Search - Take 6 :: Feels Good

THANK YOU LORD!

R. McRae | Saugus, CA | 03/23/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Take 6 fans the wait is over, and it was well worth it! All you a capella purist will be delighted to know, I only counted the use of one instrument; guitar on "I'll Never Turn Back Again." Unless I miscalculated? This new release is like the Take 6 sound of 18 years ago. And then again, these guys don't stand still when it comes to innovation. Listening to my favorite track "More Than Ever", you'll hear what I mean. So 21st Century. A blending of the old and new in a capella, as only Take 6 can do it. With vocals that still astound the listener's ears, "Feels Good" and Take 6 once again have hit the bulls-eye."

I'm breathless!

Joan Hall | 07/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have almost every album Take 6 has made. Compared to their most recent projects, "Feels Good" feels like coming out of a dark tunnel and back into the sunlight and fresh air.



I'm guessing that it's not a coincidence that this stunning project came about after they formed their own record label. On much of their later albums, it has seemed like they were trying to take their unique sound and gospel message and squeeze it to fit into a run-of-the-mill mainstream pop mold. It was like forcing Superman to live as Clark Kent permanently. If that was the result of corporate influence, I'm so glad they broke away.



Every track on "Feels Good" would merit at least 3 stars or better on its own. They do some of their very best work on "More Than Ever" and "Just in Time". I was dancing out of my seat on "Come On" and "This Is Another Day" (if Andre Crouch had written that song just today, he probably would have sent it straight to Take 6 instead of recording it himself). But the stand-out and defining songs here are "Family of Love" and especially "Lamb of God". Fabulous harmonies, beautiful arrangements, and the undisguised Christian expression almost brought me to tears. Would they have ever been able to do this song while they were with their old label? It feels like they finally have the freedom to be who they really are and do what God put them on this planet to do.



I completely agree with what everyone else is saying. Take 6 is back!"

God's Boys Are Back in Town!!

Rick Cornell | Reno, Nv USA | 06/29/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In 1989 and 1990, after listening repeatedly to the original Take 6 release on Reprise and "So Much 2 Say" on Warner Alliance, I was thoroughly blown away. I still think those are the two finest a capella albums ever made. The mix of gospel, jazz, soul and r & b simply was unparalleled, and the sound these 6 made was just unreal.



Then, in 1994, starting with "Join the Band", these 6 devout Christians began to stray from the formula that made them so uniquely good, and forayed into a more commercial, pop-oriented groove. That album was so disappointing to me that I stopped listening to them. And from what I've read in the All Music Guide to Jazz, the follow-ups ("Brothers" and "So Cool") likewise did not reach the dizzying heights of the first two c.d.'s.



If your reactions were like mine, I'm here to announce: ignore no more. The Boys are Back in Town. And they've returned to a program of (mostly) a capella Christian songs, and that's what inspires them. Inspired musicians make great music, and that's what we have here.



This album is every bit as good as the first two. Listening to this confirms a point not often enough made:



For as great as all 6 voices in the group are (and they are sensational, no doubt about it), the guy who makes this group go is the bass, Alvin Chea. I sincerely believe Mr. Chea to have the finest bass voice on the planet--and that includes the opera basso profundos I've heard. Because he can ring the lowest of the low notes so loudly, he makes this group sound like a vocal orchestra of more than 6 voices. He also very effectively sings bassline counterpoint accompaniments and creates percussive sounds simultaneously, which (again) make this group sound as sonorous as any big band out there.



These guys also have a sense of humor. The one standard here is Jule Styne's "Just in Time", which they do as though played on an old RCA radio as the song might have been heard when it first came out in the '50's, before the 21st century sound kicks in. And then, in the middle of the song, one of the singers riffs on "As Time Goes By." Totally cool.



This is one of the best of the year, and the fact that Take 6 has returned to its roots is one of the biggest musical reasons to celebrate 2006. RC"