Victory Live!

After a solid yet otherwise understated in-studio debut, contemporary gospel supergroup Tye Tribbett & G.A. took to the stage of a Philadelphia megachurch to record the follow-up, Victory Live!, thus offering a more true-to-form representation of the group's sound, synergy, and spirit. Ironically and perhaps coincidentally, Victory Live!'s predecessor, 2004's Life, had more in common with Philly in the way it married urban gospel with neo-soul tendencies, but overall it was too polite an album to really catch anyone by surprise. Victory Live! is different: it explodes right out of the gate to position itself as one of the most unusual, spellbinding contemporary gospel spectacles of 2006, if not of the entire history of the subgenre. The album's sonic ambitions recall those of gospel provocateur Tonéx — himself a kindred spirit of bandleader Tye Tribbett — but here things aren't overblown to the point of exhaustion or showmanship. Instead, Tribbett makes sure his agenda for the disc — to inspire the faithful to use praise to declare victory over their own inadequacies — isn't obscured by the pyrotechnics, which are already formidable to begin with. By keeping a firm footing on high-powered gospel vocals, Tribbett is able to gel an endless palette of sensibilities, including ferocious funk-rock ("Victory," "I Want It All Back"), Celtic pop ("Hallelujah to Your Name"), bossa nova (Andraé Crouch's "Bless the Lord"), pop/rock ("No Other Choice"), inspirational ("Seated at the Right Hand of God"), and even straight-up Broadway ("Everything Will Be Alright," "Sinking"). Such an extensive laundry list of styles could've been a hot mess if handled any differently, but Tribbett is a church boy: he and his troupe know where they are, so they stick to the program and try as best as possible to keep it churchy. While on occasion things do get too grand for their own good, Victory Live! is a triumph in the end: it stretches the boundaries of gospel music to places that it's never been.