He Gives Me Strength - New Destiny Quartet
by David Bruce Murray
Producers: George Hairr
Song Titles: "I'll Thank Him, I'll Praise Him," "God's In The Business," "Get About God's Business," "Before You Loved The Lord," "Jump Across Jordan," "Changed Forever," "Glory Train," "In Case You're Wondering," "Walk In Faith," and "He Gives Me Strength"
New Destiny Quartet presents a traditional male quartet effort on He Gives Me Strength. George Hairr turns in his usual excellent work at the production helm. The quartet also benefits from vocal arrangements by Michael Sykes, Woody Wright, and Michael English.
"I'll Thank Him, I'll Praise Him" gets things rolling with a classic, laid back harmony feel. "God's In The Business" steps up one notch in tempo, featuring the bass singer. The CD finally kicks into high gear on the third cut, "Get About God's Business," a modern Country infused arrangement with a good dose of harmonica licks by Terry McMillan. "Before You Loved The Lord" is a smooth ballad. "Jump Across Jordan" is an upbeat, fun number that will be the first radio single for New Destiny. Other notable tracks include a remake of "Glory Train;" an arrangement patterned after the Cathedrals version. The title song that closes the CD exemplifies the Sykes/Wright/English vocal influence, with their trademark of dipping under a pitch and sliding back up with good blending harmony.
Final measurement for this CD? Not bad at all. It's certainly refreshing to hear this sort of sound coming from a group based in Michigan. Realistically, I don't expect them to hit the Top Ten with any of these songs due to a lack of name recognition in the industry, but it's also fair to say that they have produced a CD that is pro league quality. Vocally, New Destiny isn't as flexible as a Gaither Vocal Band or Gold City, but they have wisely placed a greater emphasis on blend and harmony to bring out their best qualities.