You Can Make It (CD - 2000)

Personnel: Shirley Caesar, Bobby Jones (vocals); Rick Walford, Reggie Graves (guitar); David Hamilton (strings); Doug Moffet (tenor saxophone); Jim Horn (baritone saxophone); Vinnie Ciesielski, Steve Patrick (trumpet); Barry Green (trombone); Maurice Rogers (piano, synthesizer); Derek Lee (piano); Michael E. Mathis (organ, synthesizer, bells, chimes); Rick Carter (bass, loops); Mel Gray (bass); Cheryl Harper (drums); Eric Darken (percussion); New Direction, Mt. Calvary Word Of Faith Choir, The Nashville Super Choir Cast, Eternity, Caesar Singers (background vocals).

Producers: Bubba Smith, Shirley Caesar, Michael E. Mathis.

Engineers include: Ed Stasium, Mark Williams, Bert Stevens.

Recorded at Javelina Recording Studio, Nashville, Tennessee on March 29 & 30, 2000, Quad Studios, Nashville, Tennessee on April 19 & 21, 2000, Chicago Recording Co., Chicago, Illinois on April 11, 2000 and Reflection Sound Studios, Charlotte, North Carolina on April 3 & 4, 2000.

YOU CAN MAKE IT won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album.

Shirley Caesar has a masterful command of gospel praise song, and "Lift Him Up," which comes right in the middle of You Can Make It, is a practically generic example of the style, with its frantic tempo, excited chorus, and repeated exhortations to "Praise His name!" Caesar, of course, both leads the choir and provides emotive variations. You might say that the album breaks down into two types of songs, ones like "Lift Him Up" that start out at a pitch of excitement and stay there throughout, and others like the title song that proceed at a slower pace and begin more quietly, only to build to a fervent climax. But within the strictures of the form, Caesar demonstrates a willingness to incorporate elements of other pop music styles, sometimes ones that are known for being influenced by gospel. You could listen to the first part of the opening track, "Rejoice," and almost think you had put a James Brown record on by mistake, as the music takes a funky turn. "You Can Make It" sounds like a Patti LaBelle ballad for much of its run, while the horn-filled "Nicodemus" has a 1970s pop sound that recalls the rock band Chicago. But Caesar's throaty, impassioned voice is unmistakable, and she's at her best on more traditional gospel tunes like "What Joy," a duet with Bobby Jones. Nevertheless, the subtle varying of styles serves to broaden the appeal of a music that often finds itself preaching, however joyfully, to the choir. ~ William Ruhlmann minimize