5099950310029. New condition. CD. Like pastor, like sheep: LaRue Howard's genre-hopping debut for EMI Gospel, How Great Is Our God, bears a striking similitude to what worship veteran Clint Brown has been doing for years, and with good reason. Howard is the praise leader at FaithWorld Church, the multiethnic Orlando congregation Brown oversees. Like her employer, Howard is comfortable on either side of the CCM-gospel divide, so much so that she never blurs the line between the two styles, but maintains them separate but equal to maintain cultural parity. On one end are the CCM anthems, all straightforward run-throughs of the biggest anthems at non-black churches across the nation, like Chris Tomlin's "How Great Is Our God," Paul Baloche's "Open the Eyes of My Heart," and Matt Redman's "Blessed Be Your Name." Howard doesn't try anything new with these tunes, which is fine in the context of a corporate setting, but it's a letdown from a studio perspective, given that this material has already been covered ad nauseam on hundreds of recordings prior. Howard shows much more personality as an artist when entertaining her contemporary gospel proclivities, not only because her soulful vocals rise to the forefront, but also because the selections are more colorful, like the urban, street-savvy "He Is," the reverential "Essence of Your Presence," and the joyfully invitational "His Majesty Is Here." Uneven though it may be, How Great Is Our God at least appears sincere in its all-inclusiveness: after all, Howard isn't doing all these songs because they're necessarily hot and of the moment; instead, they reflect that she's a church musician first -- it's the type of music her day job requires her to sing. ~ Andree Farias, Rovi
