Walking Miracle - VANESSA BELL ARMSTRONG
While it’s been nearly a decade since gospel great Armstrong graced the top 10, she long ago reached that rarefied place where numbers alone are insufficient to convey her significance. Still, her latest offers all the markings of both an artistic and commercial triumph. Heavy-duty hitmakers (among them Rodney Jerkins, Freddie Jerkins and Smokie Norful) capture Armstrong’s grandeur on the best songs she’s cut in ages. “Till the Victory Is Won” rocks with a relentless backbeat, while “Walking Miracle” mixes sparse hip-hop rhythm with straight, Sunday-morning grand piano. Armstrong whispers, shouts, soars and struts, in delirious, dazzling voice, on “So Good to Me” and the stellar “It’s Over Now,” leaving no doubt she remains the most thoroughly thrilling singer in gospel today. Billboard
