Prime Cuts:  Yahweh, My God is Good, Lost in You

You can feel the ceiling shaking when Uche Agu sings.  This is not the result of the dynamics of the high voltage sounding choir backing Agu or the ferocious decibels of the music's loudness.  Rather, there's a Holy Spirit presence when you hear Agu and his worship team sing.  You can't sing such highly God saturated songs such as "Make God Big," "Yahweh," and "The Glory" without feeling the gravitas of God's glory evoked.  And when Agu sings these worship paeans with such verve and conviction, you can feel heaven rattle and seraphim rejoicing.  In this regard, Agu's DREAM Gospel Records debut not only lives up to its titular but you can feel the ravishing beauty of God's glory permeating every fibre of our souls as we listen to this new live worship recording.

Agu is the soloist of the South African musical ensemble Joyous Celebration who are known for their popular hit "My God is Good". With well over 3 million views on YouTube since its release in 2009, he has had been the headline performer for over 70,000 on tour through the African Continent.  Partnering with Dove, Stellar & Grammy^TM Nominated producer Clay Bogan III (William McDowell, Israel & New Breed), in-demand vocal arranger and worship artist Daniel Johnson, world-class drummer Chris Coleman (Israel & New Breed, Chaka Khan, Prince), Grammy^TM award winning recording engineer Danny Duncan and along with the Grammy^TM award winning mix engineer Paul "Salvo" Salveson, Agu has created an eclectic gospel blend of worship music for this DREAM Gospel debut.

Starting off the live worship evening with Agu's signature hit "My God is Good," Agu introduces to North America what we have been missing out all these years.  Quipped with an infectious African beat and a lilting reggae-tilted tune, "My God is Good" is an adrenaline flowing praise of God's goodness.  When Agu is on many of the uptempo tunes such as "My God is Bigger," "All Over," and "The Glory," he reminds us of Israel Houghton.  With the same powerhouse vocals that extends across octaves and his ability to be able to work his choir to soar in sync with him, Agu like Houghton, shows us that he can really cause a holy stir.

With the more propulsive tunes at the front end of the album, the album retreats into a slower, more reflective, and more meditative demeanour half way through.  Best among the worship ballads has to be "Yahweh."  Not the Hillsong Worship tune of the same titular, "Yahweh" is melodious soft rock indulgence in the sweetness of Jesus Christ.  While "Lost in You" has the word "classic" written all over it.  With a time transcending tune and a power-packed choir, "Lost in You" is a prayer for greater intimacy with Jesus Christ.  To give us a foretaste of the worship music coming out of Africa, Agu strings together four African worship staples which runs unfortunately a tad too long.

If you are looking for a Gospel album with an international edge, give this CD a spin.  This album will open our hearts and minds to know that God is invoking fresh melodies not just in our homeland but all over the world. 

 

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