Alvin Slaughter – The Faith Life
Integrity Gospel 2005
www.integritymusic.com
Worship leader Alvin Slaughter possesses a handsome baritone voice reminiscent of crooner James Ingram but sings with the command of a leading man in a Broadway musical. His seventh project, The Faith Life, is a mixture of contemporary Christian music, praise and worship, and gospel, performed with a racially-diverse mass choir before a live audience at the Covenant Love Family Church in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
One of the better moments on the CD is Slaughter’s solo performance of “This I Know”/”I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.” A lovely piano accompaniment (by Roger Ryan or Virgil Staford) underpins the medley, which combines a Slaughter-penned song with the old standard church hymn. This track gives Slaughter the freedom to exercise his voice without having to fight the thick instrumentation for musical space. Other tracks that showcase Slaughter’s singing are “The Latter Rain” and the marvelous inspirational ballad “Launch Out.”
While Integrity Gospel is promoting “When I Praise” and “Anything” for radio adds, neither is as musically interesting as “Sacrifice of Praise,” the real hit on this project and the obvious crowd pleaser, based on the din of the audience. “Sacrifice” has all the components of a gospel hit with a strong melody, wall-of-sound production, excellent call-and-response between Slaughter and the ensemble, a steady build in intensity, and dramatic finish.
Overall, The Faith Life is thunderous, mega-church gospel that will please fans of gospel and CCM alike.
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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