New Life Community Choir featuring John P. Kee (The Reunion) - Reviews

New Life Community Choir featuring John P. Kee
The Reunion

"That's the hottest thing since cornbread"
John. P. Kee

In the sometimes fickle world of musical trends in Gospel, one thing you can always count on is a sizeable proportion of the population dearly wishing for those days of yore, with respect to the New Life Community Choir (featuring John P. Kee, of course).

We're talking reunion. The original gang and more, with the familiar faces and those awesomely distinctive voices that stayed with you, hit after hit, beginning in the mid 1980's with the Charlotte-based choir's Tyscot releases (such as Wait On Him and Wash Me), and moving to the Verity projects Strength and Show Up, plus some of those potent VIP Mass Choir releases (see John P. Kee discography).

The Reunion is now here, an extravagant double-disc bonanza of 28 cuts and lots more than that songs (due to the numerous medleys) that reprise the glory years, and bring back voices such as Isaac Caree, Lejuene Thompson, Lowell Pye and Sheila Lakin (not that she ever left!), along with guests that include Vanessa Bell Armstrong and Tye Tribbett.

The album serves as a time machine, with the choir's Pastor being the Kee. The opening disc serves up "Wave It Away", with the reliable Garland Waller, Tim Mole and Donald Hayes among the psalmists. Caree and Kee trade vocal lines, recalling delicious vibes of this ballad of yesteryear —but nicely avoiding any resemblance of dated sound.

The Reunion

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Vanessa Bell Armstrong works with Kee on the uptempo, funky praiser, "We Glorify". These two have always had special musical chemistry, and ignite again, proving that the years haven't reduced their spark. More recent hits "Rhema Word" and "Grateful" along with impossibly infectious "It's Possible" and medleys that include "Wash Me", "Rain On Us", "Sweeter" and "Walk By Faith" (with Bell Armstrong again in the mix) are also high points.

The second disc continues the festival, with hit after hit rolling out, reinforcing the point that Kee truly has been a hit-making machine. The melding together of acappella stompers "Clap Your Hands" and the VIP classic "Lily Of The Valley" into a raucous medley is an obvious move. Less predictable, but equally genius is the mix of "Show Up" and "Right Here". Not only do the lyrics nicely match, the hard-driving musical vibe of each cut makes them suitable partners as well.

Kee and co. take a ride over that famed county line with the down home styled "He'll Welcome Me / Thank You Lord / It Will Be Alright", with Lowell Pye featured. It wouldn't be a reunion proper with the much-covered mega hit "Jesus Is Real", so no fear, the song gets its due props, with both Pye and Caree showing up.

Tye Tribbett returns the guest appearance favor by starring on "High Praise", a new cut from Kee's pen that revels in more of that high octane ‘craziness' that both he and Kee are excel at. Raucous rhythms and high intensity New Life mass vocals make this one scream for a video version. Former New Life member Lejuene Thompson steps into the slowed down "I Worship Thee / I Want To Love You", together with Caree.

With this much music, and this much history and reminiscing, not to mention this much great Gospel, The Reunion goes down not only as a historical must-have for all Kee fans, but also as an essential element for anyone serious about their Gospel music.

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Producer: John P. Kee album release date: December 6, 2005
Verity Records

— reviewed by Stan North —