Israel Houghton & New Breed “Covered: Alive in Asia” Album Review

Prime Cuts: In Jesus' Name, First Loved Me (with Charlin Neal), Mighty to Save

Israel Houghton & New Breed are effacers of boundary markers.  Whether we care to admit it or not, there is a tacit racial divide in Christian music between black Gospel music and contemporary worship music.  Such segregation has unfairly caused a drift in our worship that reaffirms the old adage that 11 am on a Sunday morning is the most racially divided hour of the week.  Israel Houghton and New Breed are trailblazers in the regard of bringing the two subgenres of worship music together in both their style of music as well as the people they have worked with.  Houghton was one of the few African-Americans to be signed to Integrity Music contributing to their Hosanna Series which features worship music veterans such as Don Moen, Hillsong Worship, Bob Fitts and Graham Kendrick.  And over the years, many of Houghton's compositions such as "Your Presence is Heaven to Me," "Jesus at the Center," "Say So," It's Not Over" and many others, have been embraced by both black and white churches.

Never one to be satisfied with status quo, Israel Houghton and New Breed have ventured a step farther.  Now, they have crossed international dateline and time zones by taking their music internationally to Asia.  "Covered: Alive in Asia" is a live recording that features 16 brand new songs (if you get the Deluxe Version) by Houghton and his team while they were touring Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan.  "Covered: Alive in Asia" is also Houghton's first record not to come under the Integrity Music imprint.  Rather, coming under the umbrella of RCA Inspiration, one guesses that there may be a bigger budget involved as this CD sounds really slick and polished compounded to the fact that there must be an astronomical cost involved with the band's travelling fees.

Let's get to the songs:  "In Jesus' Name," a track Houghton wrote with Darlene Zschech and formerly recorded also by Zschech is the album's lodestar.  Featuring a skittering metallic sounding drum over a Sumba feel that perhaps reflects the Indonesian influence of the tour, "In Jesus' Name" is given a big surge of energy as Houghton chants the song's best lines with utter conviction:  "God is fighting for us/Pushing back the darkness/ Lighting up the Kingdom/That cannot be shaken."  But Houghton's connection with Zschech doesn't end there.  He also covers Hillsong's "Mighty to Save."  Also, taken at an accelerated pace with the backing of a Gospel choir, "Mighty to Save" has that same island-swaying breeze to it.  Still Houghton's Australian connection doesn't end there: "Covered" is Houghton's take of his co-write with Planetshakers which is a dramatic musical enactment of Christ's redemption.

Touted as one of the album's singles is Houghton's duet with Yolanda Adams "How Awesome is Our God."  One has to give it all up for Yoland Adams, the lady sure knows how to pack anointment in her vocal cadences.  BJ Putnam, one of Houghton's protégés, showcases once again his big booming tenor to great effect on "Thank You Lord" and "Our God Reigns." While "First Loved Me" is easy the best worship ballad here: meditative, scripturally-besotted and Holy Spirit-driven.   

Nevertheless, though this album was recorded in Asia, most of Houghton's featured guest vocalists are from North America and the worship sound as a whole is quite devoid of any Asian influences.  In fact, this album sits comfortably with all of Hougton's albums.  So, what then is the value of cutting an album in Asia when it doesn't incorporate much of its sounds or featured artists? Though kudos are in order to Houghton for having a global perspective of worship, but this album feels like it's the product of an American tourist in Singapore hanging around in McDonalds making little attempt to taste the local street food and interacting with the locals.  

 

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