Tag: Reviews

"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.

"Say Yes" – Tiffany Jeffers

"Say Yes" Tiffany Jeffers art work“Say Yes”
Tiffany Jeffers (2016)
Write Haus Music Group
www.tiffanyjeffers.com

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

The intro of Tiffany Jeffers’ single “Say Yes” could easily be part of an old Nintendo game.  But get this: just as quickly as the synth sequence catches your ear, the classically trained gospel singer’s richly textured vocal comes to the fore and the music mellows into R&B and soul sweetness.

“Say Yes” is the single from Tiffany’s debut EP by the same name, which features 10 songs produced by Morgan Turner and Josh Lay of Rhyme and Reasons Productions.  The song’s message is solid and straightforward–surrender to God’s will–and the vibe is palatable to listeners with urban gospel tastes.

Tiffany hails from Baltimore, MD.

"It is Well" – Joe Pace Presents: Pastor H.B. Charles, Jr. and the Shiloh Church Choir

Pastor H.B. Charles, Jr. and the Shiloh Church Choir cover art

“It is Well”
Pastor H.B. Charles, Jr. and the Shiloh Church Choir
From the CD, Joe Pace Presents: Pastor H.B. Charles, Jr. and the Shiloh Church Choir (September 23, 2016)
Shiloh Worship/360MusicWorX
www.Shiloh.church/music

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

The sacred hymn “It is Well (With My Soul)” is two years older than the 141 year-old Shiloh Baptist Church, shepherded by Pastor H.B. Charles, Jr.  Nevertheless, Joe Pace’s arrangement of the hymn staple, as featured on the project, Joe Pace Presents: Pastor H.B. Charles, Jr. and the Shiloh Church Choir, melds the tune’s enduring lyrics with modern musical and vocal stylings to refresh the morning worship standard for a new generation.  

The Shiloh Church Choir’s contemporized version of “It is Well” is characterized by an uptempo rhythmic bounce and a vamp in which they emphatically affirm, “It is well with my soul / It is well with my soul, it is well!“

Pace is a Grammy, Dove, and Stellar-nominated songwriter, producer, and choir director.  The music industry veteran presently serves as Shiloh’s pastor of worship and arts.

"Grateful" – Ted Winn & Balance feat. Maranda

"Grateful" Ted Winn & Balance art work

“Grateful”
Ted Winn & Balance feat. Maranda (2016)
Shanachie Entertainment
Available at iTunes

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Ted Winn’s gospel ballad “Grateful” doubles as a personal expression of thanks and a tribute to his friend and musical influence, the late Bishop Walter Hawkins.  

Inspired by Hawkins as well as three generations of matriarchs in his own family, Winn said of the self-penned single, “‘Grateful’ is a song I penned as I thought about the significance of my mom, my grandmother and great-grandmother in my life. My dad wasn’t present but God orchestrated it so that these powerful women were.  So I realized you can cry over who left or celebrate who stayed. I chose to be grateful.”

Strings and a simple piano chord progression open the track, leaving ample room for Winn’s impassioned words of gratitude:

Taught me how to love myself 
Recognized my value, my internal wealth
Now I see my potential the way you do
And I am grateful to you

The song ascends from its bridge to the chorus, accompanied by group members Balance, before making its segue into the Hawkins classic “Be Grateful,” where jazzy Maranda Willis trades the lead with Winn.

“Grateful” is from Winn’s forthcoming album, set for release in 2017.

“Come On Everybody” – Greater New Hope Mass Choir

Greater New Hope Mass Choir cover art

“Come On Everybody”
Greater New Hope Mass Choir (2016)
Touch One Musiq
Available at CD Baby

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever

Greater New Hope Mass Choir in Oxford, NC is having some foot-stomping church, and they don’t intend to do it alone.  They issue an exuberant invitation to “praise the Lord…for He is good, He is good, He is good” with their current single, “Come On Everybody,” recorded live during a spiritual service.

“Come On Everybody” has all the hand clapping, horn stabbing, organ riffing, and tambourine shaking you’d expect in a traditional church choir song.  Punctuated by pulsating bass and the lead vocal of the song’s writer and producer Brian Foster—who is Greater New Hope Baptist Church’s minister of music and co-founder of the North Carolina Community Choir (Malaco)—”Come on Everybody” has Sunday Morning written all over it.

"God's Grace" – Rev. Luther Barnes and the Restoration Worship Center Choir

Luther Barnes The Favor of God cover art

“God’s Grace”
Rev. Luther Barnes and the Restoration Worship Center Choir
From the CD, The Favor of God (2016)
www.shanachie.com

By Libra Boyd
Gospel Music Fever 

“God’s Grace” is the current single from Rev. Luther Barnes’ full-length release, The Favor of God, his first choir project in ten years.

“God’s Grace” adheres to Barnes’ characteristically uncomplicated vocal approach and traditional genesis, sauntering from his mild opening verses to the choir’s passionate refrain.

The singer/songwriter/producer/pastor is backed by the Restoration Worship Center Choir, which sounds like a compact version of the Redd Budd Gospel Choir that he recorded with for years. Barnes is the senior pastor of Restoration Worship Center.

"Trouble in the Street" – The Pilgrim Jubilees

"Trouble in the Street" The Pilgrim Jubilees cover art
“Trouble in the Street”
The Pilgrim Jubilees
From the vinyl LP, Trouble in the Street (1997)
 
By Libra Boyd
 
The Pilgrim Jubilees were thought by some to be ahead of their time when they released their 1997 album, Trouble in the Street. The title track has in fact been around decades longer. Still, the evocative title song raised eyebrows and perked up ears with haunting sounds of gunshots, sirens, and authoritative voices shouting, “Get on the ground, Boy!”
 
Written by the Jubes’ frontman Clay Graham, “Trouble in the Street” is an emotive message song with social commentary that, sadly, is as relevant today as when first released.  When the song first came out, however, it failed to garner radio airplay.  The reason, Clay recalled in Alan Young’s book The Pilgrim Jubilees (University Press of Mississippi), was that some deejays thought lyrics about violence and senseless deaths were too pessimistic for the listeners.  Still, Clay remained hopeful that the time would come for his outcry to be heard.  After all that has happened in the nation in recent weeks and months, this may be that time. “We need Jesus!” proclaim the Jubes.