JOYOUS CELEBRATION 4 - CONNECTING THE NATION (1999)

- Group: Joyous Celebration

- Album: Joyous Celebration 4: Connecting the Nation

- Year: Recorded in December 1999, released in march 2000

- Label: Sony

- Mark: 5,5/ 7,0

GOD BLESS YOU BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN JESUS CHRIST. I WILL TALK ABOUT THE FOURTH ALBUM OF JOYOUS CELEBRATION, CALLED "JOYOUS CELEBRATION 4: CONNECTING THE NATION". IT WAS RECORDED LIVE IN PLAYHOUSE AUDITORIUM, DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, WITH 1.200 PEOPLE THAT WERE PART OF A TIME OF CELEBRATION AND GOSPEL MUSIC TO JESUS. THE ALBUM WAS RECORDED LIVE IN THE LAST MONTHS OF THE YEAR 1999 AND IT WAS RELEASED ON MARCH 2000. THIS ALBUM HAS 15 SONGS RECORDED LIVE AND 2 SONGS RECORDED ON STUDIO.

DETAILS:

- THIS IS THE THIRD LIVE ALBUM AND THE FOURTH ALBUM FROM JOYOUS CELEBRATION

- THIS ALBUM WAS RELEASED ONLY ON AUDIO VERSION AS CD. AT THAT TIME THE STAGES FROM LIVE RECORDINGS ARE SIMPLE. ON THE COVER FRONT FROM THE ALBUM THERE ARE PHOTOS FROM THE LIVE RECORDING. 

- PLAYHOUSE IS A THEATER LOCATED AT THE DOWNTOWN OF DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA. JOYOUS HAS DONE SOME LIVE RECORDINGS BESIDES JOYOUS 4, FOR EXAMPLE JOYOUS 9, JOYOUS LIVE AT PLAYHOUSE (COMPILATION LIVE RECORDING ON YEAR 2004 ONLY AVAILABLE ON VIDEO VERSION). TOO THE FUTURE MEMBER FROM JOYOUS CELEBRATION, SIBUSISO SBUNOAH MTHEMBU, HE WILL RECORD ITS FIRST LIVE ALBUM AS SOLOIST, TITLED "A DAVID KIND OF PSALM" AT THE SAME PLAYHOUSE, BUT WITH A RENOVATED CONSTRUCTION OF THAT PLACE ON DECEMBER 2019.

- THE ALBUM WAS RECORDED ON DECEMBER 1999, DURING CHRISTMAS EVE. IN FACT, ON THE STAGE THERE WAS SOME LIGHTS FROM CHRISTMAS WITH CONCERT LIGHTS AND THE JOYOUS CELEBRATION CHOIR WITH A WHITE CURTAIN.

- THE SONGS "KEEP THE FAITH" AND "HIS SPIRIT IS HERE" WAS RECORDED AT STUDIO. THESE SONGS WAS NEVER RECORDED IN PLAYHOUSE. THE REAL LIVE RECORDING STARTS WITH THE SONG "IZETHEMBISO (THE PROMISES)". FOR THE TWO SONGS, THE APPLAUSE DOES NOT BELONG TO THE LIVE RECORDING. THERE ARE FALSE APPLAUSE, PREFABRICATED.

AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SONG "KEEP THE FAITH" MTHUNZI TALKS ABOUT THE TRUE WORSHIP TO GOD EVEN THOUGH THE PERSECUTION AND ROUGH MOMENTS THAT THE CHURCH IS FACING. THAT MESSAGE IS A GOOD WAY TO START LISTEN A GOSPEL ÁLBUM.

- THE SONG IZETHEMBISO WAS RECORDED AGAIN ON THE THIRD COMPILATION LIVE RECORDING OF JOYOUS, TITLED REWIND, RECORDED LIVE IN JOHANNESBURG AND RELEASED IN 2012.

