A Gospel Message and More

One of the issues I haven't quite resolved since choosing to become a Christian as a teenager is how to relate to contemporary Christian music. I believe that the message in most Christian music is sincere, a positive word in a world that can be overwhelming in its negativity. But in many cases, the music itself doesn't engage me the way that secular music does. It seems that the earnestness of the message becomes more important than creating powerful and entertaining music.

With their second album, So Much 2 Say, Take 6 stays true to the message and the music. The lyrics are distinctly Christian. The music defies quick labels, although group member Mervyn Warren calls it "contemporary-Christian-a cappella-pop-jazz." Whatever you call it, So Much 2 Say combines six talented voices, styles from scat to traditional gospel, and innovative arrangements into a multilayered collection that demonstrates the exhilaration of singing good news and singing it well.

The title track opens the album with smooth and frenetic scat-influenced jazz, point-counter pointing through to an abrupt stop. In case the listener is settled in for a pure jazz offering the next track quickly turns those expectations on end. "I L-O-V-E U" is a danceable song that weaves an R&B lead vocal with jazz harmonies, and underlies the whole with a body-produced "drum/percussion" line. The lyrics turn on an alphabet hinge: "I'm more than Able/Like a B-con N the night/To C that you don't/ever lose your way." While this could have been gimmicky, the lyrics are so tightly and cleverly interlocked that it works, and is fun as well.

Other songs on the album use more traditional phrasings of the gospel message, but Take 6 infuses them all with exuberant musical twists, making even standard hymns uniquely their own. "Something Within Me" evokes the kind of celebration and praise that forces your body to move while bringing together an unlikely blend of styles. Take 6 seamlessly places a verse in Caribbean dialect in the middle of this interwoven gospel, jazz, and soul tune. Mark Kibble, Alvin Chea, and Claude V. McKnight trade off on the alternately playful and soaring lead vocals. "I Believe," co-written by contemporary gospel singer BeBe Winans, also has a high-energy delivery, driven by a rhythm line of staccato vocal percussion and tied together with a skipping and leaping lead vocal. The spirit moves.

WHEN TAKE 6 SLOWS down, they are gentler, but no less complex. Their arrangement of the invitation hymn, "Time After Time (The Savior is Waiting)" is a smooth and intricate jazz treatment. "Come Unto Me," the Matthew 11 passage set to music, forgoes the vocal percussion tracks to let crystal-clear harmonies stand alone.

Take 6 has created this album with a sense of humor -- besides the quirky musical turns within some songs, little humor breaks nest between several tracks. For me, this playful spirit is both a weakness and a strength of the album. I quickly grew tired of the between track mini-skits, but I still enjoy the light-hearted touches within the songs themselves. It is often Take 6's vocal virtuosity that makes the humor work.

For example, "Sunday's On the Way" is a look at the events of Good Friday and Easter from a nervous Satan's point of view. The jazz harmonies are punctuated with sound effects of belching, cursing demons. While the lyrics didn't appeal to me (it reminded me too much of a youth group song), I was soon won over by the combination of great vocals and the clever nuances of the sound effects. Overall, I think the use of humor makes So Much 2 Say that much more accessible. The only thing better than hearing a good performance is knowing that the performers are enjoying themselves.

Take 6 has enjoyed a great deal of success in both popular and contemporary Christian music. Their debut album won Grammys in both gospel and jazz categories. While they don't avoid popular acclaim, they don't camouflage their inspiration, either. "I see this as ministry first and art second," says member Cedric Dent. I disagree with him slightly. With So Much 2 Say, Take 6 has demonstrated the key to good contemporary Christian music -- it's ministry because it's art.

Julie Polter is associate editor of Sojourners.

So Much 2 Say. By Take 6. Reprise Records. 1990.