print: GOSPEL MUSIC REVIEW: Live - One Last Time (The Clark Sisters) | April, 2007 on BlackGospel.com

The Clark Sisters (Live-One Last Time)
EMI Gospel

April, 2007 on BlackGospel.com - Review by Christopher Heron

Ladies and gentleman, the wait is finally over. After 13 long years as prolific and prophetic ministers of music, Dorinda Clark Cole, Karen Clark Sheard, Elbernita Twinkie Clark and Jacky Clark Chisholm are finally reunited on disc for one final occasion to minister as they have for nearly 40 years as one of Gospel music’s most influential and beloved artists, simply known as the Clark Sisters.

These lovely ladies of the Gospel returned for one final curtain call in Houston, Texas to appease and please a fan base that spans over a generation, multiple denominations and many literal nations. With the release of their highly anticipated album, Live – One Last Time (EMI Gospel) – The Clark Sisters have dropped a disc that will sit quite comfortably alongside their legacy as music legends that have shaped both Contemporary Gospel and Pop music, while remaining true spiritual titans for the Gospel.

With a consummate producer like Donald Lawrence at the helm of this coveted live project and vocal virtuosos like the Clark Sisters executing each bar and phrase like a sonnet set to melody, the final product was bound to ring like cherubs singings the songs of Zion. But let’s take a closer look at the final 16 tracks these ladies will likely record together for the last time.

The first single, Livin’, is a silky smooth track about living the good life, the best and blessed life in the Lord. Composed by the brilliant Donald Lawrence, the selection features the unmistakable voice of Karen Clark Sheard leading this lovable track that will have you stepping along in joyful rhythm. The song certainly sets the tempo for positive things to follow.

Now, track two, Highly Favored, is a song penned by Karen Clark Sheard that falls in line with what longtime fans have come to expect from the Clark Sisters, a unison style of singing that’s as tight as a metropolitan symphony. It’s the message of the saints…being blessed and highly favored.

The next song, Something New, is a reaffirmation that God is “birthing and anointing” new things in us each and every day. All that’s required on our part is to receive and believe that it’s already done. In classic form, Karen and Dorinda close the song with vintage runs and riffs certain to jog short memories who faintly remember the vocal acrobatics the Clark Sisters made famous in COGIC services and Detroit churches for years.

Instrument is a poignant new selection also penned by Lawrence that’s sung with power and presence by the Clark Sisters. The vocal showmanship highlighted in Instrument is a testament to the message buried deep within the music. The undeniable singing gifts endowed upon the Clark Sisters and all psalmists who allow their talent to be used by Him for Him are ultimately instruments to praise God.

The Clark Sisters never let up as dedicated disciples of the Gospel on One Last Time. Each track takes a firm stand on the side of the Lord. No ambiguity, no duplicity, just saved and sanctified church music that will leave minds open and hearts moved towards God.

For instance, I Tried Him & I Know Him is a little number seemingly crafted specifically for the Clark Sisters. With the aid and unction of the Comforter, The Clark Sisters return at least in spirit to the stage of the convocation services they ruled for years, as the spirit propels each sister into places only the Holy Ghost could reveal. Holy Will is a short and sweet classic remake from the repertoire of memorabilia and Name It, Claim It will entice you as the listener to raise your hands and sing along on this familiar tune, another blessed blast from the past.

Looking To Get There is an exuberant song written by Dorinda Clark Cole that will have you looking to the hills from whence cometh your help, singing “it’s already time…let’s go!” Dorinda carries the baton like a cheerleader for the Lord on this one, leading the mantra, “Are You Goin’?” and the march to the gates of New Jerusalem is on.

On God Understands All, Jackie Clark Chisholm, the unheralded yet essential Clark sister, is set up to sing this pretty number just the way the legendary late Dr. Mattie Moss Clark would deliver it with her faint yet fervent voice. With God Has An Angel, Jackie reinterprets this familiar Clark Sisters single about God’s protective angels commissioned to watch overcoming danger, a song from another age with such sincerity and soulfulness, the song still holds its reverence 30 years later.

On My Redeemer Liveth, Dorinda turns it out on this funky for-the-saints selection. In true COGIC style, the Clark Sisters up the tempo and reveal that their redeemer is not the only one alive and kickin’, a praise number that will have you itching to dance like David, too.

World is another firecracker that pops and fizzles like the 4^th of July. This melodic chant with a raging world rhythm declares that solutions to world events can only be found in Jesus. The Clark Sisters have never been shy to speak through sweet songs about world affairs and current events. And again, the Clark Sisters are on point with a bold message that both saints and sinners can identify.

Perhaps one of the best known remakes that’s stood the test of time is Pray For The USA. Twinkie takes this one to the mountaintop on bended knees, praying for the nation in these precarious times.

Everyone will warmly remember and shed a joyful tear to Jesus Is A Love Song, while You Brought The Sunshine - arguably the Clark Sisters’ trademark song - is the curtain call to an illustrious career and farewell album. With the edgy tropical rhythm slipped in, the song sails across culture divides, faiths and musical preferences. As the swan song to One Last Time, Karen, Dorinda, Twinkie and Jacky depart on a sunny note that oozes with positive vibes, leaving you cherishing the album and the Clark Sisters for a lifetime.

Live – One Last Time is an exquisite finale to an illustrious career in ministry as a group. The album showcases the anointed penmanship of Twinkie Clark, who composed 12 of the 16 selections. The album also highlights how uniquely special The Clark Sisters interpreted songs as creative artists and divinely inspired ministers. Their spirit-led style of singing has influenced a generation of singers in America who’ve attempted to reproduce their soulfulness and spirituality as psalmists. But none will replicate or imitate the living legends known as the Clark Sisters. And Live – One Last Time will reign for many more years as a symbol of the Clark Sisters’ faith and phenomenal gift as ministers of the Gospel.