Anthony Evans is an American sensation. Having been mentored by Kirk Franklin for four years, Evans later embarked on his own recording career and has since released six albums.
He’s completed over 1000 concerts in his career so far, and two of his music videos have stayed in the charts for five consecutive weeks.
More than his music, it’s his integrity off stage which has impressed so many. Well known figures such as Franklin Graham and Natalie Grant have spoken well of him.
His fame reached further heights when the singer appeared on TV show The Voice earlier this year and was picked by Christina Aguilera to be on her team.
The first thing that strikes you about Anthony Evans’ latest release Home is the majority of songs are covers. Only 5 of the 13 songs were written by Anthony.
New versions of worship songs are constantly being released. There will often be an acoustic, live and even instrumental version of the same song, all produced within a few months of each other.
So asking ‘what makes Anthony think he has anything to add to recent popular tunes like How He Loves and Forever Reign?’ is a fair question.
Opener My Desire is a great slow rock/gospel tune not unlike some of Israel Houghton’s material.
Next is a cover of Chris Tomlin’s I Will Follow. Anthony has added a gospel choir and funked the song up beautifully.
Your Great Name / I Will Follow combines two excellent songs and Anthony’s style is unique. He certainly makes the songs his own.
Fighting For Me is a great pop tune that you could imagine hearing on the radio. Slow and reflective but with perfect instrumentation the song could easily be a big hit.
You Deserve is another original from the gospel singer. More congregational than the previous track, the song’s chorus would work well in most churches
“I will worship my king / You deserve this offering / From the depths of my soul / I want this life to let you know / That you deserve / Glory and Honour / You Deserve / Wisdom and Power”
From this upbeat gospel anthem, the album slows into How He Loves. It’s a nice arrangement, but the changes aren’t drastic enough to warrant much comment.
The rest of album continues in this vein of well structured worship songs. There’s no doubt Evans has a phenomenal voice, it’s just a shame the production lets him down. The singer is never quite able to ‘let rip’ and let his abilities shine through. For that, you’ll have to watch the Voice.
On some levels (instrumentation, arrangements) the album is impressive, but no studio recording will quite be able to capture the spirit of Evans' live performances. It’s unfortunate the singer has yet to put together a live album.
The best songs on the album are the opener My Desire, Chris Tomlim cover I Will Follow and congregational song You Deserve. The rest are interesting without really grabbing your attention.
This is an album made up of interesting, though not groundbreaking covers and a few nice songs Anthony has penned. It’s not really anything to write home about, but if you’re a fan of gospel music this is still worth the purchase.
Rating: 7 out of 10
June 20th, 2012 - Posted & Written by Sam Hailes
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