Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

Rev Al & Pashion Lewis have been performing and recording gospel music for over 20 years, and here they give us a good value mix of gospel and jazz in a live setting at the House Of Restoration United Methodist Church Mission, Birmingham, Alabama, over an hour and 18 minutes' worth. Rev Al is obviously a talented guy, most of the composing credits go to him, and he contributes some cool saxophone throughout. Al also gives us plenty of gritty vocals, with loads of righteous harmonies from Pashion and the rest of the House Of Restoration singers, but there's a lot of repetition, so there's a danger of a listener feeling a little bit out of things, and this for me is the problem. I have listened to some examples of church wreckin' down the years that have been truly awesome, with so much anointed commitment and sheer exuberance in the performances that I was truly involved and blessed; in comparison, a lot of this for me only causes superficial damage, and I hardly felt involved at all. In truth there are hundreds of better live trad gospel albums around.

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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