Category: Reviews

"Burn It All Down" – Lexi

“Burn It All Down”
Lexi
Available online March 13, 2012
www.foreverlexi.com

Lexi’s brand new single “Burn It All Down” is a worshipful plea for the Lord’s refining fire to “wipe out my sin and purify me again…leave only You/Let nothing stand in the place of Your truth.”  Lexi’s fervent prayer is sure to find its way to contemporary worship sets everywhere.

The songstress and media personality will debut her single live this weekend at Radio One’s Praise 103.9 Inspiration and Music Conference in Philadelphia.

"Burn It All Down" – Lexi

“Burn It All Down”
Lexi
Available online March 13, 2012
www.foreverlexi.com

Lexi’s brand new single “Burn It All Down” is a worshipful plea for the Lord’s refining fire to “wipe out my sin and purify me again…leave only You/Let nothing stand in the place of Your truth.”  Lexi’s fervent prayer is sure to find its way to contemporary worship sets everywhere.

The songstress and media personality will debut her single live this weekend at Radio One’s Praise 103.9 Inspiration and Music Conference in Philadelphia.

Noël Divin – Quebec Celebration Gospel Choir

Quebec Celebration Gospel Choir
Noël Divin (2011)
http://www.gospelcelebration.qc.ca

By Libra Boyd

Gospel Music Fever

I close my eyes and feel as though I’ve been transported to a concert hall filled with wonderful Christmas music by a heavenly chorus.  I open my eyes and here I sit, in my car, taking in harmonious French and English holiday songs from Quebec Celebration Gospel Choir’s 12-track CD, Noël Divin.

This offering is bursting with contemporary gospel flavor, thanks to superb arrangements by Michael McElroy and Joseph Joubert.  The heavily orchestrated tracks feature a jubilant version of “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” churchy enough for Sunday morning–Chicago style, and a lovely soft pop rendering of “Minuit, Chrétiens” (“O Holy Night”), both performed by the choir’s founder, soprano Fernande Angers.

Just as exultant is “Joy to the World,” with its majestic horn prelude.  This hand-clapper would’ve fit perfectly on the soundtrack of a Penny Marshall-directed Christmas movie starring Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington.  Slowing the pace but not the continuity is the moving “Noel Noel.”  The song’s lyrical structure coupled with the choir’s execution are reminiscent of Kirk Franklin and the Family (minus Kirk’s spoken-word lead).

Among the year’s better holiday music projects, Noël Divin invokes the true spirit of the season, resonating delightfully with gospel listeners and choir enthusiasts.  

Favorites
“Minuit, Chrétiens” – “Go Tell It on the Mountain” – “Noel Noel”

Fever Meter
SMOKIN’ (4 of 5 Stars)

"I Don't Need Anything But You" – C. Lewis

“I Don’t Need Anything But You”
C. Lewis (2011)
ExCLEWsive Productions

Innovative hip-hopper C. Lewis reminds us that Christmas is about more than presents with his brand new mid-tempo track, just in time for the holiday.  He invites his audience to live, love, and give with sweet rhymes and the melodic R&B-seasoned hook: “I don’t need anything but you!”

This is a singer/rapper on his holiday grind, and he is so intent on getting his message out that he’s making the single available as a free download and ringtone by clicking here.

“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” – Valerie Woodard

“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
Valerie Woodard
Whole Armor Recordings (2011)
www.valeriewoodard.com

Valerie Woodard serenades listeners with her remake of the timeless classic, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”  Simply orchestrated accompaniment turns your attention to the beauty of her tone and clarity of her voice.

Enjoy for yourself!

“Christmas Everyday” – New Creation

“Christmas Everyday”
New Creation featuring Pastor George Crews, III
From the CD, Help Is On The Way (2011)
[email protected]

New Creation takes an oldie on a spin with Pastor George Crews, III guesting on lead.  The Hillsborough, NC based group escorts its listeners back in time with a cover of the Temptations’ “Christmas Everyday,” featured on New Creation’s non-Christmas gospel CD, Help Is On The Way.
 
Oldtimers will recall the Temps’ Melvin Franklin lending his sultry bass to the song’s lead (or even Smokey Robinson’s version before that, with the Miracles).  Crews, by contrast, is a tenor who delivers this swinging tune with near-equal oomph.  The main distinction here, of course, is that Pastor Crews and New Creation direct their affirmation to Jesus and the fact that He makes it Christmas every day. 
 

Related Story
Help Is On The Way – New Creation (CD Review)

“It’s Christmas Time” – Ronnie R. Riles, Sr.

