A reissue of
Kim Burrell's 1997 debut album with a different and better cover photo and a previously unreleased bonus track, "Magnify Him," recorded during the album's sessions,
Try Me Again shows how fully formed
Burrell's unique gospel style was even at the beginning of her career. Beginning with its soulful opener, "Prayer Changes Things," which has the jazzy, mellow feel of an early
Roberta Flack side,
Try Me Again is that rarity, a gospel album more dependent on gentle understatement than revival tent fervor. Even on the most impassioned tracks, like the choir-supported "Home,"
Burrell sings with easy grace, never over-souling her songs with unnecessary melisma or other grating vocal tics, and her production emphasizes rootsy, old-school instrumentation instead of the glossy synths that have crept into so many CCM albums. All in all,
Try Me Again is a sensational debut that matches
Kim Burrell's better-known later albums and deserves a wider profile. ~ Stewart Mason