::ALBUM REVIEW::

The enormous contributions from gospel duo Mary Mary to the preface of 21st century urban contemporary gospel remains poignant as ever; years after their breakout debut album Thankful. Sisters Erica and Tina Campbell, along with their hit-making producer Warryn Campbell (Erica’s husband), have emerged to become important trendsetters for the ever-evolving genre. And while the girls are usually only celebrated for their gifted set of vocals, their incredible songwriting abilities, responsible for crossover inspirations like the R&B Top 50 hit “Yesterday,” the R&B Top 10 favorite “Shackles (Praise You” and “Heaven,” should be just as equally celebrated and acknowledged. And with three albums already under their belt (not including a well-received holiday album), the Inglewood duo continues their reign on the gospel charts with their street sounds and their uncanny, yet innovative approach to build a bridge for listeners to R&B’s and gospel’s glorified past. An obvious criticism most observers have noticed about Mary Mary’s music is that, sometimes, their sound tends to come off quite predictable; as if they aim to take the safest route around what is hot on the charts at that time. They pulled off a good refreshing single on Incredible and their 2005 self-titled project, but some questioned if Mary Mary had what it took to avoid being piegon-holed into a particular sound. On The Sound, the group’s fifth collection of music, the group creates their best effort yet to avoid their former Mary Mary formula and previous musical patterns. There’s no trace of obvious samples or simple melodies looping from start-to-finish aboard - a definite sign that Mary Mary put some hard work into making this project.

A cool trait of the album’s character is how the path of the songs are stringed together with short radio-slot intros, as if you were listening to an urban radio station on a Saturday night. But since there’s so many different sounds and styles being showcased throughout the disc, it’s hard to imagine one particular radio format containing a playlist as eclectic and diverse as The Sound. But the idea remains a plus for the album since it plays like you’re listening to a cool gospel soundtrack for Grand Theft Auto.

“Get Up,” the album’s first single, gives off a wiff of ‘80s electronica set to a more modern urban/pop production. The breezy vocals, club sounds and heavy synth dosages are definitely in place - a slightly different and hard tune for the warm duo - but the song is an effortless success filled with enough ear-candy for Mary Mary’s core fanbase. “God In Me” digs into the T.Pain playbook and delivers cool urban drum programming, effective hooks and a few studio tricks. Thankfully, there’s barely a trace of anyone using T. Pain’s irritable auto-tune usage. Kierra Sheard snuggles into the party on the song’s end; capping off a fresh club-tinged urban experience. “Superfriend” keeps the same momentum going with a lightly-glazed Dirty South hip-hop flavor. Rapper David Banner provides his crunk party jeers and an enclosed profanity-free rap segment. Call this a bit of a payback since Campbell produced two of the cuts on Banner’s 2008 studio project.

While Mary Mary spends most of the time on the album trying to look all cool for the young crowd with more upbeat club tracks, they pull out a fine set of retro-style tunes. The title track gives off cool kaleidoscopic images of ‘60s Cali surf rock and merges the sweetness of girl groups from that era with impressive live instrumentation. After lyrically explaining the meaning behind the title, the energy builds on rock ‘n roll antics, flourishing modulations and gospel energies (“I think I wanna holler/Can you hear me if I moan/mmmmmmoan”). Closely capturing what feels like a reprise of the Honey Cone-sampled “Heaven,” the girls dig into the same early ‘70s R&B on the infectious “Boom.” This time around, the vibe feels more like a Jackson 5 tune taken from the handbook of the Corporation (a la ABC, I Want You Back). While the lyrics gives off a corny flair within the chorus, the cool funk vibrates with a refreshing Saturday morning sense of fun and carries a neat load of analogies that reflects creative lyricism. “I’m Running,” another retro moment, excels with its Northern soul spice; banking on a wondrous strings and a ‘70s R&B-meets-gospel rhythmic arrangement. The acoustic-driven R&B “Dirt” is cleverly written; using catchy analogies that point that we all “need a little dirt to grow.” While the back-end of the disc feels a big insipid and boast a few nodders, The Sound treats listeners to a pop worshipful Marvin Winans-penned “It Will All Be Worth It” that contains an impressive strong guest list of gospel giants including Daryl Coley, Rance Allen, Tramaine Hawkins, Walter Hawkins, Andrae’ Crouch, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Karen Clark-Sheard and Joe Ligon. A moment like this is hardly captured on modern gospel discs, but the candor and beauty of the song’s pageantry glows with an everlasting homage to such legends bound to be cherished for generations to come.

For better words, The Sound does its best to avoid the predictable Mary Mary formula of previous records. And it’s not such a bad thing to recreate another Thankful or the success of their self-titled 2005 project. Those former ideas translate into good records and easy-listening but The Sound succeeds in adding newer dimensions to the their musical makeup. Even with David Banner’s appearance ruffing up a few conservative Christian feathers and a few song skippers, the project is remarkable in that it takes the melodic fun of their former works and adapts into more mature and defined territory. It’s safe to inject that the vintage flavor of most of the cuts matches the kind of soul music revival in modern pop sensations like Robin Thicke, Raphael Saadiq and Amy Winehouse. A little more fun pop and organic soul gospel would have taken The Sound into a world of epical praise. Still, it’s a crafty and creative work that aggressively redefines the work ethic of two of contemporary gospel’s greatest champions.