i just don't know what's got into me

people. i fear the end of the world is coming soon, for I... yes, I, purchased a fred hammond album of my own volition, with my own money, and... =gasp!= i am SO feelin' it! lovin' it! i'm talkin' repeated spins. Somethin' 'Bout Love is the best album i've found since Tonex's Out The Box double-disc dropped a few weeks ago. and this coming from a man as dogged in his hateration of fred hammond as saul was in his persecution of christians before damascus road happened. ya'll, i DO NOT know what has gotten into me.

but i'll tell you this. like most things us men do that don't make sense. it started with my eyes. i loved the cover for some reason. the color, the composition, and the earthiness of fred being photographed with his instrument. i absolutely love the guitar on the cover. and then, of course, when fred hammond shows up on 106 & park to perform his new single, you kinda have to stand up and pay SOME attention. on first listen, i really wasn't impressed with "celebrate (he lives)", but i had to admit that it didn't annoy me to my core like so many other fred hammond songs had. i was actually surprised to hear him using his voice in a different way (soft handed understated falsetto as opposed to that trademark gritty, nasal whine that i quickly grew tired of).

make no mistake, there's still a little hatation left, but nothing is ever absolute. even in my state of complete fred hammond haterizing, i dug one or two songs here and there, like "no way, no way (you won't lose)", "that ain't nothin'", of course his collabo with kirk franklin "my desire", and my all time favorite "please don't pass me by". but it was hardly enough for me to drop cash on the album... which brings me to the other factor.

i bought the album used for $5.99 in one of my favorite used cd stores that often gets secularly distributed gospel cds and knows not what to do with them. so i decided i'd buy it because it was cheap, because getting it early would make me feel elite. plus, worse case scenario, i know hundreds of church folk who would step over their own mother to get that CD early and i like to just bless people with music whenever i can. however, i listened to the disc before i left the store. to my surprise, just the first few seconds of each track were all i needed to engage me to wanting to hear more. and i was also pleasantly surprised that fred branched out and let someone else handle some of the production.

warryn campbell worked wonders on the two songs he had a hand in. "lord we need your love" just brings out the mellow, groovy best in fred and his high profile guest vocalists marvin winans sr. and brian mcknight don't overpower him, but they all mesh together really well. then, "loved on me" takes that trademark fred hammond fat-man holler, reworks it, and makes it stellar. i can't believe i'd like a song like that. still, everytime i hear fred hollerin' the intro, i have to smile. and i think it's funny how he sings that "luvvved owwwwn me... thain-kya Jeeeezzz...!" you know the one where old folk sing the first syllable and then slur the "sus" part into a Z sound.

i also can't believe i can diatribe this long with this much zeal about a fred hammond project. all the songs are true to form fred hammond, but there's a distinct evolution. he kicked it up a notch. a lot of tracks feel very old school, but have the savvied delivery of any modern R&B song. yet, it's still the same uncompromised gospel message fred is known for and a timely one at that. ALL of the songs are about love and i could use some of that, 'cause i've been wantin' to bite peoples' heads off all weekend. don't know why, but i opted not to blog while in such a fowl mood. lest i need to print a retraction.

but anyway... my point is: fred's new album rocks... everyday. yeah, i said it.

shutup.