Personnel: Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir (vocals); Tom Hemby (guitar); Jonathan Woodby (Hammond B-3 organ); Lari Goss, Oliver W. Wells (keyboards); Joey Vazquez (bass); Michael Archibald (drums); Ron Zorbo (steel drums); Terry McMillan (percussion).
Producers: Lari Gross, Neal Joseph, Brent King.
Recorded at Tiki Studios, Glen Cove, New York; The Brooklyn Tabernacle, Brooklyn New York; Sound On Sound Recording, New York, New York.
HIGH & LIFTED UP won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Gospel Choir Or Chorus Album.
Nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Choir or Chorus Album, HIGH & LIFTED UP is a first-rate example of contemporary gospel. It's worth noting that no solo voices are credited, but somebody singing lead here--particularly on the gorgeous title tune and a stunning "Battle Hymn of the Republic"--is doing so as though her life depended on it.
The huge (nearly 250-strong) group's characteristically thrilling massed vocals are backed by traditional gospel instrumentation (piano, Hammond organ, bass, and drums). Most of the songs here boast grand orchestral arrangements that sound curiously similar to John Williams-style film music. Things get further from the traditional gospel sound on the concluding "God of All Gods," where arranger Carol Cymbala adds middle-Eastern melody lines to the mix. Once your ear gets accustomed to that sort of thing, however, you'll likely sink right in to the plethora of pleasures offered by this unusual, yet rewarding album.
