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Real

Israel & New Breed

Now here’s an album I wouldn’t have been drawn towards in the normal run of life… but then the lady who directed me here is far from normal. Israel Houghton has gathered not only a top-quality backing band, but also a vast array of horn players, a chamber orchestra and choir members to make a fabulous sound, expressing the joy of his salvation and giving thanks to the Lord.

From the odd, crackly, string-based (including a touch of tuning at the end) first track, through the explosive entrance of the horns and on to the grooving, tender ballad material of the final cut, this album shrieks quality of performance and passion as well as of inspiration. I found some of it a little bit inaccessible, but then I’m a white boy inexperienced in the intricacies of this genre.

Better starts off sounding like it’s going to be similar to the opening title theme to Cagney & Lacey, but then develops with lots of pushed funky syncopation, declaring ‘your loving kindness is better, so much better than life.’ The choir’s job is so much more than simply adding richness and punch to the chorus, as they get to do some of those brilliant interjections and contrapuntal twiddles. The bass playing and chord selection are really lively and interesting, while the brass stabs and false endings keep you guessing even after several listens.

Israel’s strong delivery is featured early in ’Bout It, ’Bout It, and then the choir takes the lead, while Israel does the commentary between the lines. I found the rasping sub-bass a bit distracting, as it made me wonder at first if my speakers were in trouble (it’s that good). But then the ‘bit of lollystick sellotaped so that it’s flicked by the spokes of my bike wheel making a great noise’ sound stops and we’re into the title track, a grateful acknowledgement that God helps us keep it real. I am yet to fully grasp what this trendy phrase means, but it’s probably my fault for being born in a time when words had a thing called ‘meaning’. I have a hard time letting ‘keeping it real’ be the main focus of my praise – unless it’s about truth or honesty or something…

But the silence-free segues on this album are great, and we’re suddenly into Nothing Else Matters, a great, grooving restatement of the pre-eminence of the Lord Jesus. It’s exactly the same sentiment as those worship songs where you suddenly find yourself declaring that everything in life is rubbish. What they mean, of course, is that in comparison to knowing Christ and being saved, they are transient, passing, unimportant. But Houghton seems to have expressed it really well here, and it doesn’t grate. ‘Just to sit at your feet, hear your voice clearly speak, lifts me out of defeat, for in you I’m complete, Just remind me that nothing else, nothing else.’ Fabulous!

Acoustic guitar, oboe and strings introduce Weight of your Glory, a delightful love song. ‘Let me be clean/ With trembling lips and hands/ I can barely stand/ Because of the weight of your glory.’ The tune is delightful, the accompaniment creative and uplifting, and the delivery of the main vocal is quite breathtakingly heartfelt.

After what seemed like a bit of a neutral number, the keyboards turn a corner via a quck burst of My Song is Love Unknown and then develops superbly into a reprise of the Weight of Your Glory chorus, seamlessly dovetailed into Don’t Want to Leave, another slow, soulful, secure, content, restful, adoring declaration of sonship. The choir make a significant contribution here, and the band hold back with sensitivity. After a while, the groove drops in and the deeply personal sense of belonging and comfort take a corporate turn, emphasising the family and the wonderful reality that God isn’t just my Father; he’s our Father! Quite excellent musically, emotionally, worshipfully… I was carried away by this number. Top marks for providing a sense of inclusion.

As God gently reminds us in I still Love You, he knows our weakness, our questions, our rebellion, and yet continues to be faithful towards us. Aaron Lindsay’s fabulous piano work introduces some outstanding vocal harmonies from the breathy, laid-back beevees. The final long fade has the effect of helping me recognise the eternal nature of the love of God. Sadly, someone then decided to slam the crackle effect onto the end, which distracted me into memories of having to get up and take the needle off the record when the turntable didn’t do into its end-of-disc routine. What purpose does this serve? Why do I have hi-fi equipment if the producers are going to put this sort of background noise onto CDs, which are supposed to provide a better quality of sound?

But a great album. I’m guessing that there are several other albums like this out there in black gospel music land. I am starting to grasp what all the fuss has been about.

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