Isaac Carree’s long-awaited solo debut, Uncommon Me, hits stores tomorrow, August 23, 2011.  The 14-track album doesn’t disappoint, blending together several styles– urban, churchy, worshipful– in a way that is all “Ike.”

The project opens with a beautiful piano intro, followed by the somewhat melancholy ballad “Chances.” It’s a departure from the beat-heavy urban track that I expected the album to open with, but by the bridge, it grows into a grand ballad that frames the rest of the songs on the project fairly well.

I love the concept of the next track, an interlude that chronicles Ike’s gospel music history– from his time with John P. Kee, to Men of Standard, to Kirk Franklin. It seamlessly moves into his hit single, “In the Middle,” before landing on an incredibly tasteful arrangement of the Andraé Crouch-classic “We Are Not Ashamed,” which features a nostalgically great guest performance from John P Kee. It was a winner from the first note.

The title track, “Uncommon Me,” follows. Somehow, this urban gospel track has somewhat of an acoustic vibe to it– and it’s awesome. With a nod to a Men of Standard or Dawkins & Dawkins type of style, it still stands on its own as an all “Isaac” song.

In case you’re looking for the urban, it comes with a vengeance in the next track, “Walk Alone,” produced by Warryn Campbell, and the one after it, “Power,” featuring Eric Dawkins. Isaac is in his element on these.

“Shout It Out,” is a thumping churchy tune mixed with the edgy instrumentation of the Isley Brothers’ “Shout.” It’s cleverly produced with a great vocal performance.

Isaac’s rendition of “Simply Redeemed,” which was actually his first single, follows– it’s as beautiful now as it was when it first reached radio and fans last year. Ike gives an award-winning vocal that is tasteful and moving, solidifying a firm place as one of gospel music’s great male vocalists of the coming generation.

A standout favorite is “I Worship You,” an energetic worship ballad with great movement, in large part because of its drums and piano accompaniment. Blink and you might miss how this song got to be so grand by its end– I had to go back and listen again to realize that Ike’s riffs and pleading tone actually contributed to the forward-moving energy of this tune. Very well done.

The melody and chords of “Navigation,” alone, are enough to impress. But the clever concept behind the lyrics are a bonus– it’s the testimony of every believer’s battle between our natural selves and God’s navigating Spirit at work within us.

The album closes with “Putcha One Hand Up,” a sure party song that makes you want to run through the whole album again to relive it all.

Isaac Carree has been a part of the progression of gospel music in a way that many don’t take time to recognize– from framing the sound of contemporary choir leads to continuing the excellent tradition of male groups like Commissioned and The Winans with his group, Men of Standard.

The tell-tale sign of a good album– I didn’t want to skip through any of the tracks. I never felt like “okay, I get it”; rather, I was anxious to hear how each tune would start, continue and end. I think we’d call it “captivating.”

If this album falls short, it would be merely as a sequencing issue– I wanted to feel certain things at different places– but feel them, I did. And with a style and ability as versatile as Isaac’s, it’s hard to perfectly merge everything into one ideal order.

You can order here it from Amazon.com, or listen to snippets and buy it through the iTunes widget here–