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–

I know I’m not the only one who’s been anxiously awaiting the release of Isaac Carree’s debut solo album.

Well, the release date has finally been set… Ike releases Uncommon Me on August 23rd!

We’ve already been able to hear two singles leading up to this project– his cover of the Tommy Sims-penned “Simply Redeemed” and his latest single, “In The Middle.”

Isaac Carree’s voice has been a consistent component of contemporary gospel music for decades, from his early work with John P Kee to his role as one-third of gospel trio Men of Standard, and most lately as a part of Kirk Franklin’s team of stellar vocalists.

To say that this album is “long-awaited” or “highly anticipated” is an understatement.  I say “FINALLY!”

If you haven’t heard Isaac’s new single, “In The Middle,” I just added it to the Pundit Player.  Check it out!

BMI has announced that its Trailblazers Awards luncheon, the heralded, exclusive event of each year’s Stellar Awards weekend, will be aired on Saturday, February 19, 2011 at 7pm ET, exclusively on gmc.

The special, co-hosted by Donnie McClurkin and Kim Burrell, was recorded live during last month’s 12th Annual BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards Luncheon on Friday, January 14th. Honored this year were Shirley Caesar and Commissioned, with jaw-dropping performances from Kim Burrell, the Clark Sisters, Ledisi, Lucinda Moore, Marvin Sapp, Dawkins & Dawkins, Men of Standard and many more.  Donald Lawrence, with DeWayne Woods, handled musical direction of the event.

An encore presentation of the program will air at 8:30pm ET, immediately following its initial broadcast.

GospelPundit.com continues its ongoing prayer series, in which the gospel community prays for the people that make the industry go ’round… this week, let’s pray for Isaac Carree.

Many people came to know of Isaac Carree as a member of the popular group Men of Standard. But before that, he was a featured soloist with John P Kee’s New Life Community Choir.  He recently released his single, “Simply Redeemed,” to great reviews and airplay, and continues to work as one of Kirk Franklin’s vocalists. His full album is expected sometime this year.

Let’s pray for him–

Father, I lift up Isaac Carree to You in prayer.  I pray that Your Will would be done in his life, that You would be glorified by a life of worship. I pray that all that You’ve called him to do and be for You would be made clear to him, and that he would pursue it… pursue You relentlessly.

Lord, as he does so, please give him clarity to see Your hand on his life. Let him see Your guidance and direction, Your discipline and rebuke, Your compassion, mercy and love. Let him respond with an obedient heart, then let him pour out all that You give him to the people that he encounters.  Let us be changed by the changes you make in him.

I pray also, Lord, for Isaac’s household– his wife, son and daughter.  I pray that You would cover them, particularly as he travels in ministry. Don’t let a rift enter their space, bless their communication, and give them peace and strength to labor in all that You have called them to.

God, please let 2011 be a year of expanded opportunities for Isaac.  But more, let it be a time that You prune him, comforting him as You do so. Let his heart be perpetually chiseled to look more like what You created it to be, until he resembles Christ more and more.  And, Lord, bless him.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Okay, folks.  Please join GospelPundit.com and post your prayers in the comment section below.  We have no idea how it blesses folks to see the prayers and, I believe by faith, we have no idea how God reacts when He sees it.

Pray with me.

Is it just me or is (was?) Men of Standard a gospel group in a separate league from other male gospel groups of the past decade?

Their style and artistry is reminiscent of the excellence we got from The Winans and Commissioned, coupling great songs with great vocals.

With Ike and Lowell’s attention rightfully on their respective solo projects right now, I’m sure they’re not releasing a group project in the very near future, but let this post serve as my public plea–

WE WANT MORE OF WHAT Y’ALL DO… THERE IS NOT ANOTHER GROUP LIKE YOU IN GOSPEL TODAY… YOU ARE WHAT WE WANT.  PLEASE, AND THANK YOU.

Peep the video below to enjoy “Yet Will I Trust In Him,” probably my favorite tune from them (warning, in advance– the very last line is cut off… arggh!).

Is it just me???

Word has it that Fred Hammond will be releasing a new album, Life In the Word, on July 27, 2010 through a new deal between his fHammond Family Entertainment and Universal Music Christian Group.

