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 A New Beginning —Kevin Bond To follow up their Spirit & Truth debut (read review), New Birth Total Praise Choir, based out of Bishop Eddie Long's church, comes back with what works: standout songwriting and impeccable mass vocal delivery. A New Beginning is a 13-cut recording with 4 rousing and relevant sermonettes from Long interspersed. The veteran Kevin Bond, as choir director, producer, arranger and organist as well, takes the helm, with a band that includes Derrieux Edgecombe, Jonathan Dubose, Darrell Freeman, Jeremy Haynes, Ronald James and FLOW.  The album is a choir lover's delight, with the songs based on mass choir deliveries, with
nary a soloist in sight. As in their debut, New Birth Total Praise excels in balance and
diction, power and finesse.The radio smash, "God Is", dwells on God's awesomeness. The contemporary flow hooks into memory instantly, with edgy guitars and up-front drums leading the way. New Birth then powers the song with harmonies and subsequent part break-downs amidst key modulations. On "It Shall Come To Pass", the choir revels in the traditional groove, brought forward a little with brassy drive, as they break down the lyrics into two-word phrases, emphasizing the song's message of God's promise. "Be Healed" features Ronald James on sax, and unusually, spends much of its first part focusing on unison voices. The effect, together with the piano and sax backdrop, is both soothing and compelling. The song then splits into harmony voices as the intensity of the piece increases. The piece is reprised at the album's end in instrumental format. Chris Byrd writes "Make His Praise Glorious (Rejoice)", a determined, uptempo praise that leads into "Magnify The Lord", a fast-paced cut in the vein of the Gospel anthem. Near-classical vocal stylings melded with a new millenial instrumental groove to make for an interesting listen. The mid-part of the album spotlights several ballads, with "Sacrifice Of My Praise" and "Glory, Honor & Power" being the pinnacle of several high points. The bilingual "Holy Are You Lord" (with Spanish lyrics on equal billing —"Santo Eres Tue Senor") is written by Jeremy Haynes and relies on a flowing melody over a variety of rippling keyboards. As New Birth Total Praise's sophomore effort, A New Beginning makes the grade. Absolutely.
Email This To A Friend EMI Gospel — reviewed by Stan North —
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