“It’s Christmas Time”
Ronnie R. Riles, Sr.
From the CD, Bad Boys Need God Too (2009)
www.upthapraise.com

Ronnie R. Riles, Sr. makes a plea for more Christ-centered love in “It’s Christmas Time.”

Highlighting all the wonderful sights and sounds typically associated with the holiday–mistletoe, stockings, and energetic children–over the unhurried groove, he returns his subsequent verse with an abbreviated narrative of Christ’s birth; hence, the real meaning of the season.

It’s time, Riles says, “to show your love…to love everybody!”

“The Lord Will Make A Way Somehow” – Aretha Franklin

“The Lord Will Make A Way Somehow”
Aretha Franklin
From the CD, This Christmas (2008)
DMI Records

I love a good hymn.  And a good hymn is made great when sung by a skillful singer who does it justice.  Enter the “Queen of Soul” with a signature composition by the “Father of Gospel,” the late Rev. Thomas A. Dorsey.

I am really not sure why “The Lord Will Make A Way Somehow” is on Aretha’s Christmas album.  It does prove, though, that there’s always room for classic gospel.  Aretha infuses this gem with soul for your soul.  Add some funk to the ageless lyrics and you have yourself a song for all seasons.

"Don't You Give Up" – Christopher Terrell & The New Journey Project

“Don’t You Give Up”
Christopher Terrell & The New Journey Project
From the upcoming CD, It’s Cool to Love God  (November 4, 2011)
http://www.christopherterrellnewjourneyproject.com/

Christopher Terrell is no stranger to the music scene.  You’ve heard his music on Tyler Perry’s Daddy’s Little Girls soundtrack (“Struggle No More”), and he’s collaborated with a number of producers and artists from the R&B and hip hop industries.

Just a few years ago, Terrell formed The New Journey Project, and on Friday, November 4, the ensemble will release a brand new CD, It’s Cool to Love God.  He describes the project as “neither traditional nor contemporary gospel,” but versatile with something that he hopes will appeal to everyone.  Take a listen to the current single, “Don’t You Give Up” for yourself.  Its message is clear: hold on, be strong, don’t give up, and God will see you through.

Help Is On The Way – New Creation

New Creation
Help Is On The Way
Woods Productions (2011)
[email protected]

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

While their debut 12-track project is entitled Help Is On The Way, RuBena Cooper-Woods, Tonya Woods, Karen Foust, and Devon Torain churn out their numbers knowing intuitively that their Help has arrived!

For New Creation, music is as much legacy as it is ministry.  As the pedigree goes, group members are the products of three popular NC based singing aggregations: the Cooper Four, the Faithful Travelers, and the Torain Family.

Accordingly, Help Is On The Way is loaded with tasty, homegrown gospel tunes, starting in high gear with “Praise Him,” written by vocalist/keyboardist Tonya Woods.  RuBena Cooper-Woods handles the lead on the brisk call to celebration.  New Creation then forges ahead with a mix of slow as well as velocious original songs and hymn arrangements.

Throughout the album, Cooper-Woods and Woods exchange lead chores as well as the writer’s hat on most of the pieces.  Easily among the project’s highlights are its tangy, pew-burning title track blazed by Cooper-Woods, followed by the slow yet simmering “God Specializes,” which is very appropriately suited to Woods’ velvety vocal texture.  “I Made It” is another one with plenty of spice, and Cooper-Woods seizes every available second of this hammering groove to celebrate all that she has overcome and to acknowledge that “it was You, Lord, that brought me through!”  Along with arrangement help from her brothers Thurman, Eric, and Derrick (New Creation’s producer, lead and bass guitarists, respectively), Woods shines again on a pop-soul flavored version of “Heir of the Kingdom,” from which she crafts an anthem for all who are in line to inherit.  Her stylings hint to India.Arie and the background vocals are light, lively, and crisp–a refreshing departure from the quartet vibe that powers the rest of the project.

Pastor George Crews, III also makes a pair of appearances on album–first, offering a passionate prayer and exhortation in “Everything You Need” (penned by Thurman Woods, Sr.) and later, crooning a remake of the Temptations’ “Christmas Everyday” to round out the project, declaring that Jesus “make[s] it Christmas, even in the fall.”

With Thurman “Peanut” Woods at the helm of production on this all-around delicious debut, the only suggestion I’d make is that a couple of the songs’ reprises be reserved for live performances.  Re-cranking a number tends to be most effective when the audience perceives it to be spontaneous rather than expected.

A CD launch like this makes one thing certain though: Help is just one of the many wonderful things on the way for New Creation.

Favorites
“Help is on the Way” – “God Specializes” – “Heir of the Kingdom”

Fever Meter
SMOKIN’ (4 of 5 Stars)