Life Is A Church
David Phelps
Rating: 4 STARS
Label: Word/Curb/Warner Bros.
Producer: Greg Bieck
Websites: http://www.davidphelps.com and http://www.wordrecords.com
Song Titles: "With His Love (Sing Holy)," "Something's Gotta Change," "Life Is A Church," "That's What Love Is," "Behold The Lamb," "Long Time Coming," "Gentle Savior," "Visions Of God," "Power," "The Name Lives On," and "Legacy Of Love"
Tenor extraordinaire David Phelps has a new solo recording out titled Life Is A Church. I rate this CD high for production quality, and the songwriting impressed me as well. Phelps wrote or co-wrote seven of the eleven tracks with well known artists Kyle Matthews and Cindy Morgan assisting him in contributing new material.
I'll cover the aspects of this recording some fans may consider to be drawbacks first and get those out of the way. Phelps' subtle and expressive qualities are sometimes buried in a wash of reverb, blended with a choir of background vocals or modified by special audio effects. He doesn't blow the roof off quite as often as you'd expect. Also, if you've come to expect a story song in the vein of "End Of The Beginning" and "Revelation" on every Phelps release, well, you're not going to get one this time. I have no complaints in terms of polish, packaging, or positive entertainment value.
One cover tune is included...Dottie Rambo's classic "Behold The Lamb." It begins with Phelps singing relatively deep in baritone range. A couple of key changes move him up into more familiar territory before the song is over. At the conclusion of the vocal part, there's a soothing string quartet postlude. Stylistic variety abounds. "Long Time Coming" begins with a half sung/half spoken vocal sounding just like a Top 40 song from a few years ago. (The title escapes me at the moment.) It then kicks into an arena rock feel. This tune follows the string quartet at the end of "Behold The Lamb." Like I said...variety. You're never sure what to expect next.
"Gentle Savior" is a slower ballad with piano and strings for accompaniment. Next up is a slow acoustic guitar driven lullaby titled "Visions Of God." After a couple of relaxing songs, we get faked out by an easy going intro that yields to an energetic track called "Power." I thought they could have taken this track to another level, but it fades out just as it's getting really interesting. Two anthems conclude the recording. "The Name Lives On" has some serious hit potential. Hopefully that cut will be pushed to radio.
by David Bruce Murray