::ALBUM REVIEW::

There are strong reasons why Martha Munizzi's "The Best Is Yet To Come" (2003) deserve to be recognized as being conceptually groundbreaking. With a steady flow as if it was directly pulled from a tailor-made worship service, this powerful live recording staged at Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas showcases the southern charm of Martha Munizzi delivering praise-and-worship material - probably her most comfortable element of music. But the music is highly energized, well designed for her voice and shows no lack of enthusiasm. Maybe this could be contributed to the musical direction of urban worship designer and producer Israel Houghton, but even with all of the busy musical arrangements (which span an array of styles of traditional gospel, contemporary gospel, urban, funk and even pop), Munizzi remains the album's nucleus and amazingly work the songs with a divine excellence. It is also important to note that Munizzi shines her brightest on "The Best Is Yet To Come" with her songwriting skills - composing or co-writing nine of the thirteen tracks.

Affectionate funk, possibly shaped by Houghton's crew, sticks out with the quickness. "Mighty God" flows in the energy of 80s hip-funk with its raging guitar work and blazing synth deliveries. You can even hear the influences of Prince & the Revolution and Morris Day & the Time all up in the mix. But it is the vamp that stands out; driving a rich gospel groove into a nice dose of thunderous background vocals. "Lift Him Up" uses a familiar traditional melody captured in friendly praise-and-worship tunes and gets extra thump from Cledel King on drums and organ spice Tim Johnson. "Shout (Remix)", first delivered by Alvin Slaughter, gets a killer makeover with outer-space synth work and a tighter groove that expands into a lengthy eight minute segment of high energy. Israel Houghton's "New Season", another revisit, is a nice journey of celebration with Houghton guest starring with encouraging words and punchy electric guitar work. Added to the mix is an unexpected reprise featuring a sample of Diana Ross' "I'm Coming Out" - in which he uses for prophetic reasons. And the cool addition works.

Gospel legend Karen Clark-Sheard borrowed two of the cuts from "The Best Is Yet To Come" for her "The Heavens Are Telling" project, but the originals are found right here. "Glorious" features a colorful arrangement with its Latin spunk and salsy piano work. Lyrically, the song is crafted just right with extra support from Houghton. Clark-Sheard's version sounds fresher, but Munizzi's is the apparent prototype. "God Is Here", penned by Houghton, his wife Meleasa Houghton and Munizzi, is also present and is strongly supported by warm keyboard work and sensual background vocals. These two tracks are probably the most recognizable in Munizzi's repertoire because of their emerging popularity across cultural lines, but the inclusion of a studio version of her infamous composition, "Because Of Who You Are", expounds even more on the special elegance within her songwriting craft. Plenty of individuals have recorded this song since Munizzi broke open the song on her independent debut project, but adding a remake of the song upon this collection helped establish her as a commanding force even more within praise-and-worship and gospel music communities.

Smooth ballads, shaped in pop music fashion, fits well on Munizzi's soulful vocals such as Clint Brown's "Say The Name" and "I Will Always". She is highly passionate on the lyrics and approaches the notes with sincerity. No wonder most have called her the Teena Marie of Gospel: she has a deep respect for the lyrics and knows how to work and exhort her vocal strengths.

"The Best Is Yet To Come" is easy-listening from start to finish and is the ultimate and well-diverse project thus far from Munizzi. Regardless if you are a fan of praise-and-worship music or not, she delivers just enough for gospel enthusiasts. Not just vocally, but the music is primed in deep black gospel roots - even the more popish numbers. An enjoyable project that will most certainly not be lost in the vaults of gospel music history.