Jesusfreakhideout.com: Kevin Henderson, "Open The Door To Jesus" Review

JFH Indie Review

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Kevin Henderson
Open The Door To Jesus

Artist Info: Discography
Street Date: August 30, 2024
Style: R&B / Gospel
Official Site: Annodominimusic.com
Buy It: Amazon Music

Kevin Henderson debuted his solo music back in 2021, launching with a single called "Throughout All Time God Is Good." Two more singles and three years later, Henderson's first full-length record has arrived. Open The Door To Jesus contains eight songs (including all three previously released singles) and focuses heavily on R&B and gospel. At times, he even seems to emulate the classic Kirk Franklin persona, serving as a hype man while a choir takes the lead. "Living H2O" takes a different route, though, diving into an electric guitar-led hip hop sound, complete with Henderson rapping about the living water that Jesus offers. It isn't completely out of place on the album, but it does seem to fall outside of his strengths. The same could be said about the closing track, "It Is Well (An A Capella Offering)." The track consists of many layers of Henderson's vocals singing an edition of the classic hymn. There's a lot going on here; you can tell Henderson had a clear vision of what he wanted going into the song, but unfortunately, the end result feels more messy and busy than he intended. But the message of the album is bold and clear, and through each and every song, Henderson gives glory to Jesus Christ as our Savior, our King, and our ultimate victory over sin and death. If you're a fan of classic, upbeat gospel music and hip hop, Open the Door To Jesus just may appeal to you.

- Review date: 8/30/24, written by Scott Fryberger of Jesusfreakhideout.com

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JFH Staff's Second Opinion

Kevin Henderson is an accomplished vocalist and music composer stepping out into a solo career. His debut LP, Open the Door to Jesus, is a tour de force in passionate vocal performance and a somewhat run of the mill Gospel music offering. The first half of this album highlights how good God is ("Holy is the Lord," "Every Fruit"), which nicely sets up some gospel presentation ("Living H2O," the title track) before finishing out with a reminder of who Christians are in this world ("God's Warrior") and an a capella offering of "It Is Well." Given the genre Henderson is working in, it's not surprising to find some long tracks here, though a couple overstay their welcome ("Holy is the Lord" and the title track). The run from "I Identify with Christ" to "Throughout All Time God is Good" is the record's strong point. A couple hip hop oriented tracks ("Living H2O" and "God's Warrior") show up out of left field and cause a little whiplash if the listener isn't expecting it. Between that and the Southern Gospel leanings, it drew comparisons in this reviewer's mind to Carman (take that as you will). There's no denying Kevin Henderson's passion for the gospel, and amazing vocals, or even the top notch production quality. But at the end of the day, Open the Door to Jesus feels like a niche album that the general audience may have a hard time connecting with. - Review date: 8/27/24, written by John Underdown of Jesusfreakhideout.com

Record Label: None

Album length: 8 tracks: 37 minutes, 11 seconds

Street Date: August 30, 2024

Buy It: Amazon Music

Holy Is the Lord (4:28)
I Identify with Christ (4:18)
Every Fruit (5:00)
Throughout All Time God is Good (4:20)
Living H2O (3:21)
Open the Door to Jesus (7:09)
God's Warrior (3:44)
It is Well (An A Capella Offering) (4:48)
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Jesus Freak Hideout (Scott Fryberger): After releasing music as Kevin Henderson & Redefined, what led to your branching off into solo music?

Kevin Henderson: I believe it was the natural progression. To be clear, Redefined is still together. Yet with everyone growing older, having families (as do I) and careers that lie outside of music, this was, as I said, the natural progression. And when Daniel Davis called me and shared his vision, it all made sense.

JFH (Scott): Was everything written and performed by you alone?

Kevin: The writing of the songs, lyrically, was done by myself and the executive producer, Daniel Davis. He wrote 4 of the 8 songs on the LP. I wrote 3 and arranged the a cappella hymn. Musically I wrote 4… I wrote the music to one of his and to 3 of mine, not including the a cappella arrangement. Yes, I did perform lead on all 8 songs.

JFH (Scott): Open The Door To Jesus dabbles in several different genres. Who are some of your musical inspirations?

Kevin: At the top of my list are Take 6, The Winans and Fred Hammond. There are more. But, moving down to current influences, they would include Jacob Collier, Snarky Puppy and Tye Tribbett.

JFH (Scott): The album ends with an a cappella track. Can you tell us a little about how that track was recorded and compiled?

Kevin: Yes. The song "It Is Well" is an old hymn, written by Horatio Spafford back in 1873. It was born out of great tragedy, combined with an unyielding resolve to trust God's sovereignty. Daniel Davis knew how passionate I was about a cappella music and insisted that I include an arrangement on this album. Because there are over 80 tracks of myself singing, it was a 3 month process of first arranging, then singing (recording myself), and finally editing and mixing. It would've gone faster if I could've just sat in the studio and did nothing else but that for a month. But, we have other obligations in life.

JFH (Scott): Have you begun writing for more music or do you plan to let this one breathe a bit first?

Kevin: Oh yes! We have more and there is more to come. When you say "breathe a bit", it really depends on your perception of what "a bit" is. For us, we intend to release music every year. Whether it be singles, EPs or full on LPs, the intent is for there to be something new yearly from this point on. Whether or not we meet that, time will tell. But that's the intent.

JFH (Scott): Do you get many opportunities to perform your music live?

Kevin: No. Not at this point. Now, I'm live every Sunday at my church, as I am the worship leader. So I keep myself sharp in that area. But we've got to build our audience, which we are in the initial stages of doing right now. Once there is a demand, we will go out. I so look forward to that day. I have musicians and singers ready to go when we get the call.

JFH (Scott): If you had to choose one song to play for a new listener, which would you choose?

Kevin: From a strictly music loving standpoint, I cannot choose one song. That is VERY hard because this LP is so diverse. It's intentionally a multigenerational/multi genre produced project. There's something for a variety of listeners and if I choose one song, it only scratches the surface of what this project is about. Now from a message standpoint, then I'd say listen to Open The Door To Jesus, because ultimately that's the point of WHY this project and all subsequent projects coming from us exist.

JFH (Scott): Where can new listeners connect with you online?

Kevin: On Instagram (which I just started) @kevinhendersonmusic. On Facebook @khchmusicianorg. On YouTube @officlkrd (that's the Kevin Henderson & Redefined channel). If anyone clicks on my linktree, they can also connect with Anno Domini's online presence. Anno Domini is the indy label I'm under.

JFH (Scott): Is there anything additional you'd like to add?

Kevin: Yes. I'd like to thank John, Scott and the team at jesusfreakhideout.com for this opportunity to further what we're trying to build here. Thank you very much! And to every reader, may the Lord bless and keep you. Pray for us, as we will pray for you. Let us all rest in the hope and expectation of our soon coming King.