South Carolina native Gail Holmes is as beautiful on the outside as her voice and as the words to her songs imply that she is on the inside. Her smooth, “crossover” sound is one that you might hear in any type of church that preaches God and Jesus Christ — black, white or otherwise.
I can imagine several of the 10 songs on Holmes’ CD, I Receive Your Love (Habakkuk Music, 2011), becoming praise and worship anthems in congregations around the country and throughout the world. The songs have a whole-congregation “singalong” feel much like Hezekiah Walker’s “I Need You to Survive” or Martha Munizzi’s “Because of Who You Are.” In this project, her passion is clear, her love is strong.
“My prayer is that you not only enjoy this CD but that every song will minister to you and encourage you in the Lord,” Holmes wrote on her impressive CD cover.
My favorite cuts are “Breathe On Me,” first done by Natalie Grant in 2001, and “The More I Seek You,” a “love song” sung with Bishop George Davis and the song’s writer Zach Neese. Holmes, who is definitely an anointed lyricist, wrote seven of the 10 songs. Donald Lawrence also wrote one.
Gail Holmes has something that can benefit everyone. I Receive Your Love is worth what the listener will receive in return. –arnell pharr
For more information and to sample this music, visit Gail Holmes’ website.
