Pages of Life: Chapters 1 & 2 (CD - 1998)

Personnel: Fred Hammond (vocals, spoken vocals, keyboards, bass, drums, percussion, programming); Kim Rutherford (vocals, spoken vocals); Frederick Purifoy II, PamKenyon Donald, Keeva Renee, David Ivey, Danielle Stephens, Resa Bell, Tosha Brown, Tifany Smith, LaDon Ford (vocals); Tommie Walker (rap, horns, keyboards, drum programming); Darryl A. Dixon (guitar); Donald Hayes (saxophone); Jason D. Jordan (horns, organ, keyboards, Hammond C3 organ); Noel Hall (piano, organ, keyboards, Fender Rhodes piano, Hammond C3 organ, programming); Maurice David Crutcher (keyboards); Terrance Palmer (bass); Marvin McQuitty (drums).

Recorded at Face to Face Studios, Southfield, Michigan; Live at The Straight Gate Church, Detroit, Michigan.

PAGES OF LIFE: CHAPTER I & II was nominated for a 1999 Grammy for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album.

Under the guiding hand of Hammond, this double disc represents the place where the church meets the funk. R&B's roots have always been in Gospel music to begin with, so it makes sense that someone like Hammond would come along. With the able assistance of a crack funk band, Hammond mixes floor-shaking rhythms with propulsive, rhythmic keyboards and guitars and a gospel choir that supports his own vocal ululations. While the lyrics are exclusively spiritual in nature, the beat is undeniably danceable. Ultimately, PAGES OF LIFE is the intersection of theology and rhythm, achieved so seamlessly that you can't tell where the testifying ends and the harmonizing begins. minimize