Customer Reviews

Restoration of Israel

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Extraordinary! Wonderful mix of music. An exciting variety of tempos evenly distributed over the CD. I love the "cool rock" genre of the faster paced tracks. This is unmistakenly Joel's signature on all his albums.

The praise/intimate worship tunes successfully accomplish their goals via the lyrics by drawing you into the vision he presents. I especially enjoyed the way Joel presented his vision of the heart of G-d toward his people Israel, as well as those who have been graffted. I absolutely fell in love with his special offering to the sister UMJC organization "To Dwell in Unity." I was there that night, and this track definitely captured all the emotions of that incredible event."Lay Your Hands On Me," and "Holy Unto You" are two of my favorites. Well actually, there are too many favorites to list. I listen to this CD constantly at work, and in my car. For those people whose taste is well seasoned in rich music, great-meaningful lyrics, and great presentation, this is a definite keeper.

We have been recently enjoying this CD, as well as some of the earlier "Lamb" music [....]

This is some truly moving music! For those of you out there who listen to contemporary Christian music, but have not heard any of the Messianic Jewish worship music, you must find out what you are missing. Any albums by Lamb (Joel Chernoff), Marty Goetz, Kol Simcha, Israel's hope, and others are must-haves!

I don't frequent Christian bookstores because... well... despite the fact that Jesus Christ is my personal Savior, I'm not associated with contemporary "Christianity," and because I detest seeing the hypocrisy of so-called "Christians" selling to so-called "Christians" Christian products that were produced in Godless, abortion-enforced Communist China by slave labor (some of that labor being Christians imprisoned for their faith).

But in 2000, I did find myself in a local Christian "hypocrishop" and noticed a compact disc titled, HEART FOR ISRAEL: WORSHIP, Vol. One. It contained four tracks each by four Messianic musicians (i.e., Jews who acknowledge Yeshua, or Jesus, as the prophesied Messiah). This hypocrishop had listening stations, and after spinning the disc, I bought it. Although I appreciated the talents of all of the artists on this sampler, the one who most stood out for me was JOEL CHERNOFF. I had never heard of him before, but evidently he had made a name for himself years earlier as the leader of a famous Messianic musical group called LAMB. Well, I eventually became so impressed with Joel's four tracks on Heart For Israel, that after many listenings, I bought his album, THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL, from which those tracks were culled. Good move on my part!

My Gospel collection is meager as I feel that today's Christianity (inexplicably) has not produced a significant amount of really outstanding music. THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL is an exception.

Joel is a masculine looking fellow with a powerfully masculine, but very smooth and richly emotive voice. His ethnicity is occasionally apparent in his singing - the way he pronounces some words, the edges of some of his vocal phrasings. It might not be everyone's cup of borscht, but I dig it big time. Honestly, he has become one of my favorite male vocalists, right up there with Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, The Beach Boys, and Kate Smith.

The theme that runs throughout this set is reconciliation, or healing: The reconciling of Jews and their Promised Land; the healing of Jews and Gentiles; the reconciliation of man to God; and the healing of Christian schisms. And Joel's tender heart is clearly authentically invested in this hope. (I think the reconciling of the Hatfields and the McCoys; the Republicans and the Democrats; Cats and Dogs; and Britney Spears and clothing are beyond the scope of this recording.)

While there's only one cut that I don't enjoy, the ballads took me just a shade longer to warm up to, but Joel's honey and coffee voice envelops their subtle melodies so thoroughly, and his sensitivity quickens them to such a degree, that I was eventually drawn in completely. (TO DWELL IN UNITY and I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS MISSING YOU are just gorgeous songs!) But it is the faster, spunkier, high-gear pieces with their smart backing vocals that really give THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL its extra spark. (Those being BLESSED BE THE LORD, GOD; JEW AND GENTILE; WITH GOD, WE'LL GAIN THE VICTORY; and NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST YOU SHALL PROSPER.)

That last one - NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST YOU SHALL PROSPER - is a reminder to Israel of God's promise in Isaiah 54:17, and it is one righteously rip-roaring, rowdy rocker! Its style is along the lines of something you'd expect to hear in a movie soundtrack accompanying images of a Rocky Balboa (or Saint Peter?) training for the big fight. Man, if this one doesn't kick-start the Holy Spirit in you, then you should probably return to the graveyard from whence you escaped.

I wish that STREAMS OF MERCY had been replaced by another double-time number, and that the sequencing of THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL had been better ordered, but these are minor complaints. After all, how many albums shame you into forgiving others; convince you that you can knock out the devil before the end of the twelfth round; and utilize a musical instrument called a "Bazooki"?

Joel Chernoff has successfully opened the doors to praise in this collection - melodies, rhythms and thoughtful lyrics give each song a
special quality all it's own - profound and inspirational.

Several of the tracks reminded me a LOT of Lamb, and with good reason. The album was a lot slower in general than I was expecting. And I was also expecting a corporate worship theme, and mostly it's Joel Chernoff's solo work (most if not all of the songs were written by him) with some back up. Not the most joyful of works, rather thoughtful instead.