Review

There’s a pretty good chance that, if you’ve been listening to worship music, you’re familiar with the name of Lindell Cooley. Or, if not, perhaps you’ve heard of the church where he leads worship; Brownsville Assembly of God in Pensacola, Florida. Even if you’ve never heard of Lindell Cooley or any of the wonderful live worship albums he’s recorded for Vineyard and Integrity Music, as well as his own MMI Ministries releases, there’s still the chance that you love Lindell Cooley’s music. How would I know that? Because, if you love to worship God, then you’ve got a lot in common with Lindell Cooley.

The songs on this new, live recording from Lindell Cooley feature the same, high energy, rhythm and blues inspired groove from previous releases, and the production here takes care to showcase the sense of worship that was surely felt during the recording at Brownsville’s own worship time. But, it’s there that the comparisons to Lindell’s previous releases must end.

The songs here are almost all original songs written by Lindell himself, whereas past offerings featured mostly Vineyard standards or old Gospel hymns. Lindell’s vocals here are more solid and assured than ever before. His soulful voice borders on the male version of Rita Springer’s when there’s a call for an exhilarating shout of praise, and when the music comes down a notch and he needs to express a crucial meaning, his voice is luminous and hushed.

Song after song is energized with Lindell’s own brand of Southern-fried rock and blues worship and the results will put a smile on your face and a tap in your toe. The album’s title track kicks things off with a soulful bounce as Lindell shouts, “Can you feel my passion?/ Can you see my hunger?/ Do you know how much I long for you?/ No walls between us/ Take away this darkness/ Come break this heart of stone/ Hear my cry and open up the sky,” and it just keeps on getting better after that.

The band on this set is tight, talented and composed of some of the industry’s top professionals, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying this disc. The Hammond B-3 organ, played here by Lindell himself, is the main instrument in this worship band, with the anthemic guitars of the ever-present Glenn Pearce providing the cathartic solos when words won’t do the trick.

It sounds cliched, but I’ll say it anyway. “There’s not a bad song on this album.” “Open Up The Sky” is a potent blend of rock, blues, R&B, soul and a whole lot of joy thrown into a blender and whipped until what flows out is one big river of praise that calls for you to pull the car over to the side of the road, kick off your shoes and dance before the Lord with the volume cranked to ten.

Review by Keith Giles