Totally Dedicated – QuarTemporary

Totally Dedicated
QuarTemporary
http://www.totallydedicated.net/
Available on iTunes (2010)

The name of Totally Dedicated’s new album, QuarTemporary, is evocative of the music within.

The members of this Louisville, Kentucky-based group are Charles “Noo” Simmons, Ben “Black” Bush, Raymond “Three” Noah, Steve “Stuff” Frazier, Demarcus Everett and Ricky Wiggington.

Like Commissioned and the Soul Seekers, Totally Dedicated fuses old-school quartet soul – the sweat-soaked sound of the B3 and acrobatic guitar licks – with tuneful songs artfully arranged to resonate with a contemporary gospel audience.

Their high tenor harmonies are sweet, soulful, smooth and classy. At the same time, they can be powerfully polyrhythmic, as on “Me and Jesus” and the techno-infused “Victorious.” At the other extreme, “Holding On” is a slow, moody, piano-accompanied ballad of encouragement on which the quartet renders complex harmonies in a Take 6 style.

Totally Dedicated can also deliver drive-tempo songs, literally true on “Ridin’.” Here, the lead sings “I’ve got Jesus ridin’ with me” while the group chants a hypnotic vamp in the background. “In Spite of Myself” is another driver, with the guitarist firing off hot licks like a modern day Howard Carroll.

Lyrically, the guys “from the ‘Ville” know that things aren’t always hunky dory. On “Pride of Life,” they take on “preachers and singers talking about everything but the Word.” The group admits they themselves aren’t perfect on “Still Got Work.”

Christian rapper God’s Man intones rhythmic rhymes on “In Jesus’ Name” and “Me and Jesus.”

All of the selections on QuarTemporary are top-notch in terms of melody, lyricism and production. Totally Dedicated is a group deserving of major label attention.

Five of Five Stars

gPod Picks: “Pride of Life,” “Ridin’,” “In Spite of Myself.”

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.