James Fortune & FIYALive Through It
FIYAWorld Music/eOne Engertainment (2014)
By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog
The two-disk Live Through It is James Fortune & FIYA’s first foray into live recording and a successful one.
The title track and current single is classic James Fortune: an antiphonal ballad loaded with affirmations of encouragement and sung sweetly by FIYA while Fortune punctuates the melody with shouted exhortations. “The Way You See Me,” about society’s cruel affronts, is another cut bearing the James Fortune “sugar-and-salt” trademark.
Tasha Cobbs is one of eight gospel stars who join Fortune on this live recording, and “We Give You Glory” is an ideal vehicle for her sweet-to-sanctified singing. The album moves effortlessly from this track to “Let Your Power Fall,” with the equally effervescent Zacardi Cortez. These two songs comprise the album’s first emotional apex.
The second comes toward the end of disc two, when Lisa Knowles nearly steals the program with her solo on “Miracles.” The anthemic song about God’s miracles “doing amazing things,” such as curing incurable cancer, features her explosive vocals, a 12/8 rocking chair beat, and a “take us to church” bluesy vamp, which eventually propels the congregation into the throes of an extended praise break. FIYA’s repetition of the phrase, “If you’ve been through what I’ve been through / You’d be praising, too” speaks for many in the room, including Fortune, whose journey to fame in the gospel music industry was pitted with potholes.
Despite the plethora of gospel celebrity on the CD, the individual members of FIYA also offer strong solos. In addition to Knowles, well known for her work with the Brown Singers of Memphis, James’s wife Cheryl offers a lovely lead on the conventional “Best Praise.” Todd Galberth lends his elastic tenor to “Forever,” a song with a sing-along chorus.
Strong pacing from start to finish and masterful production from Ayron Lewis and Terence Vaughn make Live Through It one of the year’s best gospel albums.
Five of Five Stars
Pick: “Live Through It,” “Miracles.”
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.
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