Songs from the Heart

Personnel: Yolanda Adams (vocals); Gregory Curtis (various instruments, background vocals); Al Willis, Desabata (guitar); Donald Hayes (saxophone); Richard Gibbs (piano, Hammond B-3 organ); Rodney East (piano, Hammond B-3 organ, Fe Fender Rhodes piano); Percy Bady (guitar, strings, keyboards, Hammond B-3 organ, bass, percussion, programming); Kevin Randolph (Fender Rhodes piano); Steve Huff (bass, percussion); Sharay Reed (acoustic bass); Maurice Fitzgerald (bass); Ray Bady (drums, percussion); Ray Hammond, Mark Simmons (drums); The Levites (background vocals).
Engineers include: Jerry Christy, Percy Bady, Edward Draine.
Recorded at the Back Room Studio, Glendale, California; Houston Sound Studio, Houston, Texas; Hinge Recording Studios, IMI Records, Chicago, Illinois.
SONGS FROM THE HEART was nominated for a 1999 Grammy for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album.
Maryland-based gospel singer Yolanda Adams has a fine strong voice which recalls both gospel pioneers such as Shirley Caesar or Mahalia Jackson and the jazzier side of Aretha Franklin. The three tracks co-written and played by producer Gregory Curtis create an interesting tension by placing Adams' passionate vocals and devotional lyrics on a Whitney Houston/Mariah Carey-style bed of sequencers and dancy beats. The rest of the album, produced by Percy Bady, sets Adams in a more conventional setting, framed by earthy Hammond B-3 organ, Fender Rhodes electric piano and a supple, jazz-influenced rhythm section. It's on these tracks, such as "His Presence is Here" and "Jesus Medley," that Adams shines brightest.