GospelFlava.com - Reviews - Joe Pace & The Colorado Mass Choir (Glad About It!)

Joe Pace & The Colorado Mass Choir
Glad About It!

For their first-ever studio project, and their debut on Integrity Gospel —the newly-branded Gospel imprint of the Integrity Music empire— Joe Pace & The Colorado Mass Choir roll a joyous and eclectic collection of tunes into package of great choir music, stellar musicianship and seasoned production (see interview with Joe Pace).

Music director Marcus Dawson plays keys while guiding his veteran crew (Kevin Graves on organ, Jonathan DuBose Jr. on guitar, Terry Baker on drums, Simeon Baker on bass and those ever-popular MO HORNS) into a land of excellence.

Jerard Woods steps out on “He Paid The Price”, a great mid-tempo groove that features a pared-down 16-voice chorale pulled from Colorado Mass, dubbed The CMC Ensemble. Pace arranges the tune with a lively instrumental backdrop, as organ, drums, guitar and horns throw their own party underneath the chorus drive. Woods brings out his choice, ad libbed and very soulful vocals over the entirety as the song increases in groove intensity.

Lashun Pace (see album review) is the perfect choice to deliver the contempory title cut, “Glad About It”, her jaunty guest vocals expressing the simple joy of living each day in Jesus Christ —“It’s another day’s journey and I’m glad about it”.

Colorado Mass Choir Percussive bass and guitar intensify the bounce already infused into the piece by choir and drums. The song briefly re-appears as a “Stomp Interlude” later in the album.

“Lord, I Love to Praise You” is a new praise tune from Pace, a smooth piece marked by DuBose Jr.’s persistently gentle acoustic guitar.

DuBose is also heavily featured on the jazzed “While You Wait”. Acoustic and unplugged in vibe (vocals included), Colorado Mass goes beyond the confines of a typical mass choir sound, opting for soothed stylings in chorus format. The song speaks of the importance of our praise as we wait on God:

While you’re waiting for your promises
To be fulfilled in your life
Remember God’s never late
So just praise Him while you wait

—from “While You Wait”

As he did on his recent praise release (see album review) , Pace honors the importance of instrumentals in our worship by including a no-words version of the song on the project as well.

“The Worship Medley” brings in several very recent praise and worship hits from Gospel: Kurt Carr’s “For Every Mountain”, Richard Smallwood’s “Total Praise” and Vernon Chappell’s “Praise Jehovah” are nicely meshed into Gary Oliver’s “Psalm 117” and Don Moen’s “Blessed Be The Name of the Lord”.

Medleys continue, with “Faith Medley” as Pace combines his original song “Faithful” with the hymn standard, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”. The song begin with slow acappella and moves to keyboard-supported choir phrasing with Theilah M. Lindsay on alto lead.

“Solid Rock” is another medley, this one cleverly meshing words from “Rock of Ages” and “The Solid Rock” into a firm, thumping, traditional Gospel foundation.

It’s another step up for Joe Pace and The Colorado Mass Choir, a quality project that further solidifies their standing as one of Gospel’s finest, and an auspicious debut for Integrity Gospel.

Producers: Joe Pace II, Marcus Dawson album release date: December 18, 2001
Integrity Gospel

— reviewed by Stan North —

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