Customer Reviews

Free

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I would give this CD 10 stars if I could! This is by far the best Virtue album to date. Words cannot express how much I love this group, their music, and their ministry. They have a uniquely special way of creating current, danceable music without compromising the Gospel message.

1)Only God's In This -- Great song. The vocal arrangement is a la Destiny's Child.

2)Healin' -- This sound is about how only God can bring true spirtual and emotional healing.

3)Jesus Paid The Ransom -- A wonderful testimony to how only the blood of Jesus can was away guilt and shame.

4)Free -- This hard-hitting number is all about our freedom in Christ. Take off the shackles and dance!

5)Thankful -- This is a smooth and mellow song written and produced by J. Moss. It tells us to not take God's gifts for granted. Be thankful for the simple things and remember every good thing comes from God.

6)You'll Win If You Try -- If you are discouraged at all in any area of your life, this song will minister to you. Don't give up!

7)Lord, I Lift My Hands -- Get ready to worship. Lift your hands and give God the praise. This song will really bring you into His presence.

8)Worthy -- Again, get ready to worship. Virtue delivers another powerful, worshipful ballad that will have you praising God.

9)Interlude-You Just Be You -- This is cute. It features Heather encouraging her niece (and the listener) to accept yourself as God's special creation. Don't compare yourself to others. Love who God made you to be.

10)You Just Be You -- This is a song they wrote and it has a pleasant acoustic vibe and an encouraging message.

11)He's Able -- PAJAM is at it again delivering us the bouncing beats, reminding us that God is able to bring us through whatever situation we are in.

12)Everything Will Be Alright -- Awesome. You really get to hear Ebony on this song. The song has a nice groove.

13)Open Arms -- This song is sung from God's perspective, which is something I believe Virtue does exceptionally well. For anyone who feels like he or she is distant from God, remember, He is waiting for your return with open arms.

14)Nothing Else Will Do -- This brings you back to church. When the enemy is harrassing you, and your life seems out of hand, and your friends are nowhere to be found, you need God to fix it. Nothing else will do.

15)You Just Be You (Bonus Remix)-- Though I love the whole album, this is my favorite song. It has a great beat and the lyrics are slightly changed in this upbeat remix. Don't compare yourself to others or wear a disguise, you just be you.

One thing I like about Virtue over similar artist like Mary Mary and Trinitee 5-7 is that they are not as secular and are original and keeps the worship going. Truely encouraging CD. I will be very surprise if I here this on a FM secular station other than on a Sunday morning. Food for Thought: The idea is for the secular artists to be like you, not for you be like them

I can't get enough of this album. I play it every day, honestly. My favorite song is "Worthy". Same couple who wrote most of the songs for Kim Burrell's album did this one. Great vocal arrangments. Someone must have went through something because this albums speaks a lot about break through, deliverance and not caring what people say about you. The down side of the album. Got kind of corny because one of the sisters always mentions how she felt like she wasn't as good as the others or not pretty enough "You Just Be You". But you know, they're trying to reach the kids. Have them believe in themselves and God so it's not a bad message.

Never before have I had the chance to listen to a CD that was street wise but not worldly or too secular for Christian ears.I love this CD with all my heart and I have been playing it since I bought it.I can't say enough about this CD. Although I have no one favorite becuase every song is great from start to finish. It is totally a CD of encouragement and stregnth."Open Arms","Lord,I Lift My Hands", and "Nothing Else I Can Do" need I go on . This whole CD is just one big blessing.

I just began to start listening to Virtue whenever I bought this album! This was my Virtue album, it was the first, but it won't be the last! I have found them to be my favorite female group of Gospel music! These girls, The Trotter Sisters, are very talented! They truely have a gift by God to sing! I love every song on the album; especially, "Healing", "Jesus Paid The Ransom", "Thankful", "Lord, I Lift My Hands", & "Worthy"! This CD is a CD that you will find yourself constantly playing it! It's a must buy!

This is the first Virtue project I listened to. I will probably try another of their tapes, but it is not because of how much I enjoyed this project. I found it musically boring. Looking from the reviews, I seem to be alone. However, allow me to state that

1) I enjoy some R&B (one reviewer said R&P), but am not a devotee to that style of music;

2) I am particularly not familiar with Virtue; in other words, I'm not a fan. (I'm willing to admit that I might enjoy another project better.)

