Ss2033 M3lee Grant

Broadening his musical palette, Grant Green detoured into a number of "theme" sessions in 1962 - the light Latin jazz of The Latin Bit; the country & western standards of Goin' West; and the best of the bunch, the old-time gospel album Feelin' the Spirit. For Feelin' the Spirit, Green takes five traditional, public-domain African-American spirituals (plus the CD bonus track "Deep River") and gives them convincing jazz treatments in a quartet-plus-tambourine setting. Green's light touch and clear tone match very well with the reverent material, and pianist Herbie Hancock is tremendous in support, serving the needs of the music and nailing the bright gospel style perfectly. Similarly, Green's playing never gets too complicated or loses sight of the melodies, yet he never runs short of ideas - which goes to show that Feelin' the Spirit is indeed a labor of love…

In the late '70s and early 80s, Amy Grant enjoyed little exposure outside of Christian circles. But that started to change in the mid-'80s, when A&M promoted her aggressively in the secular market. And in the '90s, secular audiences accounted for the vast majority of her sales. Christians were hardly the only ones buying Heart In Motion, one of Grant's biggest sellers. Even though she wasn't beating listeners over the head with her beliefs, Grant's wholesome, girl-next-door image was a big part of the appeal of perky pop-rock offerings like "Every Heartbeat," "Galileo" and the major hit "Baby Baby." And it's certainly a key element of another huge single from the album, the idealistic ballad "That's What Love Is For." Grant was a major star, and best of all, she wasn't acting like one.

A multi-instrumentalist who, like Stevie Wonder, mixes genres effortlessly, Britain's Eddy Grant deserves a wider audience, but for those who want just the hits, this collection fills the bill.

Eddy Grant has often been categorized as a reggae singer, but reggae is only a part of what he's done. In fact, Grant's best known hit, "Electric Avenue," awasn't reggae at all. On this inspired and unpredictable CD, the British singer successfully embraces everything from reggae-pop ("Talk About You," "Welcome To La Tiger") to guitar-powered rock ("Wildcat," "I'm Not Alone Tonight") to country-rock ("Sweet On The Road"). With its haunting acoustic guitar, the title song has a Neil Young-ish appeal. But the album's best song of all is "Gimme Hope Jo'Anna," a indictment of South Africa's cruel apartheid system. Quite enjoyable, Barefoot Soldier was a welcome addition to Grant's catalog.