By Speck Kirby, MusicDish e-Journal

If you ring it compliment folk or Original Jack gospel, this genus is most oftentimes a classic circumstances of "preaching to the choir," with song lyrics lifted artlessly from the Mogul James bible and histrionic chin music calculated to "reach elsewhere and touch somebody's hand." Dear god. Luckily, Charles Laster II and Silvia Pratesi don't assemble this gaffe on their cutting edge copy Airing of Life. Their songs reference salvation, heaven, and living the Christian energy but, allying secular soul music, admit an uplifting universality. Those of us who aren't Christian - agnostics, Muslims, those whose spirituality can't be pigeonholed - can all the more conceive the acceptable spirituality that is the wellspring of Laster and Pratesi's music, and even impress our groove on. Laster, who composed the admirable lyrics, and Pratesi, who created most of the jazz with a seamless combination of breathing musicians and samples, remind us how gospel and rhythm and blues gave birth to soul rhythm in the early sixties and how a fresh clement of soul is yet possible.

It is as well practicable to have, in this period of the run-on Disc (dude, you indeed don't hold to fill up every moment of a 74-minute CD-R) and the haphazard iPod mix, a transcribe that has a topic and takes the listener on a ride. "Journey of Life" does even-handed that in a street that reminds one of Stevie Wonder's business in the early '70s, and with a melting pot of influences that are shod into a personal style, at once recognized and altogether different.

The first off cuts retain a rock and dance melody flavor, however are rooted on elderly soul music. The name intersect starts with sampled strings, and a drum beat by David Heddon that is all approximately Motown and Philly soul. The vocal melody has a blameless simplicity in tune with the song's message, sung over expansive keyboard chords: "Life is a travels abundant with so manifold matters / It can bring some misery it testament be some precipitate / don't be afraid to dig into it... due suppose far elapsed day-to-day comprehension / ...have a petite faith." This song is an overture for the filled record, and is comprised of snippets of the contradistinct styles Laster and Pratesi attract from. This song is a crossing in itself: the vocals soar with smooth complexity one minute, then disjunction down to a gospel stomp, with funky percussion and a foul drum contour the next. Fuzz guitars by Brett Farkas and wailing synths from Laster enter strongly then glide down into a peaceful ballad-ish section, followed by a smooth chorus. The consequent song "I Believe" comes on with hard-hitting rock funk, featuring a fat bass line, scratchy wah-wah guitar and blaring brass. It then goes into a jazz influenced shorten with muscular vocals by Laster and, throwing in another left globe element, a verse of velocity rap. The song ends with a coda of B.B. King-style blues guitar.

This notebook is based on the clue of pennies and spiritual extension and revelation. From the opening song, the exploration goes finished faith ("I Believe") to questioning ("In My Mind") then the second of revelation ("Wrong To Right"). Stylistically the heavy metal reflects the emotions of the songs, going from cutting and strident rock to meditative Latin-tinged ballad to a sparse Neptunes-style electro pop groove.

This flow leads to the exposition stopping apex of the tome "Eternal Dancing." This song describes the bee that awaits in the promised land of Christian heaven where there will be dancing and cheerful experience. This is confident extended graceful than the equivocal heaven told of by churlish TV preachers, where "you will sit at the table by the left handwriting of god" while angels play celestial trumpets, blah, blah, boooring. Instanter dancing in a land of everlasting affection with others, principally women, and celebrating oneness on the dance floor? That's a heaven you can feel: "This growth is unabridged with story / living in rhapsody / there are much mysteries / I cognize that you consent / One generation we'll carry this dance / and it will never cusp / we'll method from side to side everybody will be vibing / excitement in paradise / I can't wait it will be nice... When we march washed-up heaven's doors... and distinguish the faces of those we allegiance / dance to the eternal groove..."

Adding to the classical and pleasure thereof is Laster's unabridged exiguity of braggadocio, insincerity, and underlying cynicism that plagues pop modern and the evangelical movement in identical vile chunks. His positivity, cuckoo skills and music, bop that is not dumbed down to solicit to and exercise the "masses," are a thousand times else convincing in spreading and celebrating the gospel than some charring and brimstone huckster ranting on TV. Caravan to Continuance is a advanced evocation of the spirit expressed in the bible subject Psalm 95:1 that states "O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us constitute a cheery bedlam to the rock of our salvation."

http://www.sonicbids.com/CharlesLasterII