3) I am a fan of female vocalists and enjoy female groups; that is not a factor. (I've listened to a Trin-I-Tee 5:7 project, and actually preferred that one to this.)

Note: I am not saying that this is poor quality musically, because that would be a lie. I likewise am not saying that the girls are not good at harmonies, because likewise that would be a lie. I am merely stating that this CD did not grab me, nor wow me, nor convince me that I need to hear the rest of their projects.

Now, I'm moving from the music to the lyrics and theme of the project. One thing to keep in mind is that the lyrics are more important than the music in Christian music, because the purpose of the group is in the words of the songs. I found the lyrics very uplifting and encouraging. The theme that I picked up is that each one of us is loved by God as we are, and that we have the freedom to be our redeemed selves, rather than to conform to what others think we should be.

I would recommend reading the other reviews, and not make your mind up on this project solely by my word. As I Christian, I realize these are my sisters in the Lord, and I have no doubts they are being obedient to His calling. The message of this project as a whole and of the songs individually are ones that need to be heard.

I just cannot adequately desscribe "FREE" by Virtue. The album is GREAT. If you consider yourself a fan of gospel R&P or a person of good taste then buy this cd ASAP. The music is anointed, the beats are awesome, the lyrics are Christ centered and the mellow grooves are memorable. Get this cd you cannot be disappointed!!

I also recommend Out of Eden, Trin-I-Tee 5:7, Mary Mary, Debra Killings, Ramiyah and CeCe Winans. Treat yourself to some great music.

Gospel R&P RULES!!!

I own every Virtue CD and this is one of my favorites. They definitely get better over time. My favorite tracks from this project are Thankful, You Will Win If You Try, Lord I Lift My Hands, Worthy and You Just Be You.

If you don't have them, pick up this project and the two before it!

First of all let me say I've been waiting for this album for a year and it's well worth the wait. The beats are crazy and the lyrics are killin it. Each song has a message and they display some wonderful, awesome, and amazing vocals. Karima the lead singer in the middle of pic sings the high with amazing vocals.Heather the light skinned one sings the low amazingly and has a high range and Ebony the one on the right sings the middle with a beautiful voice. I'll give you a breakdown of it.
1. Only God's In This- all three girls share lead vocals. First Ebony, then Karima, then Heather on the bridge. Song about having a song that sounds good but with a good message. The beat is awesome.
2.Healin'- crazy rap like beat. First Karima on verse 1, then Heather then Ebony on bridge.
3.Jesus Paid the Ransom-CRAZY my FAVORITE. The best beat on the album. verse 1 heather, bsection-Karima and ebony, verse 2 Ebony and bsection 2 karima and heather bridge-Karima.
4.Free- for some reason reminds me of Destiny's Child's Independent Women but better. I still love DC. Lead vocals by Karima.
5.Thankful-slow jazz breazy beat. verse 1 Karima verse 2 Heather bridge Ebony.
6.You'll Win If you try-love it speaks to people who don't feel fortunate. verse 1 and 2 led by Karima and Heather. Chorus led by Ebony.
7.Lord, I Lift My Hands-powerful another favorite-they all share vocals in the verses.
8.Worthy-lovely praise song with verse 1 led by Heather then Karima and ad libs in chorus by ebony.
9 and 10-You Just Be You and Interlude-speaks of being you and not anyone else. interlude by Heather and little girl Chloe because Heather is the light skinned one of her sisters in Virtue.
11.He's Able- Amazing beat led by all sisters.
12.Everything Will Be Alright- rock beat nice 1 verse Ebony 2 verse Karima bridge Heather.
13.Open Arms- BEAUTIFUL. verses led by Karima and Ebony and bridge by Heather.
14.Nothing Else I Can Do-Another favorite-led by lead singer Karima who has amazing soprano vocals. it has a big nice solo.
15. You Just Be You Remix- instead of guitar you have an amazing beat.
All in all this album gets 100 out of 10 because it is that good. the vocals are tight and the beats are CRAZY amazing and blessed.

The songs with the hip hop flavor are complete and sound very good. The slow songs are too short many range a 3 minutes without quick fade out at the end. I am a musician, and this Cd would be top notch if many of these songs had an ending closure to it. I understand that some are necessary for the ambiance but not every slow song needs a fade out. Just when I start to feel the vibe of these songs they fade out and go to the next track. Overall the songs are great. Just wish they had more closure.