Shanachie have unleashed a lot of material recently, the best of which has been the superb Maysa set. Those who like Gospel / praise music will be in for a treat with this set from the superb vocal talent who is Ted Winn. Following in the footsteps of other Church-raised and trained singers such as Fred Hammond and Kirk Franklin. Although non-secular recordings are not generally my cup of tea there is enough on here to get involved with and I have to start with the truly inspirational and well crafted lyricism of the title track, "Balance". This song, crammed with real instrumentation is lovely. The sentiments in this song about how we treat ourselves, our neighbours, and nature and the environment is something that crosses all dividing lines and as such this is a really great track. The quality of the recording, too is absolutely superb - as we would expect from this label. The live feel that is so loved by fellow Gospel artist, Daryl Coley, is adopted on this set and you can hear that not only is Ted comfortable in his Ministry, he absolutely loves it - and his excellent vocals combined with some smooth female backings make him something worth listening to - check out the Tony Momrelle and the Llungau Big band flavoured "Connected To The Kingdom" for a flavour of this.This merges into the brassy "His Favour" which slinks into a righteous groove complete with organ and Tower Of Power touches. This is impressive! This live feel gives us an impression of what a real talented artist can do, and the ability to be creative and very much off the hoof. I was surprised and yet warmed by the AOR tinged "Moving Forward". I am rather comfortable with this kind of material and it's good to hear a bit of texture in such a setting as this CD. Returning to the live feel, "No Weapon" carries the set forward again and vocally Ted is a really commanding presence, expertly supported by a truly talented choir. the relaxed and jazzier "The Lifter" is simple yet vocally effective. Tedd Winn presents us with a multi-faceted CD that exemplifies his testimony, his abilities and his real talents. Fans of inspirational, live, non-secular albums will not want to miss this one.
Barry Towler
The Vibe scribe
