Greenleaf: Volume 1 The Gospel Companion Soundtrack

Description

Original soundtrack to the nighttime soap set in the world
of a Southern Christian mega-church. Greenleaf is an Oprah Winfrey production
and appears on her OWN network. Includes performances from Mavis Staples,
Deborah Joy Winans, Melinda Doolittle and others. Review An enjoyable
nighttime soap set in the world of a Southern Christian mega-church, Greenleaf
is equal parts shrewd and obvious. This Oprah Winfrey production, premiering
Tuesday night on her OWN network, benefits mightily from fine performances by
its stars, Keith David as the Bishop who presides over Calvary Fellowship
World Ministries, Lynn Whitfield as his grasping wife, and Winfrey herself as
a tough, down-home bar owner. Set in Memphis, Greenleaf takes off with the
arrival of Grace (Merle Dandridge), the eldest daughter of Bishop James
Greenleaf and wife Lady Mae Greenleaf. She s an ambitious TV reporter in the
pilot, she s got a job offer from ABC s 20/20 who tosses it all aside to move
back home to the church, along with her teenaged daughter, Sophia (Desiree
Ross). Grace rejoins the church as a pastor, but uses her journalist skills to
investigate the recent suicide of her sister Faith. The show, created by Craig
Wright (Lost; Dirty Sexy Money) does a great job at conveying the mixture of
good works and big business conducted by one of these grand-scale churches
attended by hundreds of congregants every Sunday. Keith David really sells the
Bishop s charismatic preaching power without implying any ridicule or
skepticism. Winfield, a scandalously under-used actor, is superb as an
imperious woman who knows how to carve out her own power within her husband s
holy empire. The first few episodes set up the family dynamics (one of Grace s
siblings is played by Deborah Joy Winans, of the gospel singing family the
Winans) and the intrigue, which includes allegations of molestation, financial
chicanery, and sexual-identity confusion. Some of this is layered in artfully,
some of it is as obvious as an SNL parody of a soap opera. The series is
uneven, but in an intriguing way it keeps you wanting to see more. And you
want to see more of Oprah; her character, Mavis, is listed as a special guest
star, and it would be easy to keep her tucked in her bar, far away from the
Greenleaf church, for an occasional cameo but the show would benefit from her
more regular presence. It s selling Greenleaf short to peg it as a religious
version of Empire, but that s also an inevitable comparison it s likely that
Greenleaf, long in development, became a more viable prospect with the success
of Empire. Now it s up to Greenleaf to keep on distinguishing itself its
behind-the-scenes look at the working of a prosperous church is a novel
setting to explore. Greenleaf premieres Tuesday at 10 p.m.; its regular time
period is Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on OWN. –Yahoo, Ken Tucker

Features:

Product Details:

• Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 3.2 Ounces
• Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ Malaco Records
• Original Release Date ‏ : ‎ 2016
• Date First Available ‏ : ‎ June 23, 2016
• Label ‏ : ‎ Malaco Records
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Best Sellers Rank: #128,677 in CDs & Vinyl (See Top 100 in CDs & Vinyl) #312 in Contemporary Gospel Music #1,974 in Christian Pop & Contemporary #8,221 in Soundtracks (CDs & Vinyl)
• #312 in Contemporary Gospel Music