Page CXVI – The Church Calendar Series
Page CXVI The Church Calendar Series: - Advent to Christmas - Lent to Maundy Thursday - Good Friday to Easter (new release) www.pagecxvi.com By Bob Marovich I discovered the intriguing music of Page CXVI via an email from Noisetrade about Good Friday to Easter, the trio's latest and final release in [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: March 23, 2015
“Just For Me” Tim Spady feat. Jeff Murrell Available on iTunes (release date: March 20, 2015) https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/just-for-me-feat.-jeff-murrell/id978825762 The always-melodic songwriter Tim Spady of Philadelphia teams with vocalist Jeff Murrell on the Easter-themed “Just For Me.” Over Spady’s dramatic and semi-classical musicianship, Murrell praises Jesus for paying the price “just for [...]
Tay Clemons – Journey to Love
Tay Clemons Journey to Love We Dream Entertainment Group (December 2014) www.tayclemons.com By Bob Marovich No love song written and performed by a woman is nearly as powerful and heartfelt as those she has written to express her affection for Jesus. Proof of this hypothesis can be found among the [...]
Mississippi Mass Choir – Declaration of Dependence
Mississippi Mass Choir Declaration of Dependence Malaco Records (2014) www.malaco.com By Bob Marovich Halfway through Declaration of Dependence, the Mississippi Mass Choir’s latest album, I realized that the choir has inherited the mantle once worn by the celebrated Thompson Community Singers. Just as music ministers could not wait for the [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: March 16, 2015
“Persona” Corey Barksdale www.coreybarksdalemusic.com “I know this for myself / I don’t have to be like anyone else.” Corey Barksdale drops into a finger-popping acoustic groove to declare that he’s done listening to what other people think he should be. God knew what he was doing when he made me, [...]
“I Know a Man Named Jesus” – Shawn Brown & Da Boyz
“I Know a Man Named Jesus” Shawn Brown & Da Boyz 4 Winds Records (2015) www.malaco.com To a spanking backbeat and driving mid-tempo groove, Shawn Brown & Da Boyz of East St. Louis, Illinois, declare to their live audience that they know a man “who will make a way.” The [...]
Documentary of Detroit Choir Resounds with Hallelujahs
By Bob Marovich, Journal of Gospel Music “Good things can still come out of Detroit.” This comment, from Let’s Have Some Church Detroit Style, might as well serve as the documentary’s subtitle. Directed by Michigan filmmaker Andrew Sacks, Let’s Have Some Church Detroit Style tells the story of Dr. E. [...]
The Supreme Angels – The Next Level of the Legacy
The Supreme Angels The Next Level of the Legacy Raymarkable Music (release date: March 10, 2015) By Bob Marovich The Supreme Angels are among the quartets that have managed to remain active on the gospel highway, albeit with personnel changes, for more than a half century. Released this week, The [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: March 10, 2015
“I Got Better Coming” LaVarnga Hubbard Utopia Music Group (2015) On her new single, Lady LaVarnga Hubbard of Chicago has “got better coming,” and she’s not afraid to shout down the church rafters to let you know. Church shouting is what the “Duchess of Gospel Music” does. She rollicks along [...]
“The Wonder of You” – Jenise La Vonne
“The Wonder of You” Jenise La Vonne www.lovejeniselavonne.com Although the wispy classical-and-acoustic-guitar intro of “The Wonder of You” reveals the marvel that Jenise La Vonne feels in the presence of the Lord, her penetrating vocals offer a more dramatic scenario: she's actually drifted away and is looking to reclaim that time “when I [...]
Charles Jenkins & Fellowship Chicago – Any Given Sunday
Charles Jenkins & Fellowship Chicago Any Given Sunday Inspired People/Motown Gospel (release date: March 17, 2015) www.motowngospel.com By Bob Marovich Any artist will tell you how difficult it is to repeat the magic of a debut album, especially if the debut shot upward through the charts like a rocket, topped [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: March 3, 2015
“He Delivered Me” Pastor Marlon Lock From the CD Good Seed Project www.pastormarlonlock.com Pastor Marlon Lock’s testimonial “He Delivered Me” has all the flavor of a quartet song, complete with the up-tempo southern-fried backbeat, the congregational song lyric, the call and response between male background vocalists, and the extended vamp. It [...]
Rachael Mann – Proud of Me
Rachael Mann Proud of Me C2 Records/Oak Tree Productions (2014) www.rachaelmann.org By Bob Marovich Rachael Mann’s Proud of Me EP, released last July, is power pop-infused CCM delivered with vocal confidence. No newcomer to religious music, Mann has recorded and performed live for years not only in the U.S. but [...]
“Gotta Believe in Me” – Ebony Archer
“Gotta Believe in Me” Ebony Archer www.ebony-archer.com Ebony Archer is an independent solo artist whose single, “Gotta Believe in Me,” is a youth empowerment anthem with a Jamie Grace vibe in its bubbly cheerfulness. Its message of self-confidence is bolstered by assertive electronica and a thumping backbeat. “Doesn’t matter if [...]
Various Artists – Divine Voices: Pastors of Praise
Various Artists Divine Voices: Pastors of Praise Rendezvous Music (release date: January 27, 2015) www.mackavenue.com By Bob Marovich There are preachers who sing and singers who preach. Divine Voices: Pastors of Praise includes some of both. This new various artists compilation comes from Mack Avenue Records, a label which features [...]
JGM Pick of the Week: February 23, 2015
“Never Forget It” God’s Chosen From the CD 1 & 6 www.gc3music.com Promising to remember all the things God has brought them through, God’s Chosen brings to "Never Forget" the cheerful harmonies and bubbly tempos of the Clark Sisters, Trin-i-tee 5:7, Virtue, and Mary Mary. Also known as GC3, God’s Chosen—Zebrina Anderson, Nikeisha [...]
Pastor Jonathan DuBose Jr. & the Agape House Fellowship: Going to a Place Called There
Pastor Jonathan DuBose Jr. & the Agape House Fellowship Going to a Place Called There JOBO Enterprizes, LLC (2014) www.agapehousefellowship.net By Bob Marovich While music enthusiasts know Jonathan DuBose Jr. as an in-demand guitarist / session musician, they may not know of his life as Pastor Jonathan DuBose Jr. of [...]
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