The William Murphy Project - All Day...

By Rene Williams

B.E.L.L. Records

When I first heard, Praise Is What I Do, I thought, "What an incredible song!" The song and the anointing were incredible and I had to learn more about the song and who wrote it. Now the entire gospel world knows William Murphy III.

His song, Praise Is What I Do recorded on Shekinah Glory Ministry’s album of the same name was one of the breakout hits of 2003. The song was ministered at the Stellar Awards last year, leaving few standing. It also won for Song of the Year at the Atlanta Gospel Choice Awards in 2002, the city where Murphy resides. He is senior minister of worship at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church under the pastorate of world-renowned preacher and author, Bishop Eddie L. Long.

Before Praise Is What I Do, this young man had already recorded on a number of projects, including his own independent project Changes and on Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship’s Bow Down & Worship Him on the cut He Is Here. He also recorded at the 2003 Gospel Heritage Praise & Worship Conference singing I Need A Worship Experience. B.E.L.L. Records presents Murphy’s latest endeavor All Day… The live project, recorded at New Birth, is exactly what you would expect (and more) from this dynamic praise and worship leader.

William Murphy brings high energy with the opening cut We Have Come To Glorify/Great and Mighty/Jump Medley. The medley is high octave and will find you jumping and shouting praises to God. He even includes the keyboard work from the 80s super-rockers Van Halen’s hit Jump.

Continuing the praise, the medley flows into Good, a song about the goodness of God. Murphy exhorts throughout the song and the project. He also gives us some old-time church, complete with organ, on the powerful cut Hear My Prayer. His background singers, the All Day Mass Choir, sound awesome on this track and throughout. The song is a reminder that after we pray, we can be assured that everything will be all right. Be Strong, penned by Murphy and featuring his father Bishop William Murphy, Jr., finds them singing together about holding on and being strong in the power of God’s might. The exhortation during this song will certainly be an encouragement to those tempted to give up. The moving reprise includes Dr. William H. Murphy, Sr. as well.

Created To Worship showcases Murphy doing what he loves best – worship. Created To Worship and I Know Why I’m Here are awesome together. They flow seamlessly into the hit Praise Is What I Do. The new rendition is a really nice one. Be prepared to enter the Holy of Holies with this song. He follows Praise Is What I Do with Crazy Praise, a hip-hop song (complete with rap) about giving God radical praise. High praise is also evident on the cut Awesome.

Murphy also covers the well-known praise song Let It Rise. He mellows the song out a bit while still leaving it a festive one. One Pure and Holy Passion is another incredible tune filled with worship. So is Ignite My Fire. The song beckons the worshipper into a deeper, closer desire for God.

Murphy changes from live to studio on the last few tracks. Changes, a laid-back urban track, talks about how we need to go through changes - to be changed. The guitar-driven, neo-soul flavored I Don’t Know Why paves the way for the last track, the title tune All Day. The title track, featuring Warryn “Baby Dub” Campbell, is an infectious danceable groove about “walking around all day with You in my soul”. The song is a catchy one; it’s not surprising considering Campbell is the genius behind Mary Mary’s (and many, many others) hits.

All Day… is not the type of CD you put in and let play while you’re cooking dinner. If you do, you’ll find your face in the kitchen floor. The majority of this project is true worship. God has truly given William Murphy the gift of helping others enter the throne room of God. This is probably one of the best worship projects I’ve ever listened to. Too bad my keyboard couldn’t reach the floor; this review would have been easier to do down there. Awesome praise and worship project!

For more information about William Murphy or to order All Day…, go to www.williammurphy.org.

Feedback - Rene Williams is a freelance writer for Gospelcity.com, GTM Magazine and Charisma Magazine. She also is the author of the Gospel News Update, a bi-weekly e-zine about what's happening in the Christian music industry, and the D.C. Gospel News Update, a weekly newsletter about gospel events in the Washington, D.C. area.