| Tunes You are in: surefish > culture > music reviews Date: 21 October , 2008
George Luke reviews albums from Derek Webb, Nicole C Mullen, Stuart Pendred, Electralyte, Harold Rayford, Jahaziel and Kirk Franklin Use the picture or text links to buy the albums from amazon.co.uk and Christian Aid will receive part of the sale price The seemingly unending circus that is America’s presidential election will soon be over. Whatever the result, at least one good thing’s come out of it: it’s inspired Derek Webb to produce the most incisive political commentary I’ve ever heard from a Christian artist. The standout tracks on Derek’s The Ringing Bell all address American politics in some way. “Saviour on Capitol Hill” casts a sidelong look at the often twisted role religion plays in the electoral process, and at voters who allow themselves to be suckered by it. “You can always trust the devil or a politician to be the devil or a politician,” sings Derek. “We’ll never find a saviour on Capitol Hill.” Statement “Name” is a defiant statement of intent for anyone who hates being labelled ‘left’, ‘right’, ‘conservative’, ‘liberal’ or anything else. You can probably work out what “I for an I” is about from its title. When Derek turns his mind away from politics, his other half inspires just as much good stuff from him; witness “I Wanna Marry You Again” or “Can’t Be Without You”. Another intriguing track is “The Very End”. It’s another love song, but with its out-there musical arrangement and all the mentions of death in the lyrics, it would make a good Bond theme – well, certainly a better one than what Jack White and Alicia Keys have come up with. I don’t know if Jim Wallis has an iPod. But if he does, I’ll bet The Ringing Bell is on it.
Despite having a title that sounds like it was lifted from one of Barack Obama’s speeches, there’s not much in the way of political comment on Nicole C Mullen’s new album A Dream to Believe In, Volume 2. That said, Nicole has much to say that’s worth hearing. And the album’s opening skit (in which a group of children with different ethnic accents say the words “I have a dream” repeatedly) is simple but effective in getting its message across. Nicole has a knack for turning an old cliché on its head. Take “Yo Mama”, for instance, where she gives a list of all your mum’s good qualities instead of the expected string of insults. Clutter Likewise, when she sings about needing a “Brainwash”, she’s actually urging us to pull back from media clutter and regain some mental and spiritual space. Musically, A Dream to Believe In is the mixed bag we’ve come to expect from Nicole, with some R&B, some rock, a little Latin and more of her made-up genre ‘Funkabilly’.
I’ll admit to being one of the “Nessun Dorma Massive” – those people who came to opera via football. The two strands crossed again for me recently, when I was invited to Chelsea Football Club to see Stuart Pendred sing. Stuart – avid Chelsea supporter and founder of Tenors Unlimited – was there to launch his debut album Bendizioni. It’s a collection of worship songs reinterpreted as operatic arias – including “Amazing Grace”, some of Stuart’s own compositions, and Matt Redman’s “Facedown” and “Let My Words Be Few”. Operafied It’s not a new concept. Tony Henry’s 2003 album Modern Arias gave us ‘operafied’ versions of REM and Status Quo songs. Stuart himself was part of the opera-pop crossover thing long before the G4s and Il Divos. But it’s still a brave thing for an opera singer to do. You run the risk of being seen as dumbing down the art form by serious (snobbish?) opera fans, and as a novelty act by everyone else. Either way, I found Bendizioni a joy to listen to – and not just because Stuart has a fantastic voice. Oliver Davis’ orchestrations are out of this world. Kudos too to Huw Davies for his lovely guitar work on the title track. As for supporting Chelsea – I’ll reserve my comments…
Some great homegrown power-pop comes courtesy of Essex-based Salvation Army rockers Electralyte. Fresh from wowing fans and critics alike at this year’s Greenbelt, here’s their new album, Scratch Beneath the Surface. Electralyte’s musical influences are, well, all over the shop – but in a good way. You can hear shades of Hard-Fi in “Ted Talmer” and “Tall Stories”. There’s a trippy interlude in the middle of “Stardust” which would make Brian Wilson smile – and 60s kids would also enjoy the equally trippy “Spiders and Flies”. “Let’s Get Married” could melt even the most unromantic of hearts.
So-called ‘smooth’ jazz albums can sometimes sound as if they were recorded on autopilot, with session musicians who’ve been doing this sort of thing so long, they can do it in their sleep (and probably are). Competent musicianship – exceptional, even – but ultimately bland and unexciting. Thankfully, that’s not the case with Always There, the new album from saxophonist Harold Rayford. Part of the reason Harold’s work stands out is that he’s got the jazz-to-smooth ratio right. He allows his band room for improvisation – and boy, do they shine! There’s even a dash of hip hop thrown in, when Harold’s son Jeff raps on the way-too-brief reprise of “My Help”. The majority of the tunes here were composed either by Harold or his MD/keyboardist Antoine Chambers. There are a few covers (most notably one of Andraé Crouch’s “My Tribute”), but having more original material certainly raises Always There above those cookie-cutter “praise him on the saxophone” albums of years past.
Finally for this month, congratulations to Jahaziel Elliott for winning the Best Gospel Artist gong at the MOBO Awards – especially considering that he was up against American powerhouses Kirk Franklin and Tye Tribbett.
Now’s a good time to pick up Jahaziel’s debut album Ready to Live – an album that proves hip hop can be streetwise without being obsessed with guns and bling, and which not only showcases Jahaziel’s rapping skills but also his reggae roots (he’s the nephew of reggae star Maxi Priest). It also features a rather interesting duet with Daniel Bedingfield. Use the picture or text links to buy the albums from amazon.co.uk and Christian Aid will receive part of the sale price Amazon links • Derek Webb – The Ringing Bell • Nicole C Mullen – A Dream to Believe In, Vol 2 • Electralyte – Scratch Beneath the Surface • Harold Rayford – Always There • Kirk Franklin – The Fight of My Life
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Nicole C Mullen 
Stuart Pendred 
Electralyte
Harold Rayford 
Jahaziel
And commiserations to Asa, who quite frankly was robbed of the Best African Artist award for her self-titled debut album (reviewed in 
