Louder Than The Music

Anthony Evans - Undisguised

Artist:

Anthony Evans

Title:

Undisguised

Type:

Album

Released:

26 Jan 2010

LTTM Rating:

Your Rating:

Review

When LTTM asked me to review this album, I was expecting Gospel music. Not being a big Gospel listener, I was really expecting something huge. Something with big, African American voices singing harmonies with more notes than Beethoven's whole back catalogue.

But actually, it's not that at all. Not that Anthony Evans doesn't have a voice capable of those vocal gymnastics, but his style on this album majors mostly on the clarity and beauty of his tone. This way, when he does jump into some higher gear and reaches for the big notes, his talent in the...
Read More When LTTM asked me to review this album, I was expecting Gospel music. Not being a big Gospel listener, I was really expecting something huge. Something with big, African American voices singing harmonies with more notes than Beethoven's whole back catalogue.

But actually, it's not that at all. Not that Anthony Evans doesn't have a voice capable of those vocal gymnastics, but his style on this album majors mostly on the clarity and beauty of his tone. This way, when he does jump into some higher gear and reaches for the big notes, his talent in the smaller moments isn't drowned but seems all the more remarkable. Evan's voice seems comparable to Usher's to me - that effortless, emotive, modern R'n'B tone - but Evan's craft is far more about the humility of pointing to Jesus. He seems to revel in the act of giving his gift away - back to God, and through this, to the listener. The whole thing feels really effective, and I'm very impressed.

My image of a Gospel band consisting of a man playing the organ sounds on his Casio keyboard and another playing with brushes on drums also proved to be false in this case. The sound is like a supped-up version of the normal, contemporary worship sound: basically designed to push the vocals to the fore, but with some interesting patches of guitar or drums, maybe some strings here and there. To be honest, I've heard this style so much before that this, along with the often distinctly unadventurous writing, could very easily leave me a tad bored. But, while a few songs do suffer seriously from those same, old chord progressions that we've all heard so many times before (the song 'Rejoice' is typical of this), the life of this album is clearly with Evans' voice - and it does stand the test remarkably well.

Lyrically, there seems an emphasis on the Psalms here, for example, 'Wait' tells us that 'If we wait on the Lord, He will renew our strength...'. This works well and we end up with some excellent worship songs, alongside a couple of very personal, intimate pieces. Over-all, the focus is very much God-centred.

Over-all, this album will not be on high rotation in my house, but it will an occasional surprise on my playlist. Evans is not breaking ground or setting off in unexplored directions. But he does happen to have a very powerful, beautiful voice that he uses with great skill. 'Could It Be' probably typifies this the most - an impassioned, emotive vocal where Evans sounds at his most effective, singing heartfelt lyrics to God like his life depends on it - what more than this could you want from a modern Gospel singer?

Review by Jon Piper

LTTM Rating 4 out of 5 Stars
Standout tracks
Could It Be,
Amazing God
All That Matters

Get 'Undisguised'

Track Listing

Anthony Evans - Undisguised

Review

Other Anthony Evans Releases

Altared

Back To Life

Real Life / Real Worship