::ALBUM REVIEW::

Seems like each church choirs comes with something unique when its time for their light to shine. The church choirs of Bishop Larry Trotter, Bishop Eddie L. Long and Bishop Jakes all have their own distinguishable sound and have all left a distinctive imprint upon the face of gospel music; proving that differences can be a good thing. Integrity Gospel fails to capture anything different from their roster of gospel-linked, praise and worship projects; particularly with the church choirs. Though their sounds are infectious and probably the finest P&W material to surface to the forefront, their church choirs bear a very similar styling. So the only thing different from one project to the next would be the artist’ name on it. Oh yeah, and the cover art and producer.

Joe Pace, leader of the Colorado Mass Choir and renowned producer and songwriter, heads the production list on Faithful Central’s debut project to the masses on “Zion Rejoice”. And a good choice at that, since Pace has helped brought needed exposure to the importance of church choirs in today’s gospel music. It probably isn’t a bad idea to claim that Pace has had a better deal of success with other choirs and groups recently then with his own albums. But don’t take that statement too personal: all of Pace projects sound like Colorado Mass albums. And even though this time around, the original crew members (band leaders, musicians) are not all in pocket here except for the esteemed Jonathan Dubose, Jr. on lead guitar, Joe Pace makes sure his trademark sound is not vague or hard to pinpoint. Warryn Campbell, known for having his share in the spotlight with his kinetic studio production and song writing skills for artists such as Mary Mary, Yolanda Adams and the late Luther Vandross (also married to Erica Campbell of Mary Mary), also joins along handling co-production activities; which is a rare for him since his speciality is with studio recordings. But he pulls off the right tricks with his craft on the keyboards and occasional drum programming. Add a zesty horn section headed by Vinnie Ciesielski along with capable house musicians (Kenneth Knight, DeWayne Swan) and the album is ready for action.

The linear notes rob us of knowing who actually wrote the first tune (“Welcome”), but we do know that the song showcases the sensitive, mellow vocals of Warryn Campbell. A well-sooted smooth piece to open the album, but things shift quickly into high-swing when “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”, an energetic choir rocker arranged and vocally rendered by Jimmy Fisher, immediately follows. A better fade out would have been suffice, but who can resist the high-energy felt on this song. Towards the end, the vamp showcases repetitive phrasing mighty enough to work up a infectious, spiritual lather. The same spunk can be traced on the up-tempo gem, “I’m Standing”, which is once again supplied by Fisher vocally.

The album’s strongest highlights are tucked deep within the album; making this a good “seek and ye shall find” project. Gospel legend Daryl Coley contributes an unforgettable five minute solo, seasoned with emotional “sing it-yeah-glory” responses from the choir, on Joe Pace’s original “In This Place”. The original version, with choir, kicks in afterwards and is refreshing with its predominant unison parts and the soft renderings of an accompanying acoustic guitar. Even though it is a common element in Pace’s simpler works, such as in “While You Wait”, the mood takes on a powerful twist towards the climax and showcases Coley’s dominant ad-libbing qualities. The title cut, another Joe Pace tune, closes out the album featuring Erica Campbell of Mary Mary on lead vocals and kind of bears a resemblance to John P. Kee’s classic flavor (remember “We Glorify”). A closing reprise of the choir rocking the vamp with funky instrumentation definitely cements the album’s replay potential.

Even the album fillers featuring narrations and exhortations from Bishop Kenneth Ulmer, pastor of Faithful Central Bible Church, holds a special meaning to the album’s completeness. It’s as if it was primmed and ready to go into the “In The House” series; made popular by Fred Hammond and Keith Staten on the Integrity music label in the 90s. But this is Faithful Central live. Sad to say that this may very well be their last recording on Integrity. Not too many church choirs come back with a sophomore project on this label. This probably is just a collector’s item from a church member’s point-of-view. Overall, the album is pretty nice and succeeded by Joe Pace’s direction. If only the choir had a better polished sound, working out some of the teeny balance concerns, then we could really have a serious winner here. But it’s a nice ride of P&W churchy songs.