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  The Live Experience  Titled The Live Experience, and released on Tyscot Records, this is a Gospel extravaganza, a celebratory event recorded at Greater Grace Temple in Detroit that brings in peers such as Kirk Franklin, Fred Hammond and LaShun Pace to help out (view recording recap).Thirteen songs strong, The Live Experience is a glorious reliving of the multitude of hits that the Ohio-based group has delivered over the decades, ranging from some of their very first ("I Belong To You" when they were with Stax Records in the early 1970s) to some more recent tunes ("Something About The Name Jesus", which they recorded with Franklin on his Nu Nation Project). The workings of the album are fashioned by the production team of Allen and Chris Byrd (see album review) along with Tracy Williamson. Live horns from Lloyd Barry and his crew supplement the live band jammings. Rance's unfathomably soulful vocals are all over the project, as brothers Tom and Steve solidify the arrangements with a backing vocal solidness that is based not only on blood, but on four decades of practice.
"Miracle Worker" is revisted, from the Phenomenon album, with guest Fred Hammond trading lead vocals as the two artists dictate the miracles of Jesus, culminating with the biggest miracle of all —"I looked in the mirror, what did I see, another one of God's miracles looking right back at me". The crowd moves with the traditional bounce of Chris Byrd's "Joy In My Soul", and "Do Your Will" from the group's first Tyscot album, All The Way (see album review). Rance also does justice to Rev. James Cleveland's famous "That Will Be Good Enough For Me". Lashun Pace steams into "I Can't Help Myself", ably laying her soprano line into the old school vibe of strings and brass, revisiting this Rance Allen composition that first appeared on her own Shekinah Glory solo album on Savoy from 1994. In 1998, Kirk Franklin honored Rance Allen by featuring him on his Nu Nation Project on the song "Something About The Name Jesus". That appearance served to bring The Rance  Allen Group back into the spotlight. So how fitting it is that Rance pulls Franklin into a remake of that same song here. The harmonic groove factor is sky-high, with Franklin and Allen combining their ministries, making for an album high point.One of the challenges in putting this project together must surely have been the wealth of songs to choose from. Several smash hits were not able to be included ("Hotline To Jesus", "Smile", "There's Gonna Be A Showdown"), but that just increases the demand for those hard-to-find catalogue recordings. Put this album through it's paces, and your appreciation will deepen for the depth of song and the depth of ministry of The Rance Allen Group. Email This To A Friend Tyscot Records — reviewed by Stan North —
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