New Direction is that most quintessential of African-American church music organizations: a choir. Masses of enthusiastic voices lay down chorus foundations while soloists from their midst embellish the melody. Surfing your radio dial late at night or early Sunday mornings should yield numerous examples. For the most part, these choirs perform for appreciative congregations in their home church, or at conferences and other special events. But occasionally a group crosses over to the mainstream with a virtual revival in a three minute song, like the Edwin Hawkins Singers's "Oh, Happy Day" thirty years ago, or Kirk Franklin and Nu Nation's up-to-the-minute sensation, "Stomp," in 1997. ND does not contain a hit of those proportions, but Myrrh Records found enough potential to release their first record and help them reach out beyond their native Chicago.
This is a community group comprised of young people recruited by brothers Jeral and Percy Gray who, over the past five years, have been molded into a solid musical force. While the opening voice-over declares that this is a "new direction in praise," its best accomplishment may be that membership in the choir has proven to be a steadying influence for many of its members.
The songs represent a variety of styles, from the classic gospel with hints of soul of "Lighthouse" to the contemplative R & B-tinged worship song, "You Love Me," to the new school rap/choir groove of "Worship Christ" to future choir concert standard, "New Direction." With the exception of one cover, members of the group wrote them all. Given the variety of offerings on this record, it would be a good introduction to contemporary African-American gospel music for the uninitiated. Production values are high, with a full range of backing instruments including effective use of electronics. Recording conditions were carefully controlled, including at least one live recording would have given the listener a better way to judge the quality of the choir since the true test of any ensemble is how well they make their music live, especially a choir.
It is the stated purpose of the group to "draw young people into the church," presumably attracting them by the use of such contemporary sounds as rap, electronic keyboards, and samplings. This is the same purpose that justifies much of CCM to church leaders, but its success at drawing its target audience into churches will probably be about the same. If the young people are already there, fine, they'll put up with it; otherwise, forget it! The last song on the album, "Lead Me On," was written by Michael W. Smith and perfectly illustrates the problem. This is a white guy, writing interesting music for church-goers. If it catches on with Christian radio, you'll probably be hearing this version for years--unless a young person in your life walks by, and flips over to a rap station.
Linda T. Stonehocker (4/16/99)
