Bishop Larry D. Trotter & the
Sweet Holy Spirit Combined Choirs
I Still Believe
Utopia Music Group and Tyscot Records 2009
www.tyscot.com
It’s not surprising to hear references to Job on Bishop Trotter and the Combined Choirs of Sweet Holy Spirit’s seventh CD, I Still Believe. Battling acute health problems and other trials and tribulations, Bishop Trotter has surely felt spiritual communion with the Biblical protagonist.
And, like Job, Bishop Trotter has persisted despite everything thrown at him. I Still Believe is a tangible product of his persistence. It also further cements Sweet Holy Spirit’s role as the current epicenter for gospel music in Chicago. Featuring production and songs by the talented VaShawn Mitchell and Rick Robinson, and go-to musicians such as Daniel Weatherspoon and Joey Woolfolk, I Still Believe exemplifies the Windy City’s dominance in the gospel choir department.
The Sweet Holy Spirit Combined Choirs countenance contemporary gospel in the first half of the album and turn to their traditional side during the second half. On the first half, “Made a Way” and the title track – the two current singles – are excellent examples of the full-throated, treble-heavy, plaster-busting Chicago choir. Later, when the choir goes old-school, it features uptempo tracks and fiery solo performances. Examples are the handclapper “Breakthrough,” “A Way of Escape” and the rousing closer, “Oh Taste and See.” Even the choirs’ extended “Praise Break” was captured and added to the CD.
Rev. F.C. Barnes’ “So Many Wonderful Things,” recorded some years back by Dr. Charles G. Hayes and the Cosmopolitan Warriors, is given a slightly quicker tempo by the Sweet Holy Spirit Combined Choirs.
The liner notes do not credit the additional soloists, but my guess is the companion DVD, to be reviewed on TBGB later this month, provides praise to these individuals who contributed greatly to the quality of the project.
Four of Five Stars
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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.
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Thank you for the clarification!
I have certainly enjoyed this project. Who is the soloist on “Breakthrough”? She is singing for the cake. This CD will make you stand up behind the steering wheel and give God a hallelujah praise. I cannot wait for the full DVD so I can carry on in the Lord. Some of these radio stations had better get on board with these choirs who need no gimmicks and can just “sang” under the unction. I pray this effort will not be lost in the shuffle ’cause there really isn’t one.
A co-worker of mine, who happens to be a member of Sweet Holy Spirit, let me listen to this project before it was released to the public and let me tell you, I was slayed in the spirit when I heard the title track! I couldn’t get the singing because I keep hitting repeat so that I could hear Bishop’s testimony. To be able to say “if I lose everything but still have Jesus I have enough to start all over again” is a testimony like no other. In a time when we’re so caught up in material things and our own selfish desires it is something else to realize that none of that is important when Jesus is real in your life. Oh, I bought 3 copies of the cd, 1 for myself & 2 as gifts.