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 January 16, 2005 in Houston On the night of January 16th, 2005, St. Agnes Baptist Church in Houston was packed to capacity, and yes, there was a very great deal of excitement and anticipation in the air. Of course, there was great reason to be excited. Dorinda Clark-Cole was set to record her follow up CD/DVD to her debut solo smash on Gospo Centric.  The setup was beautiful. The lighting was a mixture of red and pink with pink roses as the background. There were also different color rose petals around the stage steps.A "Who's Who" of artists were there to support Clark Cole. They included sister Karen Clark Sheard and Pastor J. Drew Sheard, neice Kierra Sheard and nephew J Drew Sheard II, but also Israel Houghton with New Breed cohorts, Aaron Lindsey, Marvin McQuitty and Jerry Harris. You also had Earl Bynum, Rodney Jerkins, Tina Campbell of Mary Mary, Donald Lawrence, Richard Smallwood, Derrick Starks, Bettye Nelson, Maurette Brown-Clark, Gary Mayes, Micah Stampley, Donnie McClurkin, Kurt Carr, Lucinda Moore and hip hop's Missy Elliot. Micah Stampley opened with two wonderful numbers from his upcoming March 2005 release on Dexterity Sounds. The songs also served as the praise and worship for the night. "Worthy to be Praised" was the perfect song to get everyone going and in the right frame of mind for the night. Stampley also led the congregation into the presence of God with his very popular rendition of "Take My Life". Anytime one of the Clarks records an album, it is always a family affair. And so no surprise that J. Moss, Dorinda's first cousin and labelmate, wowed the audience with a solid, but worshipful remix of his "We Must Praise". The place erupted as Moss balanced the extended version with great adoration to God and amazing riffs and runs. Then on came Karen and Kierra Sheard to introduce their sister and 'auntie', Dorinda Clark Cole. But before they introduced her, they delighted the crowd with a modulated version of "You Love Me". Wow! And this was only a prelude to evening. The band, headed by producer Asaph Alex Ward, kicked in a groove to get everyone's appetite going even further, as Dorinda came in from the back of the church much to the crowd's delight. She wore on an elegant pink dress with buttons on the front. Clark-Cole started with a rousing cut, "Got A Work to Do", and then she amazed with the midtempo, "My Life is Gonna Get Better". This song was so good that it had to get a reprise —and no-one can reprise a song like Dorinda Clark-Cole! The background singers followed her every step of the way. Things would not be right if those foot stomping, traditional numbers were left out. And so, "Work It In My Favor" fit right in. The freshly-minted 2005 Stellar Award-winning Choir Of The Year, New Direction, served as the choir of the evening. New Direction's presence helped to add spice to the song and indeed, the whole recording. Clark-Cole preached, danced and preached some more as people shouted and praised God from start to finish. This was not a normal "live" recording. This was a praise service and I, like most in attendance, had even forgotten that we were at a recording session. After intermission, Clark-Cole came back out with a white top and a silver skirt, and continued to minister in song with great passion and anointing. People were blessed with the soul-stirring gem, "That's A Reason". The background singers really shined on this one, and the vocal arrangement was phenomenal. Clark-Cole gave many reasons to give God glory, and the singers replied, "That's a reason!" The highlight of the evening was when Dorinda invited Kevin Gray, the winner of her Singers and Songwriters Talent Showcase, to sing "Get Ready". This was the song that he sang at the showcase and it ministered to her greatly. She wanted to give Gray a platform to share his gift with the body of Christ, so sitting at the keyboards, Clark-Cole sang verse and chorus, then Gray sang a verse. Then when Gray was relieved from the keyboard duties, the house was torn down, as he and Clark-Cole went back and forth, as if they had been singing together for years. Gray has a voice that is clear and solid, and he sang with such conviction. People worshipped and praised God so much that there was a roar in the building. The words were well-written, powerful, and the delivery was just as awesome. There were several vases full of roses on stage, and all of Clark-Cole's fans knew why. She simply had to sing her signature song, "I'm Still Here". She called up dancer Ryan Baker to do his one-man intepretation of the song (he even moved to her vocal runs). Giving out several roses to the artists and ladies in the building, she also gave a whole bouquet to Missy Elliot. That was a moment of ministry in itself.  Clark-Cole had "I'm Coming Out" as one of the jams on her debut project. This time around, she presented the sequel, "I'm Over and Out". This was the jam of the night, as the dancers came back and delivered some fantastic and on point choreography. After the song was over, the band kicked in a Tonéx-esque reprise and Dorinda (with cool shades on) danced with the crew. A boy who was only nine years old wowed the crowd with some crazy breakdancing.
All in all, this was a recording of a lifetime. Everything was taken to the next level, from the song selection to the band. As awesome as Dorinda has always been, her preaching, singing and even dancing has gone to another level. Again, Dr. Mattie Moss Clark would be extremely proud. Email This Article To A Friend 
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