Album Reviews
Movies
Concert Reviews

Top 10
Resources
Contact Us

Here's a quick quiz to see if you should get your own copy of Gary Oliver's More Than Enough. Do you like upbeat and funky urban gospel? Do you like praise music? Have you ever heard of Gary Oliver? If you chose "yes" to all three questions, skip this review and go grab it. If you chose "no" to one or more, read on.

Whether or not you're new to Gary Oliver, check out the Integrity web site (from which I'm quoting this worship leader) to learn all the details about his latest offering, a little more than two years in the making. Skipping to the bottom line, he notes, "I'm hoping that when people play the CD, they'll know they're going somewhere and at the end, they'll feel they saw the Lord or sensed His presence."

Oliver's correct! I find this recording a 60-minute worship service that flows very smoothly from the powerhouse opening to a climax and a denouement, a very fine work of art. More Than Enough, recorded at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia, begins with "The House of the Lord," which Oliver calls "upbeat, big gospel sounding." The pace is intense through the title track and the beautiful "I Will Trust in You," when this worship leader tells the congregation to reflect on God's blessings (reminds me of Clint Brown's reaction right after the title track to "Praisin' the Power Down" of "you may be seated!"), moving to a gorgeous gospel "Cast All Your Cares," with the 50-member New Birth Chorale (sounding just as talented as the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir).

Gary Oliver presents songs he's composed over the past two years culminating with the recording of this project. In 1998, his 17-year-old son was in a fatal automobile accident. Oliver reacted by focusing his worship songs on the life of his family members and saying, "God has taught me through this is to take nothing for granted and be thankful for every moment of everything." Worship songs "More Than Enough," "Cast All Your Cares," "I Just Want to Stay" (co-composed with T.D. Jakes), and "As We Sing Holy" (which he composed after his son's death; it's co-titled "Brandon's Song") are very fine musical experiences individually, or within the entire listening of this project. They're solid performances.

There are music arrangements that I wish Oliver will update. "Anything for You" and "Takin' Authority" sound retro. They're light hip-hop, almost '70s or '80s funk and very pretty, with proper hooks which can wear out fast, like Ron Kenoly's title track to "We Offer Praises." All of Oliver's other music arrangements are very hearty.

I'm saving the most fun moment for the last note. If you've never heard of Gary Oliver but have heard of praise and worship music, you know "Celebrate Jesus (Celebrate)." He wrote it in the early '80s and has recorded it for the first time on More Than Enough. If this is your first time listening to Gary Oliver, you're gonna be surprised or even shocked. "I pumped it up like a house mix with a techno dance mix. It's fun," says Oliver. This is NOT our Maranatha Singers recording, and it's about time Oliver put his own stamp on it. I LOVE it!

More Than Enough is a wonderful recording and worship experience. It's very unique in that it merges gospel with urban funk and "in yo' face" praise that's Oliver's own style. I look forward to hearing future projects from Oliver, since it's very well evidenced from "More Than Enough" that his music ministry is tightly-knit on His word (Psalm 102:18; see the liner notes and/or the Integrity website). Oliver deserves a nod alongside Ron Kenoly, Alvin Slaughter, and other urban praise and worship leaders with this recording. Give it a listen.

Olin Jenkins  March 17, 2001