Charity Gayle’s “Rejoice” – Full Album Review
- Charity Gayle’s Rejoice truly is special, with its incredible music, well-crafted songwriting, and a heart for worshipping God no matter how hard things are – God is worthy of our praise, and he is for us and with us.
“I love harmonies in gospel music. I think about Heaven being full of every type of voice from every nation, finding their part and praising God at the top of their lungs together around the Throne.” Charity Gayle brings that heavenly worship to earth with her love for worship music, powerful voice, and immense desire to bridge the gap between worship and gospel music.
With a Dove award, a #1 album, and plenty of accolades, Charity is anything but a newbie to the worship music scene. Her songs are sung in churches worldwide, celebrating Jesus with each and every one. She pours her love for Jesus, her heart for worship, and her desire for both unity and diversity into her latest album, Rejoice.
MUSIC AND PRODUCTION
Worship songs need just enough predictability to be singable, but not too much, lest they get boring and repetitive. With Rejoice, Charity hits the proverbial nail on the head, with fourteen singable, heartfelt worship songs that help to bridge the gap between a loving God and His faith-filled people.
Rejoice takes you on a musical worship journey through a combination of worship pop, Gospel harmonies, and a flawlessly recorded live album. You can almost feel the heavenly anticipation at the beginning of the album, with the entrance of the strings, and then the clapping, the pulsing rock organ, and finally, the angelic choir stepping into the scene, singing, “Rejoice!” Throughout the album, the songs naturally ebb and flow between meditative and celebratory, building over time and culminating in the final, exuberant track, “Whose Report Shall You Believe (Shout).”
The songs of Rejoice are finely crafted, well-rehearsed, and impeccably performed in front of a live audience. You won’t find any gimmicks or out-of-place theology in this album. Instead, each track reflects a heart of sincere worship backed by musical excellence.
WORSHIP FUNCTION AND ACCESSIBILITY
If you’re a worship leader, you’re probably looking for the next great song to inspire, uplift, and help your congregation meet with God. And while most churches probably don’t have the same size team as you hear on this album, most of the tracks should be accessible to most churches with a little creativity. Charity does an excellent job of making sure her music is available for churches to use, with access to the charts across a number of worship platforms.
NOTABLE TRACKS
With a roster of songs this exquisite, it’s hard to select just a few that truly stand out – they are all singable, uplifting worship songs. But there are a few that I resonate with both musically and spiritually.
Rejoice
Right off the bat, you’ll be drawn into praising God through “Rejoice.” Reflecting on themes from Philippians 4 and Psalm 150, “Rejoice” gets us right into the mind frame of praising God.
This Is My Story
A masterpiece of mixing old and new, this song seamlessly blends the timeless strains of the old gospel hymn, “Blessed Assurance,” into a fresh and innovative worship song. Topped off with Charity’s crystal-clear vocals, This Is My Story is an accessible and beautiful worship song.
Seed of Faith
This beautiful song reminds us that God is for us, no matter how bad things may appear.
Whose Report Shall You Believe (Shout). It’s nearly impossible to sit still when you hear this song – it will have you dancing and singing in worship. You can’t miss Charity’s gospel roots with a foot-stomping beat, brazen rock organ, and Charity’s powerhouse vocals, driving us to focus on God’s words of healing and victory in the name of Jesus.
BIBLICAL FAITHFULNESS
Rejoice is a collection of songs for the church to sing, no matter the hardships. Nehemiah 8:10 reminds us that the joy of the Lord is our strength, and Rejoice is just the reminder we need to find our joy and our strength in God.
Theologically, this album is based on solid worship themes as well as God’s faithfulness to us. I love that Rejoice is so ecumenical – rather than honing in on anything that is too theologically specific or controversial, you’ll find this album is accessible to a wide range of Christian denominations with its uplifting message: helping us to worship God no matter what highs or lows we are facing in our day-to-day lives.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I can’t say enough just how beautiful and fine-tuned this album truly is. With so many amazing worship songs peppering the Christian music scene, it’s hard to stand out as something special. But Charity Gayle’s Rejoice truly is special, with its incredible music, well-crafted songwriting, and a heart for worshipping God no matter how hard things are – God is worthy of our praise, and he is for us and with us.
MORE
The songs of Rejoice are tried and true, sung in worship by Charity, her team, and across churches and denominations. The music, the lyrics, and the deep-seated worship stand out with excellence during a time when many artists are simply clamoring for attention.
LESS
This album is a true musical worship journey, and Charity’s hard work while raising a family is truly amazing. With all of the beautiful music on this album, I would love to hear an additional, simple, and meditative song or two to contrast with the incredible energy of the closing song.
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