Sheree Brown is a singer hailing from Chicago, Illinois. She has a soulful voice that she uses over mellow R&B-style music. In the past, she's worked with some of the most recognizable names from '90s pop music, such as Whitney Houston and Celine Dion, and even artists more well-known in today's music like Kelly Clarkson and Jordin Sparks. So, with that to her credit, in addition to having performed with many other artists, you would be apt to think that there's something to this girl's music. And certainly, in her own right, she is quite talented. She has a good singing voice that would work well with the pop divas she has been associated with, but her latest album, First Fruit, seems to be lacking something. The voice is there, and there's an overt Christian message, but the music is the main problem. Now, to her credit, in the very last track on the album, a spoken piece called "Your Salvation," Brown says that the listener's relationship with Christ is more important to her than the music. But, when an artist says that, it sometimes can come off as an excuse if the music isn't top notch. If the artist wants to reach the listener through music, they need to make music that is good by the standards of the target audience. So while, the music may not be as important as listeners' salvation, it's still important for getting the message across in a powerful way. The music of First Fruit isn't necessarily bad, but it doesn't complement Brown's vocals very well. The lyrics are full of grace, worship and love, which is sure to touch peoples' hearts, so she gets credit there. But if she's trying to reach the unchurched, she may want to drop some of the "Christianese" displayed throughout a small portion of the songs and interlude tracks, and focus more on her personal experiences and encounters with God, while livening up her songs a little bit more in the process.

- Review date: 12/1/09, written by Scott Fryberger of Jesusfreakhideout.com