Reviews

MUSIC

You're listening to Frantik by The World Wide Message Tribe (see review below). Please allow time for the sound clip to load.

Warming up nicely

Planet Life – Live And Large, by The World Wide Message Tribe and others. Alliance Music, CD £14.99.

HAVING outgrown previous Planet Life venues, WWMT booked the 3,500 seater Manchester Apollo with some trepidation. Happily surplus capacity wasn’t a problem – the monthly extravaganzas sold out, and one evening they even staged Planet Life twice, back-to-back.

If Manchester was miles away and you missed out, or you’re hoping to relive the highlights, Planet Life – Live And Large should be just the ticket. The London Community Gospel Choir, dba and Minds Of Men are all featured, but fittingly it’s WWMT who kick off with renditions of Frantik and Lift It, which more than live up to their titles.

Later Ain’t Nobody gets a sanctified angle as Nobody Loves Me Better, and on the worship side there’s real spirit in I Will Worship and Light The Fire Again from Tribal Expression (WWMT’s worship band offshoot), not to forget Jumping In The House Of God and dba’s classic 3-d.

Saving the best till last, O Happy Day is a truly exhilarating combined effort from LCGC and irrepressible WWMT soul diva Deronda Lewis.

It all bodes well as the Tribe gear up for The Message 2000 (28 July-1 August; 2-6 August). If this was the warm-up, I can’t wait for the real thing.

Life’s big themes

Journey: Destination Paradise, by Freddie Kofi. Littlegiant (Word), CD £14.99

FREDDIE Kofi is nothing if not determined. A decade ago he secured Prince’s Youth Business Trust backing to record his Waiting For Love EP, then stuck at music making for several more years, before clinching a BMG/Word distribution deal, from which comes Journey: Destination Paradise.

Taking a methodical approach, Freddie subdivides the 19 songs into four themed ‘songphonies’, (recovering one’s self-esteem, human grief, relationships, Jesus our Saviour), each concluding with a ‘prayer-terlude’. Within these, there’s a variety of moods and styles, though ‘acoustic soul/gospel’ and comparisons with Seal would give a fair indication of the content.

Picking highlights presents a challenge as to what not to mention – tasty gospel blues (what else?) in Bad News For The Blues, superbly crafted soul on All Of The Love, and real empathy in Come By Here and Love Come Between Us. Also worthy of comment are Strange! (reminscent of Gabrielle’s hit Dreams), and Too Quiet, Too Long, echoing gospel music’s roots in the old spirituals and the struggles against injustice.

Nominated for a MOBO award in 1997, Freddie is already a respected songwriter and performer, and the distribution agreements now bring wider audiences within reach. It’s high time his persistence was rewarded with some measure of success.

What faith is all about

This Mystery, by Nichole Nordeman. Sparrow Records (Alliance Music), CD, £14.99

WHEN I reviewed Nichole Nordeman’s debut album Wide Eyed, I commented on how it resonated with questions of life and faith raised in the Alpha course.

Eighteen months on, a member of our current Alpha group described how she struggled with the more miraculous elements of Bible stories, but now acknowledges their veracity because she accepts Jesus’ resurrection at face value – similar again to issues addressed in Nichole’s follow-up release This Mystery. An interesting coincidence, but an indication too that Nichole’s articulate songwriting matches the thoughts and experiences of ordinary people.

Drawing inspiration from Madeleine L’Engle’s book Walking On Water, the songs relate Nichole’s return from a limited, rationalist view of God to a childlike faith “when all things were possible with God”, and even from the mood of the music you can tell that something has changed.

Resolving the restless questioning of Wide Eyed, there’s a new sense of awe (Tremble) and willingness to trust (Help Me Believe and Small Enough), leading on to unequivocal submission (Fool For You).
The best is kept till last – live bonus track Why is as poignant a meditation on the crucifixion as I’ve heard in a long while. That, ultimately, is what our faith is all about.

Peter Dilley is a part-time studio technician and bass guitarist

© Christian Family Network
is run by CPO, supported by
Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting,
Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.


