Great live gospel has this way of making a believer out of even a hardcore skeptic; even if the positive message takes a while to melt your heart, your toes and booty will give in long before. This disc chronicles
Hezekiah Walker's happy, heartfelt troupe as they created a holy fire at the famed venue in February 2002, and is unique in that
Walker -- a classic vocal powerhouse in his own right -- shares the love with other lead singers. The best of these are
Kim Burrell and Heather Covington, yet he seems to save the real fun, wild, and brassy numbers (those
Blues Brothers backflip types) for himself, à la "Any Way You Bless Me" and the opener, "We Made It." Singer Kirvy Brown also leads such a revival on "Never Gonna Let You Go." The live show is complemented by two slickly produced hip-hop/gospel studio tracks that should give
Kirk Franklin a big run for his holy money. ~ Jonathan Widran