With a CeCe Winans album, it’s easy to sit back and just enjoy
\nbecause she makes it sound so effortless. On her fourth solo album,<\/p>\n
Alabaster Box<\/i>, Winans cradles the listener in her arms as if
\nto say, “Let me sing for you. You just relax and I’ll make the
\nworld go away for 45 minutes or so.”<\/p>\n
But, you know what Winans accomplished this time around did not
\ncome as easily as it sounds.
\nAlabaster Box<\/i> is the debut project for Winans’ new record
\nlabel, Wellspring Gospel, so there is a lot riding on this project.
\nAs well, she wrote or co-wrote five of the songs on this project —
\nand they are good, solid, songs.<\/p>\n
Opening with a short, a capella, rendition of “Fill My Cup,”
\nwhich segues beautifully into the rousing “Kings of Kings (He’s A
\nWonder)” it’s clear Winans’ cup is overflowing at this point.
\nCo-written by Winans and gospel great Fred Hammond, who also
\nproduced the track, this song is praise and adoration to God from
\nthe first note.<\/p>\n
“The truth reaches the clouds\/Your mercy never runs out\/We give
\nYou honor\/Be thou exalted above the heavens and above the earth\/I
\ngive all Glory unto Your name\/King of Kings and Lord of Lords\/Lover
\nof my soul Jehovah\/One and only God, I AM\/Jesus Christ the Holy
\nLamb”<\/p>\n
Many songs have been described as “percolating” — well, this
\none really does. As Winans builds through the bridge it’s all you
\ncan do to keep from standing and swaying, arms uplifted to Heaven,
\nin praise. And there’s still 10 more songs to go. Lord have
\nmercy!<\/p>\n
Since 1987 when Winans first began recording for Sparrow Records
\nwith her brother, BeBe, she has been developing her God-given
\ntalents. (She is the sister of the men in the gospel group The
\nWinans and the daughter of Mom and Pop Winans, longtime names on
\nthe gospel music circuit. Other Winans abound in the gospel\/CCM
\nindustry, including Angie & Debbie and a new group this year of
\nthe sons of the men in The Winans, Winans Phase 2 — talk about a
\nfamily business.)<\/p>\n
Keeping in line with the family practice of stradling genre
\nlines,
\nAlabaster Box<\/i> has elements of both gospel and CCM included,
\nalthough it is more in the vein of her Grammy-winning gospel
\nrelease
\nAlone in His Presence<\/i> from 1996, than 1997’s more
\npop-oriented
\nEverlasting Love<\/i>.<\/p>\n
What never changes though is Winans’ phenomenal voice. If she
\nsought it, she could be a bigger pop diva than Whitney Houston ever
\nwas and though only time will tell, she certainly seems to have the
\ntalent to rank right up there with the Queen, herself. But, Winans’
\ngoals are different.<\/p>\n
In this album’s title song, a classic Winans ballad written by
\nJanice Sjostran, Winans makes it clear what her life’s ambition is
\n— as well as the theme of this disc — service to Jesus Christ,
\nher Lord. Taking a story from the gospel of Luke about how Mary
\nMagdalene anointed Jesus with expensive perfume, Winans sings from
\nMary’s point of view:<\/p>\n
“And I’ve come to pour my praise on Him like oil from Mary’s
\nalabaster box\/Don’t be angry if I wash His feet with my tears and I
\ndry them with my hair\/You weren’t there the night He found me\/You
\ndid not feel what I felt When He wrapped His loving arms around
\nme\/And you don’t know the cost of the oil in my alabaster box”<\/p>\n
This is a disc of 12 highlights. Among them are the song “One
\nAnd The Same,” on which Winans duets (or would that be septets?)
\nwith the group Take 6 — it’s a magical moment.<\/p>\n
Additional highlights:<\/p>\n
* “He’s Not On His Knees Yet” — A song about a friend who’s not
\ncome to know Jesus yet and so hasn’t found his full potential. Sung
\nas a prayer to God to keep this friend safe until he does realize
\nhis need for God.<\/p>\n
* “Higher Place Of Praise” — Another gem co-written by Winans
\nand Hammond, this one is a little mid-tempo call and response
\nnumber between Winans and a gospel choir about going beyond the
\nnorm in worship, to a higher place where praise is pure and the
\nworshiper is not just following the order of worship in the church
\nbulletin.<\/p>\n
* “It Wasn’t Easy” — Written by Winans from Jesus’ point of
\nview, this song is about the sacrifice Christ made on the cross for
\nthe sins of the world. “I didn’t have to do it\/But I did it
\nanyway\/’Cause I really love you\/So much I took your place\/I died
\nfor your sins”<\/p>\n
Winans has come a long way since the days when she was singing
\nwith her brother. Those were great days — these are better ones.
\nI’m already looking forward to her next project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":25200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[6211],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-36405","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-cece-winans","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36405"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=36405"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=36405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}