Jevon D. Brock & Restoration – Urgent Messages

Jevon D. Brock & Restoration
Urgent Messages
Brock Music Group (Release Date: April 13, 2010)
www.myspace.com/restorationfans

Channeling the sonic energy of second generation Detroit choirs, Milwaukee’s Jevon D. Brock & Restoration will release their fourth album, Urgent Messages, on April 13, 2010.

Urgent is not only a fitting description of Restoration’s lyrical objective on the album, but it also sums up the heavenly fury of their performances. The choir’s immense voices grab your attention by the collar. Their glass-shattering sound could move the Richter Scale. Needless to say, the album’s two up-tempo churchy pieces – the current single, “Jesus is Coming Back” and the traditional “Nothing’s Too Hard for God,” featuring the explosive and seemingly omnipresent Min. Tim White – are its high points.

Forty-somethings like me will note that the musicianship, resplendent with complex chord structures, time changes and instrumental solos, is reminiscent of the heady ‘70s prog-rock tradition. The introduction sounds ripped from the Emerson Lake & Palmer charts. Meanwhile, “My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord” sounds driven by middle-eastern musical modes.

While the frenetic, full-throated voices and all-out musicians fire up the churchy numbers, they occasionally obscure the lyrics and melodies of the CD’s more musically intricate numbers because the sheer volume becomes sonically overwhelming, like a jet breaking the sound barrier. On the other hand, the contemplative urban contemporary ballad “You’re Not Alone” features the choir and musicians in perfect balance, underscoring the song’s message of seeking inner peace through God.

Urgent Messages is Jevon D. Brock & Restoration’s firm warning to be ready when Jesus comes. Those unable to heed the command of this spirited group really must not be listening.

Four of Five Stars

gPod Picks: “Jesus is Coming Back,” “Nothing’s Too Hard for God.”

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.