- AS THE OTHER JOYOUS ALBUMS, IN JOYOUS 4 THERE ARE KNOWN HYMNS RECORDED, SUCH AS A COVER FROM ANOTHER SONGS THAT MADE HISTORY ON THE GOSPEL MUSIC, TOO THERE ARE SOME NEW SONGS WRITTEN BY JOYOUS CELEBRATION MEMBERS.

ONE OF THE NEW SONGS RECORDED IS "PHINDUKHULUME (SPEAK TO ME)". 

THAT SONG WAS RECORDED AGAIN ON JOYOUS 12, RECORDED LIVE ON CAPE TOWN, BUT UNFORTUNATELY THAT VERSION IS ONLY AVAILABLE ON VIDEO VERSION.

- ANOTHER NEW SONG FOR THIS ALBUM IS "INTETHELELO (FORGIVENESS)" THE SONG IS WRITTEN BY LINDELANI MKHIZE, THE CHOIR DIRECTOR FROM JOYOUS CELEBRATION. THE SONG IS A PRAYER TO GOD FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF OUR SINS AND THE TRUE REPENTANCE THAT BRINGS US CLOSE TO JESUS. LINDELANI IS THE CHOIR DIRECTOR OF JOYOUS CELEBRATION, BUT IN THIS SONG LINDELANI SINGS WITH A OUTFIT ABOUT THE TRADITIONAL DANCES THAT EXISTS ON SOUTH AFRICA. WHEN LINDELANI ENDS SINGING, HE STARTS A SPEECH ABOUT HIS NAME AND HE ENCOURAGES THE PEOPLE TO DANCE FOR JESUS. WHEN THE SPEECH ENDS LINDELANI MAKES DANCING MOVES ORIGINAL FROM SOUTH AFRICA, THAT IS ABOUT DO KICK MOVEMENTS WITH THE FEETS AND SHAKING THE BODY.

 IN JOYOUS 4 THE DANCING MOVEMENT WAS NOT RECORDED BUT ON THE COMPILATION DVD JOYOUS CELEBRATION LIVE AT PLAYHOUSE (2004) JOYOUS SINGS INTETHELELO AGAIN BUT IN THAT VERSION THERE IS THE FULL DANCING MOMENT ON DVD. ON THE COMPILATION VERSION WE CAN SEE LINDELANI DANCING WITH 3 MORE PEOPLE. TOO LINDELANI INVITED ONE PEOPLE FROM THE PUBLIC TO DANCE WITH THE CHOIR AT THE STAGE.

- "MY HELP" IS A COVER FROM GOSPEL SINGER BAM CRAWFORD. THE SONG WAS WRITTEN BY JACKIE GOUCHÉ BUT THE DEBUT WAS MADE AT THE ALBUM "THE KING IS COMING ANY DAY" FROM BAM CRAWFORD. THAT ALBUM IS A LIVE RECORDING FROM YEAR 1997. JOYOUS 4 WAS RECORDED AT DECEMBER 1999.

ON YOUTUBE THERE IS A VIDEO FROM JACKIE GOUCHÉ SINGING "MY HELP" LIVE. ON THAT VIDEO ABRAHAM LABORIEL HAS PARTICIPATED PLAYING THE BASS. ABRAHAM IS A MUSICIAN FOR INTEGRITY MUSIC AND RON KENOLY LIVE ALBUMS WITH HOSANNA MUSIC.

IN JOYOUS 10 (2006) THE CHOIR RECORDED AGAIN THAT SONG LIVE IN JOHANNESBURG BUT WITH A FOCUS ON SPONTANEOUS WORSHIP MOMENT. THE VERSION OF JOYOUS 10 IS ONLY AVAILABLE ON VIDEO VERSION, NOT ON AUDIO VERSION. 

