Planet Life: Live and Large

Description

Planet Life: Live and Large is a multi-artist live project released on Alliance Music in 2000, marketed and distributed in Europe by Alliance Music.

So here it is: Planet Life Live and Large. It’s always been The World Wide Message Tribe‘s desire alongside the Message Trust to be a resource to local churches and help them to present the age old truths of the Gospel in the most funky way possible.

Planet Life is a monthly worship event and we aim to incorporate the latest bangin’ tunes, video, PA, stage sets and special effects into a programme that is full on Jesus. This began in Cheadle in a church which we soon outgrew. We then moved to a hall in Wythenshawe.

Last year we took the big step of moving to the 3,500 seater Manchester Apollo, which we now regularly see packed out with ‘Frantik’ worshippers. Every month a few people become Christians and loads more get completely fired up for Jesus.

Hopefully as you listen to this you will catch something of the buzz there is around Manchester for the things of God – maybe even start to make plans to do something mad for Him yourself.

– Andy Hawthorne [CD liner notes]

Let’s face it. Live dance albums are a bit of an oxymoron, and listening to singers performing to backing tapes is fine in the context of the sweat and vibe of the nightclub but usually come over as warmed over karaoke when relived with one’s home stereo. But as surely every reader of Cross Rhythms know, Planet Life is much, much more than a sanctified dance gig; it’s the premier event in demonstrating that worship of God must not be locked in a few musical formulae, but must continually re-invent itself, absorbing and reflecting anything and everything that develops in the creative maelstrom of music. As a wake up call to all churches whose worship still languishes in forms irrelevant to today’s youth, this fast moving flick through the exuberant, cathartic, monthly celebrations at Manchester Apollo will do nicely and the way in which dba and Minds Of Men seamlessly fit into the beats and exhortations of WWMT and the deliciously hectoring Cameron Dante shows that the Tribe aren’t alone in making songs of praise youth-relevant. There are one or two weak spots, the song «Never Alone» by London Community Gospel Choir is dull, too long and alongside the cutting edge stuff elsewhere show that black majority church traditionalism has a bit of catching up to do. But when Tribal Expression (the worship spin off of the Tribe featuring Doug Walker, Lee Jackson, Doronda Lewis, et al) go into some spine tingling worship, or when the Tribe reconstruct the old gospel warhorse «Ain’t Nobody» into a rap and rant groove, I throw down my reviewer’s pen and do what this album intends all along, and worship the God who loves me. [Tony Cummings, Cross Rhythms, October 2000]

CD tracklist:

01. The World Wide Message Tribe – Frantik – 1:26
02. The World Wide Message Tribe / Cameron Danté – Lift It / D.J. Set – 2:35
03. The World Wide Message Tribe – Frantik Remix – 1:51
04. dba – Go With The Sun – 3:32
05. The World Wide Message Tribe / Andy Hawthorne – Frantic Remix / Reading – 1:11
06. London Community Gospel Choir – Never Alone – 5:32
07. Tribal Expression – Worship Call – 0:57
08. Tribal Expression – I Will Worship – 1:36
09. Tribal Expression – Light The Fire Again – 3:55
10. dba – 3-D – 2:56
11. Minds Of Men – Promised Land – 4:30
12. The World Wide Message Tribe (an adaption of “Ain’t Nobody”) – Nobody Loves Me Better – 4:13
13. Tribal Expression – Holy – 3:35
14. The World Wide Message Tribe – Jumping In The House Of God – 4:08
15. London Community Gospel Choir with Deronda Lewis – O Happy Day – 6:38