James Fortune & FIYA
Snapshot
World Wide Music, Inc./Red Distribution
(released December 17, 2013)
By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog
Snapshot is a ten-track collection of hits and rarities by James Fortune & FIYA, the orator-choir combo that is successful because its recordings and performances evoke a spirit-filled church service.
Indeed, many of Fortune’s finest songs, “I Trust You,” “I Wouldn’t Know You,” and “I Believe” (the latter is arguably his best), are mini-sermons turned into inspirational ballads.  While Snapshot includes these selections, the prize jewel of the collection is William Murphy’s majestic, church-wrecking version of “I Need Your Glory” (“Less of me and more of you is all I need”).  Although Earnest Pugh made the Fortune composition a hit, Murphy’s live version blows all others out of the water.
Another significant key to Fortune’s success is his ability to surround himself with top-shelf singers, such as Murphy, Zacardi Cortez, Shawn McLemore, M.D. Stokes, and Keith “Wonderboy” Johnson.  Whether they deliver the melody in a cool croon or a raspy shout, Fortune is omnipresent, encouraging them on, raising the temperature of each performance with his vocally explosive interjections.
In the rarities category is the previously unreleased “Over and Over Again,” which features Pugh, McLemore, and Stokes not so much trading leads but enjoying each other’s singing companionship.  While interesting, the better-known songs on Snapshot are far stronger.  
Red Distribution has issued competitively-priced “snapshots” on other artists, but this is the first time it has released one on a gospel artist.  In the spirit of the collection, the CD comes with four color photographs of James Fortune.  Years from now, collectors will place the greatest value on the CD with the photos intact because, without a slot or pouch in the case to hold them snugly, they are constantly in danger of falling out.
Snapshot will please diehard Fortune & FIYA fans and introduce others to the ensemble’s most memorable moments.
Four of Five Stars
Picks: “I Need Your Glory.”

One Comment

  1. lizania January 9, 2014 at 5:20 pm - Reply

    thank you very much brothers for this material I think the presence of God is transmitted here

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Written by : Bob Marovich

Bob Marovich is a gospel music historian, author, and radio host. Founder of Journal of Gospel Music blog (formally The Black Gospel Blog) and producer of the Gospel Memories Radio Show.