Elektra / Wea
2003
The Heavens Are Telling
About This Album
Powerful, inspirational, and just downright gifted, Karen Clark-Sheard was already a successful artist as part of the Gospel Hall of Fame group the Clark Sisters when her 1997 solo debut Finally Karen launched her into a whole new stratosphere of popularity. The combination of her energetic voice with R&B/hip-hop-infused gospel songs pushed that album and its follow-up, 2nd Chance, to levels of crossover success rarely experienced by a gospel artist. Clark-Sheard's third disc, The Heavens Are Telling, incorporates the best elements of her previous outings by showcasing six new live performances alongside five new studio tracks. Rarely does this formula coalesce into a solid listen, as one set of tracks tends to overshadow the other; but in Clark-Sheard's case it works well as the enormity of her voice and depth of her message remain consistent throughout. Recorded in Detroit at the church where her husband serves as senior pastor, the live tracks (which successfully blend in studio overdubs) bristle with energy right from the start, as Clark-Sheard's commanding voice thrillingly demands attention in the jubilant R&B workout "We Acknowledge You." She maintains that joyous intensity on each successive live track, diversely moving through songs like the upbeat Stevie Wonder-ish "Glorious (Make the Praise)" and the gorgeous pop/R&B gospel ballad "God Is Here.
Track List (try tracks 1,3,7 and 9)

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