::ALBUM REVIEW::

With over twenty albums under their belt and an amazing case of GRAMMYs accredited to their success, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir has earned a solid reputation for their strong work ethic and dedication to their big multi cultural choral sound. And in the center of their massive popularity amongst organized gospel lovers is their passion to stretch their limits around that multi cultural foundation, but remaining true to their gospel roots. In the end, the albums are milked with a pop flavor, a glossy polished production and a big colorful choir sound that projects well upon the big string and horn arrangements. A musical affair we would most likely expect if the Boston Pops decided to do an elaborate gospel production. Now the famed church choir of the Brooklyn Tabernacle, pastored by Jim Cymbala, find themselves on the Integrity music label releasing their usual praise-and-worship-friendly brand of choir material on their label debut, I’ll Say Yes. Carol Cymbala serves as the album’s producer and once again places her signature musicians in place including Rev. Oliver Wells (keyboardist, production director), Lari Goss (orchestration), Jonathan Woodby (organist) and the talented Nashville String Machine. Cymbala, known for penning some of BTC’s most popular worship choruses, contributes a few new cuts to the collection while shuffling through a number of familiar praise-and-worship and more recent gospel-friendly favorites to balance out the collection. It’s a trademark well known of Cymbala and is well executed here.

A big congregation/praise team sound emerges from the Chris Tomlin favorite “Holy Is The Lord” and wondrously captures the intimate worship atmosphere found in modern church music. With complimentary guitar work and the occasional band cut off on the enjoyable chorus, the song proves to be a welcoming album opener. The celebratory “Oh How I Love The Name,” penned by Cymbala, walks around the groovy bounce of Kurt Carr’s “In The Sanctuary” and simply straddles around a jubilant pop-fashioned worship sound. The choir is then introduced by the pastor and followed up with a slow, classically-embellished interlude from sultry strings. This makes way for a dazzling rendition of Judith Christie-McAllister’s “Hallelujah, You’re Worthy;” propped up by enhanced string deliveries, pulsating disco-like rhythms and tons of repetitive, church-friendly gospel energy. Cymbala even stays true to McAllister’s version with the break-up of the choral parts on the exuberant vamp; proving that traditional gospel and worship can work together in harmony. The epic ballad “I Never Lost My Praise,” recently recorded by Tramiane Hawkins and written by Kurt Carr, makes its entrance here as well. Not as gritty and soulful as Hawkins’ version, but it’s a welcoming addition and proves to be the perfect transition from the early worship segment.

The album’s most dominant contemporary gospel selection, “King of Glory (Hallelujah To The King),” flows like an Israel Houghton uptempo piece and stands out for its exciting, bouncy arrangement. Pounding strings, energetic guitar work from Tom Hemby and sweeping modulations round out this jam. The very impressive Latin styling of “We Fill The Sanctuary" is just as tantalizing and proves to be one of the choir’s most diverse and challenging pieces ever recorded.

There’s plenty of worship to go around though, including Blaine Morris’ “The Lord Thy God” (using powerful strings on the sweeping Steven Ford arrangement found on the Faith In The House/Integrity project), the Darlene Zschech-penned “Worthy Is The Lamb” and the sensitive title cut. At times, the big ballads extend beyond its time and tends to drag a bit longer then they should. Fits well for a worship service or an exclusive project, but it’s a bit of a detour from Brooklyn Tabernacle’s previous offerings. Still they are great songs and performed well but may need to be digested in small dozes - unless you need a worship jolt extending long periods of time.

But those in need of a better balance of gospel and worship using BTC’s conventional layout may feel a bit uncomfortable with the Integrity-style of laying out live recordings. Unlike their stellar standouts like God Is Working (2000), Be Glad (2002) or Live...This Is Your House (2003), I’ll Say Yes settles in worship territory throughout the entire project; leaving no room for other topics of interest. But the highly anticipated marriage of Integrity with BTC is a fitting one and details a healthy networking relationship worth mentioning. Plus, the choir is highly known for their cross cultural style of worship and for giving birth to popular worship leaders including Alvin Slaughter and Calvin Hunt. This project successfully defines their important connection to modern worship music and marks a new chapter for their global outreach ministry, even though BTC enthusiasts may be a little critical over the lack of gospel-themed lyrical content.