Category: Reviews

"The Train" – The Torain Family Singers

“The Train”
Torain Family Singers (October 2017)
www.facebook.com/groups/torainfamily

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

cover art

The Torain Family Singers of Roxboro, NC salute their group’s former lead singer with the spirited single, “The Train,” produced by Demetrius Ledbetter.  As its title suggests, the song incorporates gospel music’s often referenced train metaphor into its rollicking invite for the Heaven-bound ride.

Frances Torain, whose rustic, churchy singing style and non-showy stage presence frequently left congregations craving more, long after she and her group took their seats, boarded the train herself in 2016 (see related story).  

This October, the Torain Family Singers released “The Train,” one of Frances’ most recognizable and requested songs with the group.  Thanks to the magic of digital audio recording and a three year-old amateur live performance archive, Frances rejoins her family on this single for the number’s opening call, “Come on, come on, come on,” to which the family responds, “Don’tcha wanna go?”  From that point, Victor Torain moves the song forward with the family in tow, enthusiastically affirming, “Yes, I want to go!”  The family ultimately charges into the bass guitar-driven vamp with a recurring interjection of “ooh-hoo,” but not before eight year-old Makiyh Allen makes his own affirmative assertion (“Oh yeah!”), echoed by his elders. 

To ride, Victor sings, “You’ve got to be holy / you’ve got to live right / no matter what the people say / you’ve got to live right…”

"Glory to God" ft. Taylor Simone-Butts – Vernon Hill

“Glory to God” featuring Taylor Simone-Butts
Vernon Hill
From the CD, Great Joy (2015)
Available at iTunes

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

“Glory to God” is a featured single from the Great Joy holiday project, presented by producer/songwriter Vernon Hill. 

Taylor Simone-Butts leads the delightfully fluid Christian Adult Contemporary worship song.  Melodically, she calls us to proclaim, like the multitude of the heavenly host in Luke’s biblical narrative, 

We sing glory to God in the highest
Glory to God in the highest
Let there be peace on earth
Goodwill towards men
We sing glory to God in the highest 

The Great Joy CD is available at iTunes.

"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" – Wanda Mo'Net

“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
Wanda Mo’Net
Indie (2014)
www.wandamonet.com

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

“Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” has been recorded by dozens of artists.  Wanda Mo’Net joins the list of singers and instrumentalists who has now covered the decades-old seasonal tune.

The gospel singer and Atlanta native delivers a recorded performance that boasts warm layers of clear, crisp urban contemporary-styled vocals.  Though I occasionally hear pitch correction technology at work, I imagine it is probably more for stylistic effect than for actual pitch inaccuracies.  After all, Wanda has been singing publicly since the age of three, has shared the stage with a host of gospel greats, and is a former member of the Georgia Mass Choir.

"Prayer Changes Things" – Adriann Lewis-Freeman

“Prayer Changes Things”
Adriann Lewis-Freeman (2017)
Daf Entertainment Group
Available at iTunes
 

Prayer Changes Things Adriann Lewis-Freeman art workBy Libra Boyd

Gospel Music Fever
 
If you don’t have a tambourine, you’re going to want one for Adriann Lewis Freeman’s current single, “Prayer Changes Things.”
 
Known by many as the lead singer for RiZen, Lewis-Freeman has returned from a recording hiatus—which included earning a pair of degrees, getting married, and teaching middle school—to deliver this enthusiastic proclamation.  The singer and pastor’s wife sings “Prayer Changes Things” like she knows it, because she does.  (Among other challenges, Lewis-Freeman has endured a cancer diagnosis.)  Throughout the foot-stomping number, Lewis-Freeman vocally teeters between song and sermon.  In the drive, she summons a trio of the Bible’s notable witnesses—Daniel, Paul, and Silas—to affirm the power of prayer.  “Prayer Changes Things” is produced by Ay’Ron Lewis.

"I Give You Everything" – Charlene Moore

“I Give You Everything”
Charlene Moore (2017)
Available at iTunes

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

“I Give You Everything” is the current single by San Francisco Bay Area singer/musician Charlene Moore.  The ebullient urban contemporary tune is copious with soul and heft, which is evident from the moment Moore wraps her robust, raspy vocal around the first verse:

Lord, I come to You with arms outstretched, nothing to hide;
Offering all that I have without any pride.
Take everything–it’s all for You!

