Associate Editor Troy Lilly reminds us about an oldie but goodie…
Back in 1996, a CD player was something you had installed at a Circuit City or Best Buy. I mean lots of people had Walkmans, but in the car, we were still listening to cassette tapes – one side at a time. Boy how the times have changed.
Anyway, that same year a guy named Keith Staten released an album called Worship in the House as part of Integrity Music’s “Urban Praise” series. You may (and should) remember Keith as one-fifth of a successful male ensemble during the late 80s and early 90s: Commissioned.
But this time the concept was a little different. Keith isn’t just singing with the guys, he’s out front. And instead of featured the cutting-edge studio production value of earlier Commissioned albums, this project was recorded live at Lifeline Christian Center Church to capture an organic worship atmosphere.
With songs like “Praise Looks Good on You,” “Awesome in This Place,” “Healing Grace” and “Lord I Thirst for You,” Worship in the House is essentially a collection of contemporary praise and worship songs recorded in a more urban and soulful vein.
Fred Hammond, who handled the production for his former Commissioned group member, adds just enough rhythm to make the 12 tracks groove-worthy, but not so much that they lose the authenticity of original versions by Don Moen, Gary Sadler, Hillsong and Alleluia Music. And now, more than 14 years later, the integrity of the sound and music still stands. However, the cassette tape I bought back in ’96 is long gone.
Thankfully, advances in technology have provided us with the compact disc and mp3 downloads, which means if you’ve never heard Worship in the House before, there’s a new, shiny copy waiting for you on iTunes and Amazon.com.
If you have heard the album before, feel free to chime in. Either way take a(nother) listen. It’ll bless your life, I promise.
EJ’s note: According to Twitter reports, Keith Staten was JUST in the studio with Donald Lawrence– he’s making a guest appearance on Donald’s upcoming album, YRM (Your Righteous Mind), due in stores in the Spring of 2011.
