In This Land
This is the best Sweet Honey in the Rock album of all. The songwriting stresses description over prescription, raising questions rather than pushing answers, on songs about AIDS, the homeless, racism, and sexism. Never have the group's arrangements been as ambitious or as successful as they are here. Highlights include Kahlil's nine-minute scat piece, "Fulani Chant," gorgeously re-harmonized versions of songs by R&B; star Donny Hathaway and folk figure Buffy Saint Marie, and a pair of deep blues.--Geoffrey Himes