Shree Newman-Isabell – Life of a Worshipper

Shree Newman-Isabell
Life of a Worshipper (2011)
http://www.shreeisabell.com/

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

Recorded live at the Gallatin Campus of Long Hollow Baptist Church, Life of a Worshipper is the debut CD for singer-songwriter Shree Newman-Isabell, the Tennessee native known as Nashville’s “best kept secret.”

The first few songs on the album are decent and well-rendered but ultimately undistinguished. The album springs to life when Shree starts “I’ll Always Worship,” a contemporary gospel ballad with a lovely melody that becomes increasingly intense and emotional. Shree musters every ounce of her chesty alto to sing, “When your world is crumbling from the storm” and as she does, the floodgates open and her personal testimony pours out.

The singer’s trials, including divorce and home foreclosure, and her decision to look “past my pain,” raise the temperature of the recording and bleed into “Show Me Your Glory,” thus setting the tone for the remainder of the CD. It is now somewhat of a traditional revival as Shree assumes her pastoral role as Evangelist Isabell and delivers the messages behind the music. It’s also the first time the listener can hear the appreciative response from the live audience.

Shree moves on to sing “The Sweetest Sound” in that flatfooted gospel recitative style that has survived the decades, accompanied by the ornamentation of the B3, played with effervescence by Josh Thompson. The high spirit keeps on keeping on through “City Called Heaven,” an old-school bouncer and the album’s current single.

Shree Newman-Isabell’s mission to keep the churchy sound in gospel is successfully accomplished in the second half of Life of a Worshipper.

Three of Five Stars

Picks: “I’ll Always Worship,” “City Called Heaven.”