of faith of what you believe God's going to do is a faith stimulator! A true gem!
Track 8 - BE BLESSED! What can I say? You've heard it. The last song produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis has already become a number one single on Billboard Gospel Tracks and will be heard for a long time to come!
Track 9 - BETTER THAN GOLD is my least favorite song on the cd, yet I like it. Another collaboration with Barry Eastmond and Gordon Chambers (also Troy Taylor). A mild contemporary christian song speaks to how much Yolanda loves Him and that her love is better than gold itself. Very meditative and soft.
Track 10 - SHOW ME is the final appearance of Kirk Franlin's production on this cd! My third favorite song on the project. This song speaks about the insecurities in us and us yielding them to the Lord so he can not only show us how to deal and overcome them but so that He can make us all over again. This contemporary gospel jewel was wonderfully written, brilliantly ministered by Yolanda and nicely produced. Again, those background singers!
Track 11 - I'M GRATEFUL is what song of my friends don't like but I love it. A nice upbeat rhythm and praise/contemporary gospel mix produced by Mike City (A Song of Faith and Unconditional producer on Believe). It pushes us to remember the basics of life like health, strength, food, shelter, the goodness of the Lord. Great move!
Track 12 - THIS TOO SHALL PASS is what Yolanda sang last year on BET's Celebration of Gospel and on this years Lou Rawls educational telethon in January! Produced by Whitney Houston's former musical director, Rickey Minor, this is Yolanda live yet studio. Why? Because it has that big musical production that she gives live but it's tastely done. Lyrically, no matter what you're faced with daily know that THIS TOO SHALL PASS!
In closing, arguably one of her best. Some say they are tired of gospel singers belting, well here, she's singing beautifully. Friends and fans of Yolanda, purchase this cd for others and sow into their lives. They'll be blessed and so will you by this project whose lyrics are wisely written and Biblically based, where a spirit of Victory and peace reign and a one SAAANNNGGG by Yolanda. In a time, where so much is going on, the timeliness of this project is right on! To all those affected by Hurricane Katrina, take it DAY BY DAY! Welcome back Yolanda!