“I Give You Everything” features Moore’s industry friends Martha Wash, Bishop Yvette Flunder, and Sara Williams.

"Glimpse" – Juan Santiago & Uninhibited Praise

Juan Santiago & Uninhibited Praise "Glimpse" art work

“Glimpse”
Juan Santiago & Uninhibited Praise (March 4, 2017)
www.jsuplive.com

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

“Glimpse” is the new single from multi award-winning international recording group, Juan Santiago & Uninhibited Praise (JSUP). Ecstatic applause and a one-minute guitar-infused intro kick off the CCM track through which JSUP proclaims, “Just to get a touch from You / Just to get a glimpse of You / We will be whole.” Santiago, the ensemble’s founder, allows his expressive vibrato to come to the fore as he enthusiastically leads the pulsating vertical worship song.

“Glimpse,” penned by Anthony Shepard, was recorded live in Baltimore and produced by Damion Murrill. It appears on JSUP’s forthcoming full-length project, scheduled for release later this year.

"We Praise You" – Northern Delaware Chapter GMWA Recording Choir

“We Praise You”
Northern Delaware Chapter GMWA Recording Choir
From the CD, God Be Glorified (2016)
 
Northern Delaware Chapter GMWA Recording Choir cover artBy Libra Boyd
 

“We Praise You” is the lively single from the Northern Delaware Chapter GMWA Recording Choir’s project, God Be Glorified.

It doesn’t take long to hear the choir handing out a lot of what we’ve been missing as a result of choir music’s diminishing radio presence: robust, bold, dynamic section harmonies; crisp hand-clapping; prominent organ and piano riffs; and the overall “Sunday morning” vibe.

Minister Wayne E. Carter, Sr. leads the Northern Delaware GMWA chapter and choir and is the project’s executive producer. 

“I Believe (Gospel Remix)” – Michael Stosic feat. Gordon Chambers

“I Believe (Gospel Remix)”
Michael Stosic feat. Gordon Chambers (2016)
Available at iTunes

"I Believe (Gospel Remix)" - Michael Stosic feat. Gordon Chambers art workBy Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Singer/songwriter Michael Stosic has released a gospel-tinged remix of the Christian adult contemporary single, “I Believe.”

In his self-penned tune, Stosic – whose voice has been compared to Barry Manilow – steadily and melodically makes his way through a lyrical list of affirmations, both positive and poignant: “I believe in God…I believe He is love… / I believe we live in a world filled with darkness / I believe we can shine love’s light…”  His message is accentuated in the chorus, where Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Gordon Chambers (Yolanda Adams, Beyoncé, Whitney Houston, Usher) chimes in on the lead vocals.  Background singers Rasul A-Salaam, Cassondra James Kellam, Helen White, and Monet Ulerio celestially echo Stosic and Chambers’ sentiments: “I believe in love.”

"This Christmas" – Joshua Rogers

“This Christmas”
Joshua Rogers (2016)
Mixed Bag Entertainment
http://www.thejoshuarogers.us

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Certain Christmas songs put you in the holiday spirit from the opening note.  Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas” is one of them. Forty-six years following its original release, Joshua Rogers delivers a cover of the R&B/soul classic.

Rogers, who became the youngest person and first male to win BET’s Sunday Best, chooses an “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” approach to “This Christmas.”  The gospel sensation‘s sage decision underscores his facility for traversing music genres and pays tribute to Hathaway’s creative genius.

Rogers is gearing up to drop a new album in summer 2017.

"I Found a Friend" – John Joyner

“I Found a Friend”
John Joyner (2016)
Available at CD Baby

John Joyner "I Found A Friend"

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

“I Found a Friend” is the newly released single from NC minister and musician, John Joyner.  Joyner’s silvery tenor lends itself to ballads, which he demonstrates in a pair of verses describing discouragement, dismay, and loneliness.  “When my friends, they turn their backs on me,” he sings, “I can say I have a best friend, and He’s all I need.”

“I Found a Friend” is produced by Brian Foster.  Joyner leads Order My Steps Outreach Ministry in Oxford, NC.