GOSPEL SUPERSTAR
CARVIN WINANS
RELEASES FIRST SOLO ALBUM — AND IT’S AN R & B RECORD! By Michael P Coleman
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ince The Winans’ debut album in 1981, members of the gospel dynasty have always been masters of the element of surprise. From duets with R & B’s Anita Baker, pop’s Michael McDonald, and even country music’s Ricky Van Shelton, Carvin Winans and his brothers always pushed the envelope.
Over the decades, Carvin watched family members, including Marvin, Ronald, & Michael from The Winans, as well as BeBe & CeCe, Daniel, Angie & Debbie, Mom & Pop, and even in-law Vickie release solo projects. Carvin, meanwhile, supported The Winans’ music while establishing himself as a sought-after songwriter. (He penned Regina Belle’s No. 1 hit “Make It Like It Was” in 1990.)
played at weddings for years.
“When I wrote “Make It Like It Was,” I wasn’t really praying and going to church like I had done in years past,” the 61 year old legend EXCLUSIVELY told me by phone from his home in Toronto.. “I said ‘God, you have to change my mind. Make it like it used to be.’ “
“I would look at In The Softest Way as an Urban Contemporary record, but even more as just Carvin Winans’ music,” Winans said. “It’s the journey of Carvin, and it’s ALL of me. It’s all of what I had bound up inside.”
That startling transparency and candor is inherent in every song on the exceptional new album In The Softest Way. The family’s envelop pushing continues: it’s a straight up R & B record. The album’s more suited for Saturday night at the club than Sunday morning worship service. If I were Bruno Mars, I’d be looking over my shoulder. Among the new album’s highlights are the title track (which features Kenny G on saxophone), “Just Wait,” “A Little Love,” and “You Blow My Mind”, a gorgeous declaration of love that Winans wrote for his wife, Chérie, and should be | 2 2 | T H E HU B MA G A Z I N E
And then there’s the song that made fellow gospel legend Fred Hammond cry, “If You Only Knew My Heart,” featuring Stevie Wonder on harmonica. Check out the song’s opening lyrics: “If you only knew my heart / It would tell you more about me…”
“I loved recording with my brothers, but it was great to not have to turn around and say ‘What do you think? Do you think that will work?’ With this new album, I experienced freedom in the studio.” n Carvin Winans’ In Softest Way is available at all major digital outlets. Go to sacculturalhub.com and search “Carvin Winans” for more of MPC’s EXCLUSIVE talk with Carvin, including his take on what took him so long to go solo. Connect with freelance writer Michael P Coleman at michaelpcoleman. com, check out his blog at michaelpcoleman.Wordpress.com, or follow him on Twitter: @ColemanMichaelP
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