Tye Tribbett & G.A. - Mighty Long Way

It occurs to me that this is probably the first gospel tune to be reviewed here on Scenestars.net. It also maybe the last gospel tune reviewed here. Whatever, this is one hot jam, one that makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. This track, "Mighty Long Way," made headway in the Euro-urban underground scene last fall and was even chosen by Mark de Clive-Lowe as his favorite track of 2004 for Benji B's "Deviation" program on BBC 1Xtra.

I figure the fact that this album, "Life," was produced by James Poyser -- a member of the Soulquarians crew along with ?uestlove of The Roots, D'Angelo, Jill Scott, Bilal, Mos Def and Common -- helped push Tye Tribbett & Greater Annointing into crossover territory, but the power of this Camden, N.J.-based praise machine can't be denied, especially on a booming system.

Here's Tye in his own words on "Mighty Long Way": "It's a look back. Like wow, after the struggles you have changed. You were able to 'taste and see.'Now look back and celebrate. You've brought me from a mighty long way. Even if you still have a long way to go, you've already come a long way."

Note to DJs: If you don't have one of the dodgy black-label pressings of this track from London, consider editing the coda directly onto the rest of the track: it fades back in after 30 seconds or so. Better yet, peep the whole album. There are plenty of tracks that will appeal to secular listeners.