Byron Cage - An Invitation To Worship

Reviewed by Trevor Kirk

A good value live gospel album from Byron Cage, recorded at the New Birth Cathedral, Lithonia, Georgia, according to the CD sleeve, although listening to it and reading between the lines, how much of it is truly live and how much is overdubbed in post production is debatable - the fact that some tracks fade out rather than end in rapturous applause is a bit of a giveaway. Musically, there's plenty of good things happening, Byron's written a lot of the material and he's responsible for the choir arrangements as well, and he's given good support by guest artist J Moss and a plethora of backgound vocalists. But Byron's worship leading style is too intrusive for my taste, and there's far too much music that's slow and inspirational rather than the up-tempo and praisin' stuff I'd expect from an African American gospel worship album. Devotees of the genre would probably disagree and they'd find much to enjoy; personally, I think it's a tad too predictable.