It really shouldn't be this difficult. Put the CD in the player, get under the headphones, listen, critique. It ain't brain surgery. It shouldn't be difficult at all. Not until one brings all kinds of other Issues to the table: namely, long-standing Issues with pseudo-soundtracks and flashy gospel Entertainers, that is. LINER NOTES It shouldn't have been that difficult to decide how I felt about this CD, and at first listen, it wasn't; I studiously turned my nose up at almost every track, picking out flaw after flaw, major and minor, as I was studying the liner notes and half-listening to the music. I got about halfway through the disc and gave up for the night, realizing that I wasn't being at all fair in my assessment; all-too conscious of my outstanding soundtrack-and-Kirk-Franklin Issues, it seemed as if I was sabotaging my listening in pursuit of a snazzy review. I'm glad I let it go for the night and came back to it with a more open mind; for though I can't say I really love the Kingdom Come soundtrack, I was able to set aside those two overbearing Issues enough to appreciate this disc for what it is. "Hold up; what exactly are those 'soundtrack-and-Kirk-Franklin Issues' you speak of, Bammer?", I hear you asking. Well, I'll tell ya. The "soundtrack Issue" is easy enough to explain. Like so much of the other phoniness that goes on in the entertainment business these days, a typical soundtrack has so little to do with the movie it's named after, your average listener is often surprised to find that one or two of the songs on the CD, were even in the movie. This displeases the Bammer mightily. You could even say it's an outstanding Issue I have. In these days of "music inspired by the movie", it's a rarity to find a straight-up soundtrack; so giving props where props are due, the Kingdom Come soundtrack gets mad props for six small words printed on its label: "all songs featured in the film." The "Kirk Franklin Issue" is a little more difficult to explain. I don't quite fully understand it myself. I have a love/"hate" relationship with Kirk. I loved him when he first hit with his first two or three CDs (with The Family). And then, something changed. It's easy for me to say that he changed, but that's not quite fair, since I don't know the man personally. Then again, I don't know Fred Hammond personally either, and I'm fairly confident that I Hear Hammond's message of praise and worship quite clearly (even if, as a lapsed Baptist, I don't practice it like I should). Like I said, I can't adequately explain my Kirk Issue, except to say that I just can't Hear whatever it is he's Saying. But I can accept that I'm not his target demographic; FUBU-wearing, Jeep-driving, blingbling-wanting-but-unemployed kids without good role models or motivation, might fit that demographic more so than myself, and if Kirk can help them through their own Issues to see there's more to life than what they're pursuing, then more power to him for reaching out. I'll still hang with Fred, myself. Just suffice it to say that that outstanding Issue clouded my ability to review this CD. And hey, how many critics will you ever "hear" admit to something like that? But I digress. SELECTED TRACKS I can't proclaim any of these as "great tracks", though I can easily say that there are two songs on this CD that I passionately hate - the current charttopper "Thank You" [ewww, no thanks!] and AZ Yet's "Every Woman" (which I hate equally for the singing and the gooey sentiment in its lyrics) - and skip, quickly. These tracks, though, have a certain charm that I can appreciate: "Kingdom Come" and "Thy Will Be Done" The title track feels like less of a title track than does Thy Will Be Done, and really, they're both saying the same thing, with a different beat. I love me some Jill Scott, but her ill-advised scat at the end was indicative of a problem that plagued many of the tracks on this CD: they went on for a measure or two (or three) too long; Franklin (who served as writer and producer) should've done a better editing job. All that said, Scott, and Deborah Cox on "Thy Will", did a great job with these two songs. "Daddy's Song" More than any other "Kingdom" groove, Daddy's Song lyrically captured the feel of the movie; listen to these lyrics, and you Get the movie's plot. I gained a deeper appreciation for the soundtrack primarily in listening to this song all the way through the second time (it was one of my quick "skippers" the first time. Big mistake). That it subtly addressed the physical as well as the metaphorical Father to boot, really sold me on this track the second time around. "It's Alright" As with Daddy's Song, I was quick to dismiss It's Alright at first, until I realized I was subconsciously boppin' to it when I wasn't paying attention. oops. And at least it didn't have that ugly, synthetic "bass" thump so prevalent in the tracks before it. "God's Got It All In Control" Ahhh, that's more my speed. Kurt Carr does a straight-up gospel track just the way I like 'em - until he let it go on a measure too long. "Try Me" Jada Pinkett Smith's song (in the movie). Sung for real by Tamar Braxton. Singer Toni Braxton's sister. You remember Toni, no? Kingdom Come co-star Toni? The one who didn't sing the song that Jada lipsynched - unconvincingly? Who, me, Issues? BAMMER'S BOTTOM LINE My Issues notwithstanding, I've decided to err on the side of leniency, and judge the Kingdom Come soundtrack as a soundtrack, not as the gospel collection I was hoping for. Strictly taken as a representative soundtrack, this one comes closer to the "feel" of its surrounding movie than any I've heard in a long time (and deserves credit, if for nothing else, for its being a honest-to-goodness soundtrack, not some weak "music based on some hopped-up producer's idea of what the movie was abou...uh, what was the name of the movie again?" mess). But I can't help but feel that there was some feeling left to Feel - feeling that couldn't necessarily be captured by a Dance Club beat. Maybe that's Just Me sitting here with my mostly-unresolved Kirk Issues. Maybe. And the bottom Bottom Line? It works well as a club-ready soundtrack (read: The Young will eat it up), but would Sister Singleton listen to it before Sunday Service? Should it matter? Hmmm... It works well as a club-ready soundtrack (read: The Young will eat it up), but would Sister Singleton listen to it before Sunday Service? Should it matter? Hmmm... KINGDOM COME SOUNDTRACK:   back to top And that's the way I see it. Rose "Bams" Cooper 3BlackChicks Review™ Copyright Rose Cooper, 2001 EMAIL: bams@3blackchicks.com    ICQ: 7760005 http://www.3blackchicks.com/