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.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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