Reviewed by Andrew Segal

After a four-year break, and keen to produce work that reflects and relives the church experience that he had when he was a child, Ricky Dillard has returned with a live CD which he hopes exudes the spontaneity and fervour of traditional black gospel music. "Unplugged" may be a bit of a misleading title, in that his band definitely features quite a few electrics, including 5-string bass and certainly plugged-in electric guitar. There are certainly plenty of influences from the 10-piece band and 50+ choir, including blues, soul and funk; and his enthusiasm is evident from the immediately hand-clap inducing opening track, "Take Me Back". Members of the choir get chances to shine too, from the slow blues-inspired heartfelt appeals of songs such as "There Is No Way" and "Without God", through the fast-paced gospel of "Soul'd Out" and "Take Over My Life" (during which, I swear, you can hear the congregation dancing in the aisles). The only things marring this CD are some abrupt fade outs before the obvious natural conclusion of several songs (I'm a sucker for a good musical ending). But it does leave you wanting more. Maybe that was the plan.