Vashawn Mitchell – My Songbook (CD/DVD)

Vashawn Mitchell
My Songbook
Tyscot Records (2011)
http://www.tyscot.com/

Following in the wake of triple-threat Vashawn Mitchell’s GRAMMY nominations and critically-acclaimed CD Triumphant (EMI Gospel), Tyscot Records mined its catalog to present the Chicagoan’s best early recordings and performances as a CD/DVD combination called My Songbook. The two-disc set hits stores today.

The selections on My Songbook are culled from projects such as Mitchell’s Believe in Your Dreams (2005) and Promises (2007). It will introduce newer fans to the artist’s early material that, they’ll discover, is just as fresh as his current work.

Mitchell is one of the most gifted gospel songwriters in the business today. Like PJ Morton, Mitchell writes lyrics that pierce the soul with an archer’s accuracy. The music and arrangements are contemporary but with enough traditionally sanctified flavoring to satisfy old-schoolers.

What’s nice about the companion DVD is that it is not a video rehashing of the audio CD but a continuation of the Vashawn Mitchell Songbook. The 70 minute video is a live performance of Mitchell and his group at Chicago’s intimate Apollo Theater. They sing some of the songs on the CD, but others, such as “Favor (Ain’t Fair)” and “Crazy Praise,” are only available on the DVD. Guest appearances on the DVD include Bishop Larry Trotter, Angie Spivey and Kim Burrell. Spivey in particular is an F5 tornado of energy; she whooshes across the stage like an otherworldly force and stirs up a praise break.

For those who already own everything Mitchell has released, the set contains two unreleased tracks from the Tyscot vaults: “God Cares for You” and a remix of “Don’t Last.”

My Songbook would have benefited from expanded liner notes that identified the source album for each of the songs and listed the lead singers for each track. Nevertheless, the set is a fine retrospective on the work of an artist whose star continues to rise.

Four of Five Stars

Picks: “No Way,” “Promises,” “Don’t Last.”