Every now and then there is a recording of such exciting musical originality that it should transcend the boundaries of a 'genre audience.' If you love gospel/spiritual music this is for you. If you love rock, this is for you. If you love country, this is for you. Who, what, whazzat, you say? Poor Baker's Dozen is six men who are presenting us with such a new palate of gospel sounds that it is difficult to fathom. There is a truly sweet, upbeat opening number. The sweetness is created by the beautiful male alto and three tenors of the group who are grounded by superb baritone and bass voices. Next we are catapulted into a techno intro of the title song 'Pour.' Wow! The original creation of this music is just starting. Next comes the touch of James Brown at the beginning of 'Leap of Faith' which keeps astonishing us with little vocal techno embellishments which are as surprising as they are original. Then there is 'Joyful Noise,' almost all vocal explorations with hardly any lyrics. It begins with an almost Bobby McFerrin sound before resolving into a sweet scat with a 'fuzz guitar' vocal solo. In a way this is the theme song of the album to this reviewer's ear. You see, many gospel and spiritual singers and groups sing about joy. Poor Baker's Dozen sing joy. You'll hear the difference in the marvelous creativity of sound and soul presented here. Such musical joy can only be found in play. Play which discovers originality and then is refined by striving for perfection. It can be safely said that this is inspired music. It is also fun! There's a country tune which delights as it varies back and forth from a parody a dance tune to a traditional country gospel sound. Along the way in this musical delight you will find a bit of percussion on two tunes and one which has cello and guitar accompaniment. |