- THE ONLY MOMENT WHERE MTHUNZI HAS PARTICIPATED IN THE REAL LIVE RECORDING WITH THE PUBLIC AT PLAYHOUSE AND NOT ON STUDIO, WAS IN THE SONG UJESU WAMI (MY JESUS) THIS SONG IN ZULU SAYS THAT JESUS WAS RAISED FROM THE DEAD AND HE REIGNS ON HIGH. THIS SONG IS A GOOD IDEA TO BE SUNG IN EASTER WEEKEND BUT IT IS A DAILY DECLARATION OF FAITH IN JESUS. WHEN MTHUNZI STARTS TO SING HE SPEAKS A SPEECH BUT THAT SPEECH IS TAKEN FROM THE REAL LIVE RECORDING. THE EVIDENCE IS THAT THE PUBLIC ANSWERS TO THE SPEECH OF MTHUNZI.

-  THE SONG "BECAUSE HE LIVES" IS A TRADITIONAL HYMN THAT ALL THE WORLD KNOWS. THE HYMN WAS WRITTEN BY WILLIAM "BILL" GAITHER. THE SONG WAS TRANSLATED TO ALMOST ALL THE 7,097 LANGUAGES THAT EXISTS IN THE WORLD. HE TOO WROTE "HE TOUCHED ME" BUT JOYOUS DID NOT RECORD THAT SONG ON ANY ALBUM YET.

- THE LIVE RECORDING JOYOUS 4 CLOSES WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF JABU HLONGWANE. ON THE COVER FRONT THERE IS A PHOTO OF JABU SINGING AT THE LIVE RECORDING. ACCORDING TO THE PHOTO THE ALBUM WAS RECORDED DURING CHRISTMAS BECAUSE ON THE BACK PART FROM JABU THERE IS LIGHT OF CHRISTMAS DECORATION THAT WAS ESTABILISHED ON THE STAGE.

JABU HLONGWANE ENDS THE LIVE RECORDING WITH THE SONG "ONGIHOLAYO (HE WHO LEADS)" AND "AWE SATHANE (SATHAN HAS FALLEN)" 

ADVANTAGES:

- WITH THIS ALBUM JOYOUS CELEBRATION HAS STARTED TO BE MORE KNOWN ON SOUTH AFRICA AND ON UNITED STATES. THE SONG INTETHELELO (FORGIVENESS) WAS A IMPACT TO REACH MORE PEOPLE THE MUSIC OF JOYOUS CELEBRATION.

- THIS ALBUM MINISTERS

- THIS ALBUM HAS DYNAMISM ON MANY SONGS.

- THE ALBUM IS IDEAL TO DO EXCERCISE

- THE ALBUM IS NOT DISCONTINUED

- THE ALBUM HAS A GOOD DURATION. ONE HOUR WITH 13 MINUTES.

DISADVANTAGES:

- THERE IS NOT VIDEO VERSION BUT IN THE FRONT AND BACK COVER THERE ARE PHOTOS FROM THE LIVE RECORDING.

- THE QUALITY AUDIO IS REGULAR BUT IT IS NOT BAD. I THINK THAT FOR JOYOUS 4 THE QUALITY AUDIO SHOULD BE SO MUCH BETTER.

LIST OF SONGS:

1. KEEP THE FAITH *RECORDED IN STUDIO

2. IZETHEMBISO (THE PROMISES)

3. PHINDUKHULUME (SPEAK TO ME)

4. HIS SPIRIT IS HERE *RECORDED IN STUDIO

5. HOLY GROUND

6. MY DELIVERER

7. MY HELP

8. EMMANUEL

9. SABELA (RESPOND)

10. NGIMI LAPHO (STANDING)

11. INTETHELELO (FORGIVENESS)
12. BECAUSE HE LIVES

13. HOLY HOLY

14. UJESU WAMI (MY JESUS)

15. NGUWE (TO YOU)

16. ONGIHOLAYO (WHO LEADS ME)

17. AWE! SATHANE (SATHAN HAS FALLEN)