Description
The self-titled debut album by Kirk Franklin and the Family was released on Sparrow Records in June 1993. The album was recorded live on July 25, 1992 at Grace Temple Seventh-day Adventist Church in Fort Worth, Texas and produced by Rodney Frazier and Arthur Dyer. All songs on the album were written and arranged by Kirk Franklin. (“Speak To Me” includes partial adaptation of a Stanley Brown/Hezekiah Walker composition.) The album was No. 1 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart for 42 weeks and became the first gospel album to sell over a million units. As well, the album won a GMA Dove Award for Traditional Gospel Album of the Year at the 24th GMA Dove Awards in 1993.
Kirk Franklin & the Family’s eponymous debut album is a stunningly assured blend of old-fashioned gospel, contemporary soul, and hip-hop. Franklin remains, in his words, a “church boy,” but he doesn’t hesitate to embrace the conventions and styles of contemporary R&B, which results in some inspired, unexpected fusions. It is truly a record that updates, recontextualizes, and redefines what contemporary gospel can mean in the ’90s. [Rodney Batdorf, AMG]
Track one in and I was wondering what all the fuss was about. I knew there was this gospel industry buzz about Kirk, one time frontman with the Mississippi Mass Choir and one of the hottest new composers on the scene but «Why We Sing» with Kirk spelling out the lines on an over-long hymn didn’t excite me. But as the album progressed and various righteous sisters stepped up to the mike the thrills began. Kirk himself has a hoarsely soulful voice in John P Kee style while the songs, on this recorded live set, are memorable. Exciting, soulful trad gospel which will find plenty of takers. [Tony Cummings, Cross Rhythms, April 1994]
> iTunes (https://music.apple.com/us/album/kirk-franklin-and-the-family-live/303161236)
CD tracklist:
01. Why We Sing – 5:54
02. He’s Able – 4:05
03. Silver & Gold – 4:51
04. Call On The Lord – 3:31
05. Real Love – 5:22
06. He Can Handle It – 5:06
07. A Letter From My Friend – 5:41
08. The Family Worship Medley – 7:55
09. Speak To Me – 4:19
10. Till We Meet Again – 7:10
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.