Folks have butchered this news to smithereens… “Fred Hammond has a new album coming out!” and “Fred is with Universal now!”  Admittedly, I had to read through the press release several times to figure out what in the world was happening… but here’s the skinny:

Did Fred Hammond leave Verity?  No.  Not yet, anyway… Fred Hammond, the recording artist, is still signed to Verity.  His fHammond Family Entertainment label is not.  This deal (with the Universal distribution camp instead of the Sony distribution camp) likely signals an intent to hop over to Universal once he, himself, fulfills his recording obligations at Verity, but only time will tell… I’m not tryna be all up in his contractual commitments.

Is Fred Hammond singing on it?  No, not on the overwhelming majority of it.  But, it does feature lead vocals from developing artists Michael Bethany, Candace Laster, Terry, Ericka Warren and Dynna Wells.  It even has some tracks featuring Men of Standard’s Lowell Pye.

Should you still buy it?  SURELY!  At the end of the day, Fred is much more than a recording artist, he’s a gifted songwriter, producer and arranger– if that was his chief function on this album, you’re still gonna get “Fred Hammond music”… you just won’t hear HIM on all of it.

You can pre-order the digital version of it at WalMart.com NOW by clicking here.

Hopefully, this clears things up a bit… now, who’s grabbin’ it?

Isaac Carree has released the title of his upcoming debut solo project… it’ll be called Uncommon Me.

Word has it that the vibe of the album is supposed to demonstrate the vocal agility we’ve seen from Ike, but will also share another side of his musical style and influences.

The vocalist, known best as a member of hit gospel group Men Of Standard and as a singer with John P. Kee’s New Life Community Choir, has not announced a release date.

He’s one of my favorite male vocalists in gospel, so I’m really looking forward to his solo project.

What do you think?

Word has it that gospel artists James Fortune (of James Fortune & FIYA) and Isaac Carree (of Men Of Standard) were robbed yesterday in Houston, TX.

By God’s grace, both are safe and okay.

According to tweets sent from Fortune’s twitter page yesterday, the two are working on music together.  After eating at Le Peep’s restaurant near Houston’s Galleria, the robbers approached them as they were getting into their car.

Fortune stated that “[t]hey took me and @isaaccarree mac computers, jewelry, passports, and money!  Thank you God for sparing our lives!!”

Let’s pray for them, that they recover completely from yesterday’s events, and pray for their continued safety!

Some folks in gospel were skeptical of Michelle Williams when she entered the industry solo– she was at the height of success with Destiny’s Child, and folks kinda gave her the side-eye when she said she was doing a solo album, and that it would be a gospel project.  But whatever.  I knew a Jewish girl in college who loved Michelle because of Destiny’s Child… she bought the GOSPEL album in week one, telling me how much she enjoyed the uplifting lyrics, asking me if all gospel was this good.  Score one for the Kingdom!

In any case, THIS WOMAN has some GREAT albums with great songwriting and production… I started typing this post to talk about her sophomore gospel project, Do You Know, but as I worked on it, I thought “nah, they need to go back to the BEGINNING.”

(Still check out Do You Know, though… it features production and songwriting from Tommy Sims, PAJAM, Dawkins & Dawkins, Cedric & Victor Caldwell, and a BUNCH of other musical heavyweights.  INCREDIBLY slept on.)

In 2002, Michelle Williams entered the gospel industry with her debut project, Heart To Yours.  It peaked at #1 on Billboard’s gospel chart, #3 on the Christian chart, and featured the popular single “Heard A Word.”

But the album was FULL of hits, in my opinion.  Let’s start with the guest spots:  Mary Mary joined her on the infectious “So Glad,” Shirley Caesar on the downright churchy “Steal Away,” Men Of Standard on the ain’t-no-joke worship ballad “You Care For Me,” and Carl Thomas on her remake of the classic BeBe & CeCe hit “Heaven.”

Lest anyone think that she thrives only when other vocalists join her, though, lemme tell ya: she absolutely holds her own.  From the BANGIN’ track “Rock With Me,” to the feel-good “Sun Will Shine Again” (pay special attention to the intricate background vocals on that one), to the head-bopping ”Everything” (check the bgv’s on that one, too).  People, I mean it: this album plays well straight through, from beginning to end.

For your listening pleasure and musical conversion, TWO tracks– “So Glad” feat. Mary Mary and “Sun Will Shine Again”:

Aight, fess up, folks.  Who slept on it and why?  Who owns it and knows what I’m talkin’ about?! Anybody gonna check it out now?

Talk to me!