TBGB Reviews…Israel & New Breed

Israel & New Breed
A Deeper Level – Live
Integrity/Columbia 2007
www.newbreedmusic.com

With A Deeper Level, Israel Houghton is on his way to becoming America’s top Praise & Worship leader.

The latest installment in Israel & New Breed’s oeuvre stays true to the pacing of a live performance than many gospel CDs recorded on-site. For one, there is little, if any, silence between tracks. Second, the songs themselves have the feeling of being a connected collection of chapters comprising a project-long work. Such sensitivity to pacing gives the album a thematic quality. This likely has a great deal to do with Israel’s personal preference for the live recording.

A note on that last point: gospel is arguably the one genre of music that almost necessitates a live audience for recordings, because it is only in the live environment, whether church or auditorium, that you can feel the electricity in the air and get a true sense of the impact artists have on their listeners.

While the songs on A Deeper Level are knitted together in a peaceful quilt – the opening moments of soft classical piano and violin set the tone – each track has its own individuality, and Israel & New Breed know when to go full throttle and when to pull back. For example, the beat of “With Long Life” has a Middle Eastern flavor, and T-Bone sounds for all the world like Chingy. “Identity” thrills with an African beat. “Surely Surely” has more than a dash of hip-hop. I found Israel’s remarks on social mores during this song refreshing, demonstrating that he is a thoughtful individual who recognizes that things are far more gray in the world than black and white. “Deeper” moves the mood back to one that is more reverent and prayerful.

The real keeper on the album is “You Are Not Forgotten,” featuring Jonny Lang. I heard this song live and can testify that it is as heartwarming on the CD as it was in person.

Overall, A Deeper Level is an admixture of gospel, CCM, jazz, rock, RnB, and world beats. While the title is an obvious call for men and women to examine their life more closely (in addition to the lyrical content of the project, Israel has a companion book that goes into more detail), the title also suggests that sacred music is taking a deeper and more sophisticated look at itself in the context of a world that is getting more diverse and global every moment.

Three and a Half of Four Stars