Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Israel and New Breed's energetic brand of contemporary gospel is captured to great effect on this concert DVD filmed at the Sheffield Family Life Center - not in South Yorkshire, but Kansas City, USA. Israel Houghton leads the audience (congregation?) with passion and charisma, ably supported by the musicians and vocalists of the 16-strong New Breed. The music is top quality, the band a tight unit equally at home blasting through high energy numbers like "Going To Another Level" or providing a gentle backdrop to quieter moments such as the medley "I Still Love You/Magnificent And Holy/Breathe Into Me". However, the visuals fail to match up to the consistent quality of the audio; jerky use of hand-held cameras, quick edits and, worst of all, poor synchronisation with the soundtrack meant that, at times, following the action is difficult. Compounding these technical slip-ups is the poor coverage of the onstage lighting, meaning that individual musicians are sometimes shrouded in darkness at vital moments. Also not working in the show's favour are, firstly, a redundant, self-congratulatory and, frankly, distasteful "Prelude" consisting of a documentary-style montage of urban America's darker side, accompanied by the tagline "A new era with new issues requires a New Breed of worship." Secondly, during the anthemic "Lord Of The Breakthrough", guest speaker Bishop Joseph Garlington appears stage-left to deliver a word on the theme including the questionable sentiment that "[Your path in life is] not right until someone is opposing you." Hmm. However, the DVD ends with a superb double-whammy; "Trading My Sorrows" and "You Are Good" see Israel leading all the worshippers in exuberant and powerful praise. Special features include backstage "home movie" moments and footage from a bird's eye "drum cam".

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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