Gospelflava.com



Click to buy!

Shirley Caesar
A City Called Heaven

Few in Gospel have achieved the combination of longevity and continued relevance as has Pastor Shirley Caesar. For over 40 years, the vocalist and pastor has weathered musical storms and remains an endearing musical treasure with a message for the masses.

The veteran artist's latest effort is A City Called Heaven, a ten-track release that serves as a consistent reminder of Caesar's gift and viability to the genre.

CD The 11-time Grammy winner taps James D. Robinson as lead producer for the effort. Robinson's experience with artists such as JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise coupled with his years of musical knowledge make his pairing with Caesar a natural. Caesar joins Robinson to co-produce.

The album offers a blend of familiar Caesar's traditional flair along with a few unexpected turns that work well for the North Carolina based pastor.

Caesar is a legendary story teller, with "Hold My Mule" being one of her most famous stories. She continues this with "Playground In Heaven", a moving story of twin girls separated in this world by death.

Caesar's traditional flair continues with the infectious "Been So Good" and the creative "Get Light For The Flight".

She also offers up a few intriguing covers. "Can't Even Walk (Without Him Holding My Hand)", recorded by The Sensational Nightingales and Darrell McFadden & The Disciples, gets a worthy cover from Caesar, whose passion brings even greater life to the song.

On the uptempo "Favor", penned and originally recorded by David Frazier, Caesar makes it work effortlessly and sings with authenticity.

Don't miss the title track either. Penned and recorded by Aaron Sledge, this ballad, marked by its lyrical simplicity and orchestral arrangement, gives the Caesar the opportunity to talk about Heaven, our ultimate desired destination.

The lead radio single is the definitively urban "Nobody", featuring vocals and production by J. Moss. Call it the urban follow-up to her 2005 duet with Ton3x ("I Know the Truth"), as Caesar shows that she can ride in any musical packaging of the gospel. The hard-hitting jam is one of the album's many bright spots and showcases Caesar's musical and lyrical relevance, as she presents many of life's challenges with Christ as the ultimate solution. Caesar proves that she matches up well with hard-hitting beats, vocal acrobatics, and auto tune!!

With a career has been marked by excellence-filled presentation and A City Called Heaven continues in that vein. Chalk up another top-notched project for Pastor Shirley Caesar.



Email This To A Friend



Production: James D. Robinson, Jr. , Pastor Shirley Caesar, J. Moss.
album release date: November, 2009
Shu-Bel Records/Light Records


— review by Gerard Bonner



  All content in GOSPELflava © copyright 2009. No information to be reprinted or re-broadcast from this site without the expressed written consent of GOSPELflava.com. All rights reserved.

articles
News
Reviews
New Releases
Charts
Message Board
Search Engine
Mailing List
Archive
About Us
Home

Stellar Awards