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  Do You Know On her sophomore project, titled Do You Know, Michelle Williams hands her song craft into the very capable hands of a series of producers, including Tommy Sims, Eric and Anson Dawkins, PAJAM and others. Williams also demonstrates her songwriting skills, penning several of the album's pieces.  Thick and chunky rhythms crank out on "Purpose In Your Storm", as Sims lets loose a torrent of delicious instrumental surroundings to complement Williams' vocals. Muted horns and a zinger of a punctuated bass line immediately cause volume buttons to be turned way up. Singing of the calm of knowing that God works together everything for our good, even in the trying times, Williams floats her soft voice over the busy track and resonant backing vocals.It’s writing specifically for that voice that sets Sims apart from the rest. On “Never Be The Same” he takes advantage of her scat-like tone as Williams sashays across the mid-tempo drip-drop track. “15 Minutes” at first glance seems to be about the ironic happenstance of Williams’ career from singing round the way to being part of a superstar multi-platinum selling trio. For every artist that sees world-recognized success, there are hundreds of thousands whose voices and images never see the light of day. But with a closer look, one finds that the song has a much broader application in talking about the rather strange exchange that Christ allows us to make of our broken, sin-stained lives for His grace and love.
Anson & Eric Dawkins (of Dawkins and Dawkins fame), take charge of "Love Thang", writing and producing the cut, and also singing too. Weaving their vocals into the rhythmically-varied, guitar-touched piece, they join with Williams in telling of God's mercy and grace. “Have You Ever” is a delicate circle of a song produced by Cedric and Victor Caldwell with background vocals by Williams, Margaret Bell-Byars and Angie Winans. Erron Williams (brother of Michelle) did some work on Heart To Yours (see album review); he returns here to co-write and produce the album's title track, "Do You Know". The tender ballad relies on piano, orchestra and strings to emphasis God's overwhelming love. Williams stretches her voice in lengthy held notes and extended phrasing in this encouraging piece. With this release, Williams presents a truly excellent project bolstered by an expertly picked cast of producers and writers. A worthy offering that will take her leaps and bounds, Do You Know will surely stabilize her foray on the Gospel side. No doubt, Michelle Williams comes in strong here, and is a contender. Email This To A Friend Integrity Gospel — reviewed by Stan North and Melanie Clark —
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