The Search is Over

Description

The Search is Over is the third album by the American contemporary gospel singer Tramaine Hawkins (credited as Tramaine only), released on A&M Records in 1986. The album was recorded at Mediasound in Manhattan, New York; and at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California; with Robert Byron Wright producing.

The album debuted March 29, 1986 on Billboard’s R&B album chart, peaking at No 33. Without this album, and some others by artists like Vanessa Bell Armstrong, there could be no Kirk Franklin, Mary Mary, Hezekiah Walker, etc.

If Tramaine’s ‘The Search Is Over’ isn’t measured over time as a milestone in the commercial and aesthetic history of gospel music, it’ll be the world’s loss and certainly not her fault. She’s already assured herself a place in the history of modern Christian music by grabbing the number one spot on Billboard’s dance music chart with the incredible 12-inch single version of «Fall Down (Spirit of Love)». The LP un-flaggingly follows up on the promise of that accomplishment and points out to the ignorant or the unbelieving just how closely black gospel and soul are related (about as closely as mother and daughter) and how brilliantly they can still intermingle in 1986.

The closest thing to a disappointment here is that the album version of «Fall Down» has not only been edited down for length but also remixed for a less spectacular effect. (Perhaps producer Robert Byron Wright was afraid that unsuspecting folks not used to piping dance music through their spiritualized speakers would accidentally blow out their woofers!) That being the case, there’s no excuse for not spending four bucks on the glorious eight-minute rendition with its unexpurgated booming bass, sneaky synthesizer line, and Aretha-esquely ecstatic (and we do mean ecstatic) vocal.

On the other hand, the shorter vision of «In the Morning Time» found here – complete with trumpet call and rousing chorus shouts of “hallelujah” – is actually an improvement over its 12-inch companion version and it’s still a far more effective incentive to go to work than a dozen cups of coffee. This is music to wake the dead, never mind the sleepy.

«Child of the King» funks along in a similar dance-synth mode, but most of the remaining tracks are a bit closer to Tramaine’s pure gospel past. (For those who haven’t been filled in, she did several albums for Light with husband Walter Hawkins, material from which was recently compiled into a “best of” set.) «How I Got Over» and «Everybody Ought to Know» effectively mine the fleshed-out choir effect while the balladic «I Know Him» and the title track leave lots of room to show off her intense and exquisite phrasing (“the search is oh-vuh,” indeed).

‘The Search Is Over’ is hardly the first album to effectively make the obvious connection between the traditional church sound and the modern dance groove, but it’s bound to be the most well-known of its kind – and, as an added benefit, probably also the best of its kind to date. Fall down and line up! [Chris Willman, CCM, June/July 1986]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-search-is-over/630193332)

LP tracklist:

Side One
A1. “Heaven’s Gate (Interlude)” – 1:38
A2. “Fall Down” – 4:34
A3. “Child Of The King” – 5:25
A4. “In The Morning Time” – 5:18
A5. “With All My Heart” – 4:38

Side Two
B1. “How I Got Over” – 5:35
B2. “The Search Is Over” – 5:12
B3. “Everybody Ought To Know” – 6:01
B4. “I Know Him” – 5:01

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and 12-inch vinyl LP by A&M Records. Later re-issued on CD.

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“In the Morning” (MUSIC VIDEO)

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