::ALBUM REVIEW::

Israel Houghton - with all of his signature musical roots embedded in a rich hybrid of R&B, pop, gospel, salsa and international styles - has been quite influential in reshaping the ever-growing worship genre using his multi cultural sound to usher in a fresh, vibrant energy unheard of before. When the singer/producer/songwriter finally broke away from Fred Hammond’s Radical for Christ as a background singer and became a solo act trimmed with CCM/pop gospel - debuting first on the Warner Bros. Music label - no one expected the singer to adapt into the vast worship community and to later explode into its popular stream in the manner that he did. After the move to Integrity Music and establishing the vocal ensemble New Breed, the singer recorded the groundbreaking New Season (2001) and the studio effort Real (2002). By this time, Houghton already had a substantial following and felt comfortable with blending both gospel and pop together. His bold cutting-edge experiments of style merging blossomed into a free expression of cultural ingenuity that won new fans to the phenom of worship music and is best witnessed on Live from Another Level.

The double-disc album was recorded live at the Total Grace Christian Center of Decatur, Georgia and is divided into well-balanced segments of fast-paced funk, mellow ballads and glimmers of prophetic worship. By far, it is one of the most respected discs from urban worship and may be the ace card in Israel’s discography.

Opening up the first disc’s collection is the uptempo party groove “Come In From the Outside;” perked up with a cool funk/rock display that sets the listeners’ attention. The crowd favorite and radio pleaser “Again I Say Rejoice,” which resembles a revised “You Are Good,” belts out afterwards and features hearty displays of funky gospel. And even with all of the hype attached to the instrumentation, the moving lyrics are also true to the arrangement and posses a Davidic quality to it. “All Around,” a favorable Afro-pop tune, surrounds a sing-a-long charming chorus on top an energetic fun rhythm. Lots of personality jumps on the blazing funk-synth driven “I Hear The Sound” as the group leaps into bold lyrics for Kingdom inheritors (“I hear the sound of the new breed/Marching toward the gate of the enemy”). After ministry thoughts from Bishop Joseph Garlington, the group presents with open arms the heartfelt worship “So Easy to Love You” and bows out quickly after nine tracks.

The beloved Friend segment opens up the second disc with the disco-tinged pop hymn “Friend of God.” Co-written with Michael Gungor, Houghton delivers accessible lyrics to a bouncy sound that propelled “Friend of God” into mainstream worship services reaching beyond major cultural lines. It has since been covered by a number of CCM artists including the Crabb Family, the Lakewood Church Choir and Phillips, Craig & Dean. “Friend,” a beautiful ballad extension of the fast cut, is trimmed with soulful gospel layers and satisfies listeners with its bubbling chorus and well-seasoned vamp. The song leaps into the “Friend Medley” which connects intimate arrangements of classic hymns like “What a Friend We Have In Jesus” and “No Not One.” The Friend segment, a creative moment on the disc, does linger around a bit longer than imagined, but is strung together carefully and is well organized in the songs’ velocity. “Another Breakthrough” - with its R&B Quiet Storm backdrop - is another album gem and enjoyed great life on gospel radio. The following track, “Lord of the Breakthrough” continues in the prophetic scene of the song and features Garlington once again offering word nuggets. Closing out the album is the funky, infectious “Goin’ To Another Level.” The song sounds like a Kool & the Gang mix of “Celebration” and “Get Down On It” and is filled with Marvin Thompson’s animated horn action, percussion-driven spice and Houghton’s zealous tenor vocals. The only drawback is that even though the song is so enjoyable, it may have been best suited to open up the first disc - or just be in the front any of the discs. It’s such a good experience to have to wait til the very end, but maybe this is the strategy that Houghton and his crew were hoping for. It surely ended the project on a very high note. Aaron Lindsley’s musical direction is also important to the disc - leading to similarities to energetic creations from Fred Hammond and John P. Kee. Both discs are equally enjoyable and contained a number of Israel & New Breed classics.

Live from Another Level’s reign on the gospel charts was ever present from 2004 to 2006. During his debut, it hit number one gospel and number five on the CCM charts and would even reach number three on the Top Heatseekers’ charts.