Faithful to Believe – Byron Cage

Byron Cage
Faithful to Believe
Verity Gospel Music Group 2009
www.verityrecords.com

On March 13, 2009, Stellar Award-winning praise and worship leader Byron Cage brought his team to Detroit, where he once served as music minister at Greater Grace Temple, to record Faithful to Believe. The new CD was released today on Verity Records.

Aaron Lindsey, also a Stellar recipient, handled the production at Second Ebenezer Church, where the live recording took place. Cage is a veteran of the gospel highway, and it is evident in the practiced way he interacts with the audience, in how he moves through the program effortlessly, and how well the songs blend with one another.

That doesn’t mean the songs can’t stand on their own, because they do. For example, the title track is a compelling and energetic polyrhythmic piece on the subject of belief, and it even includes an intriguing Middle Eastern riff in the mix. “Simply Yes” finds Cage having church, complete with shouting lead, warbling B3 and a classic bluesy rocking-chair “gospel waltz” tempo that yearns to launch into a praise break. It succeeds, too, because the next track, “I Can’t Hold It,” is essentially a praise break with words.

On the other side of the Richter Scale, “He Will Answer” is a lovely, soothing praise ballad that in its delicate melody and straightforward lyrics obviously touched the hearts of the attendees. Likewise, “For My Good” is a simple, melodious and brief gospel song that hearkens back to pre-1970 gospel songwriting. The meditative “Thankful” expresses appreciation “for the times you stood by me,” no matter what. “Goodbye” has a touch of Deitrick Haddon/Marvin, Jr./J Moss tech-pop savvy.

Special guests on Faithful to Believe include Tye Tribbett on “In the Midst,” and Detroit natives Karen Clark-Sheard and Marvin L. Winans, who assist ably on the simmering gospel ballad, “Lord You Are My Everything.” In fact, if “Lord You Are My Everything” does well on radio, and it is likely to (albeit edited from its 8:35 album version), singing in Detroit with Karen Clark-Sheard will comprise the next one-two combination for a hit record, just as it was for Donnie McClurkin (“Wait on the Lord”).

Faithful to Believe is the whole package: great production, lovely songs, fantastic background vocalists, and the Cage-Sheard-Winans trio is a special treat.

Five of Five Stars

gPod picks:
“Faithful to Believe,” “Simply Yes,” “I Can’t Hold It,” “Lord You Are My Everything.”