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 Dec 3, 2005 Perhaps no Gospel aggregation has experienced a quicker rise to national prominence within the last 18 months than Tye Tribbett & Greater Anointing. The Camden, New Jersey based choir has become one of Gospel’s most exciting finds with his national debut, Life (read album review), which garnered three Stellar nominations in 2005. Add to that a breakout performance on that awards show which catapulted Tribbett & G.A. to appearances on major events including the NAACP Image Awards (as part of a tribute to Oprah Winfrey) and the 2005 BET Awards, as the only Gospel act.  Needless to say, there was a high level of anticipation for Tribbett’s live CD and DVD recording. On December 3, 2005, the eyes of the Gospel world turned to the Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Philadelphia, as the venue hosted this monumental event. It was pandemonium early, as the venue was literally standing room only. The 5,000-seat site was filled to capacity, with nearly 1,000 fans turned away. This sold-out event was clearly the place to be. As onlookers braved the cold to peek through whatever space was available to get a view of the festivities, the ‘seated crowd’ spent little time seated as they prepared for the occasion. The big name stars came out in amazing numbers to witness this amazing event. Artists in attendance included Israel Houghton, Donnie McClurkin, Hezekiah Walker, James Hall, Kim Burrell, Damien Hall and Teddy Riley of Guy, Mary Mary, Brent Jones, Warryn Campbell and Maurette Brown-Clark, to name a few. And, in trademark Tye Tribbett form, he did not disappoint!! The recording began with a video recap of Tribbett’s life, chronicling his early childhood and rise to recording success. It also documented several major losses for the group, including the death of family members of G.A. and their own fallen member, Dr. Kenneth Riddle, who died in a car accident in the summer of 2005.  As part of that segment, Tribbett declared that the only way for them to recover was to fight back and realize that the enemy was attempting to steal from them through this God-ordained storm. From that powerful video presentation, G.A. hit the stage donned in burgundy-based boarding school outfits. Backed by the exceptionally talented band SoundCheck, they rocked their first song, titled “I Want It Back”, declaring that they will take back everything that the enemy stole from them. Without question, they took this to a brand new level!! They then went into the praise and worship segment of the recording, with an originality and freshness of presentation that hasn’t been seen in quite some time. Tribbett put his special touch on each song, leaving all amazed by both the lyrical content and authentic musical presentation of each piece. During this part of the recording, the choir worked through some technical difficulties with perhaps one of the most colorful “sound checks” ever seen. They debuted an original piece titled “God’s Been So Good” which just blew the people away. And it was done simply as a sound check!!  Speaking of SoundCheck, naturally the band got in on the fun of this portion as each instrument was masterfully tested such that this part of the evening is worthy to be on the DVD, even though it was unscripted. Amazing. Things quickly resumed as the group came back with a song titled “Hallelujah To Your Name”, a creative work that has the feel of the Celtic classic tune, “Greensleeves”, as Tribbett and GA offered Celtic praise, if you will. G.A. then quickly showed their musical heritage and diversity, presenting a level of originality that is refreshing to the music industry at large. Donnie McClurkin joined Tribbett and G.A. on the track “Holy, Holy”. These two praise powerhouses took the worship level into the stratosphere with a song that will easily be a radio favorite. Another favorite, which closed out the worship segment, was titled “I Have No Other Choice but To Trust You”. Inspired by the passing of Dr. Kenneth Riddle, this track expressed believers’ need to trust God no matter what. Tribbett’s brother and SoundCheck music director Thaddeus Tribbett, did a duet with Tye, making for a wonderful family moment. The second segment featured G.A. in graduation robes (most of the project is themed around a classroom). This set continued a spirit of victorious worship as Tribbett debuted several ballads, including “God’s Been So Good To Me”, which was a neat take on the hymn “Love Lifted Me”. Another highlight saw Tribbett’s sister, Damaris Tribbett, provide lead vocals to the worship-filled “Seated At The Right Hand of God”. This song blended in perfectly with “Bow Before The King”, which gained great popularity as an extension of the radio-favorite “Everything”.  This led to one of the night’s many highlights, as the group sang “Everything Will Be Alright”. This musical montage featured several tempos and formats, blowing the audience away. Then, on the vamp of the song, Kim Burrell, Isaac Carree, Mary Mary, and Prophet Todd Hall joined Tribbett on stage. Each came up individually and traded vocal acrobatics, which sent the crowd into a literal frenzy!! This will also be must see TV... guaranteed!! That was followed up with the churchy “I Still Have Joy”, which led into a Sunday morning praise fit that saw Tribbett, GA, and SoundCheck go slam off!! Call the final segment of the recording “G.A. Praise” as they performed a number of high-energy cuts. Leading into the segment, Tribbett and company did an impromptu version of the Mary Mary hit “The Real Party”. The audience jammed for a good minute on that number. That was followed with the title song “Victory”, with major celebration taking place. No live party with Tribbett can end without two of his previous hits. Consequently, he performed “Everything” and “No Way” which sent the audience into another heightened state of praise. After Tribbett exhorted the audience on the values of living the life and creating an environment for God to speak, he ended the night with the go-go version of “Victory”, which featured a dance tribute to Dr. Kenneth Riddle. The theme of the night along with the tentative title of the album is “Victory” —and Tribbett and G.A. certainly made a victorious statement with this recording. The album’s expected release date is mid-2006 on Sony Urban / Columbia, and is poised to revolutionize the nation and the world with a declaration of “Victory” that cannot be denied. Email This Article To A Friend Below are some visual highlights of the live recording: 
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