CD Review — Excelsior: The Promise

Excelsior
The Promise
Central South Distribution 2005
www.excelsiorsings.com

Since I’m a little late in reviewing this project, let me get right to the point: The Promise is one of the best gospel choral ensemble CDs I’ve heard in some time, certainly since last year’s release of the Cosmpolitan Church of Prayer Warriors’ famed The Remix.

It is no surprise that this Minnesota-based choral ensemble of nineteen super singers is Stellar Award-winning and Grammy-nominated. It has an impeccable sense of timing, melody, and dynamic range. While retaining the raw energy of the gospel chorus, Excelsior displays a remarkable palette of vocal color through its ever changing harmonic structures and A-team of guest soloists.

Five tracks on The Promise are especially worthy of note and demonstrate Excelsior’s range of religious expression. “You Are,” with Jamecia Bennett, is dreamy and hypnotic, while “He Won’t Fail You” is classic downhome call-and-response with Jewel Green-Shahid in the preacher/leader role. On “Don’t You Give Up,” Brenda Hunter takes the choir to church on the project’s pewburner. “Song of Worship” is a cool-down track, with Tesa Johnson’s solo building in intensity throughout the nearly six-minute performance. “Awesome,” led by Demarcus Green, lives up to its name. Arguably the finest track on the CD, “Awesome” opens with the familiar bluesy warble of the Hammond organ and concludes with Excelsior interpreting dissonant harmonies that are almost other-worldly in their complexity, strength, and raw passion.

Whether you are a traditionalist or like the modern-day sound, you’ll enjoy The Promise because it is packed with great gospel music.