		MUSIC You're listening to Frantik by The World Wide Message Tribe (see review below). Please allow time for the sound clip to load. Warming up nicely Planet Life – Live And Large, by The World Wide Message Tribe and others. Alliance Music, CD £14.99. HAVING outgrown previous Planet Life venues, WWMT booked the 3,500 seater Manchester Apollo with some trepidation. Happily surplus capacity wasn’t a problem – the monthly extravaganzas sold out, and one evening they even staged Planet Life twice, back-to-back. If Manchester was miles away and you missed out, or you’re hoping to relive the highlights, Planet Life – Live And Large should be just the ticket. The London Community Gospel Choir, dba and Minds Of Men are all featured, but fittingly it’s WWMT who kick off with renditions of Frantik and Lift It, which more than live up to their titles. Later Ain’t Nobody gets a sanctified angle as Nobody Loves Me Better, and on the worship side there’s real spirit in I Will Worship and Light The Fire Again from Tribal Expression (WWMT’s worship band offshoot), not to forget Jumping In The House Of God and dba’s classic 3-d. Saving the best till last, O Happy Day is a truly exhilarating combined effort from LCGC and irrepressible WWMT soul diva Deronda Lewis. It all bodes well as the Tribe gear up for The Message 2000 (28 July-1 August; 2-6 August). If this was the warm-up, I can’t wait for the real thing. Life’s big themes Journey: Destination Paradise, by Freddie Kofi. Littlegiant (Word), CD £14.99 FREDDIE Kofi is nothing if not determined. A decade ago he secured Prince’s Youth Business Trust backing to record his Waiting For Love EP, then stuck at music making for several more years, before clinching a BMG/Word distribution deal, from which comes Journey: Destination Paradise. Taking a methodical approach, Freddie subdivides the 19 songs into four themed ‘songphonies’, (recovering one’s self-esteem, human grief, relationships, Jesus our Saviour), each concluding with a ‘prayer-terlude’. Within these, there’s a variety of moods and styles, though ‘acoustic soul/gospel’ and comparisons with Seal would give a fair indication of the content. Picking highlights presents a challenge as to what not to mention – tasty gospel blues (what else?) in Bad News For The Blues, superbly crafted soul on All Of The Love, and real empathy in Come By Here and Love Come Between Us. Also worthy of comment are Strange! (reminscent of Gabrielle’s hit Dreams), and Too Quiet, Too Long, echoing gospel music’s roots in the old spirituals and the struggles against injustice. Nominated for a MOBO award in 1997, Freddie is already a respected songwriter and performer, and the distribution agreements now bring wider audiences within reach. It’s high time his persistence was rewarded with some measure of success. What faith is all about This Mystery, by Nichole Nordeman. Sparrow Records (Alliance Music), CD, £14.99 WHEN I reviewed Nichole Nordeman’s debut album Wide Eyed, I commented on how it resonated with questions of life and faith raised in the Alpha course. Eighteen months on, a member of our current Alpha group described how she struggled with the more miraculous elements of Bible stories, but now acknowledges their veracity because she accepts Jesus’ resurrection at face value – similar again to issues addressed in Nichole’s follow-up release This Mystery. An interesting coincidence, but an indication too that Nichole’s articulate songwriting matches the thoughts and experiences of ordinary people. Drawing inspiration from Madeleine L’Engle’s book Walking On Water, the songs relate Nichole’s return from a limited, rationalist view of God to a childlike faith “when all things were possible with God”, and even from the mood of the music you can tell that something has changed. Resolving the restless questioning of Wide Eyed, there’s a new sense of awe (Tremble) and willingness to trust (Help Me Believe and Small Enough), leading on to unequivocal submission (Fool For You). The best is kept till last – live bonus track Why is as poignant a meditation on the crucifixion as I’ve heard in a long while. That, ultimately, is what our faith is all about. Peter Dilley is a part-time studio technician and bass guitarist © Christian Family Network is run by CPO, supported by Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting, Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.