MusicScribe BLOG

RATING: 4 1/2 Stars

Producer: Lari Goss

Website: www.boothbrothers.com

Song Titles: “There Is A Higher Throne,” “God Did It All,” “I See Grace,” “The Gospel Song”/”Before The Cross,” “All Over The World,” “We Believe,” “This Is The Day,” “Then I Met The Master,” “I Still Believe In The Church,” “Absolute Peace,” “In Christ Alone,” and “Statement Of Faith” (bonus song)

Declaration is an independent recording by the Booth Brothers that currently has no national distribution. I don’t know what sort of ins and outs might be preventing the Booth Brothers from distributing this CD through their most recent (and I presume still current) label, Daywind Records. Regardless, this CD deserves to have the attention of more than just the people who go to concerts or pop by www.boothbrothers.com. Surely Crossroads, Spring Hill, New Haven, etc. will be having conversations with the Booth Brothers regarding Declaration.

Declaration takes a majestic stylistic direction under the production hand of Lari Goss. His orchestrations are particularly bold and sweeping on this CD. For contrast, there’s a smooth a cappella introduction positioned at the beginning of the fourth track, “The Gospel Song”/”Before The Cross.” “All Over The World” diverges into Gloria Estefan territory. For those who don’t get the reference, it’s a percussive Miami/Latin rhythm sort of thing. “This Is The Day” is a more traditional, mid-tempo Southern Gospel arrangement. “I Still Believe In The Church” is another mid-tempo track, but the arrangement is more soulful than hillbilly. For the most part, the remaining tracks are big, slow tour de force arrangements ranging in dynamics from pianissimo to fortissimo while avoiding predictable light piano/strings introductions. Brass plays a strong factor in the orchestrations to great effect.

Several of these cuts exceed five minutes in length as many big ballads do, and the longest slow build of all is saved for the final bonus track, “Statement Of Faith.” You can find an alternate version of this same music track featuring multiple artists on Legacy Five’s Just Stand.

The only area where the lack of label backing is evident is the packaging. The cover artwork and the tray card look nice enough, but the four-panel insert is completely white/blank on the inside. A two-panel front/back insert would have accomplished the same thing. The interior of the tray card is mostly blank as well except for three logos and a suggestion that fans visit the Booth Brothers website to view publishing, credits, and lyrics information. On the website I found a PDF file that included the songwriters, publishing info, and lyrics, but there are no production credits.

That’s too bad, because it’s the song writing department where Declaration really exceeds expectations. A few songs are tried and true classics, but Goss casts those in a more regal, sophisticated light than most previous versions I’ve heard. One medley combines the Townend/Getty worship song “In Christ Alone” with the 1990s Michael English song by the same title. You should also recognize “I Still Believe In The Church,” “This Is The Day” (Perrys), and of course Mosie Lister’s classic “Then I Met The Master.” What’s more impressive about this CD is how the less familiar songs hold their own with the more established material. “There Is A Higher Throne,” “God Did It All,” “I See Grace,” and so forth address basic tenants of the Christian faith with memorable imagery.

Often on a heavily orchestrated CD, the unique character of the singers gets lost in the wash of sound. That’s not the case on Declaration. The vocals and the mix are as close to perfect as any CD I’ve heard in recent years. In all the areas that truly matter (production quality, performance/execution, creativity, and songwriting), this CD is top notch. I’m deducting a half star from what would be a perfect score for wasting so much available space in the insert and worse, failing to include any credits for those contributing individuals whose work gives the recording its very value.