to listen or purchase
I decided to hold something of a Ty Causey listening party right after I received a copy of his latest CD, True Love in Motion, in the mail. I played True Love in Motion and Body Language in my car, on my computer and on the little CD player that belonged to my son. Those are the only two Causey CDs that I have in my possession. I actually own a third CD by my fellow Hoosier, Expressions. However, I loaned Expressions to a friend of mine in June and haven't gotten it back yet. That's the big reason why I hate loaning out my CD's. Now, this is going to come perilously close to saying that if you've heard one Ty Causey CD then you've heard them all. Because - well - in a way, if you've heard one Ty Causey CD, you HAVE heard them all - and I don't mean that in the negative "Ty is a formulaic, paints by the numbers artist" kind of way.
I decided to hold something of a Ty Causey listening party right after I received a copy of his latest CD, True Love in Motion, in the mail. I played True Love in Motion and Body Language in my car, on my computer and on the little CD player that belonged to my son. Those are the only two Causey CDs that I have in my possession. I actually own a third CD by my fellow Hoosier, Expressions. However, I loaned Expressions to a friend of mine in June and haven't gotten it back yet. That's the big reason why I hate loaning out my CD's. Now, this is going to come perilously close to saying that if you've heard one Ty Causey CD then you've heard them all. Because - well - in a way, if you've heard one Ty Causey CD, you HAVE heard them all - and I don't mean that in the negative "Ty is a formulaic, paints by the numbers artist" kind of way.
In fact, I suspect that if I loaned True Love in Motion to any of my friends, I'd have a hard time getting it back for the same reason that my other buddy absconded with Expressions. Causey consistently gives long time soul and R&B fans what they say the music has lacked for years - arrangements that fuse R&B with jazz and a little dash of funk, lyrics that ooze sensuality even while tastefully leaving just enough to the imagination, all sung by a man who has true control of his vocal instrument.
Among his fans, Causey has a rep as a balladeer in the tradition of 1980s era crooners such as Freddie Jackson and Glenn Jones. True Love in Motion will do nothing to diminish that reputation - not with ballads such as the jazz influenced "Gotta Be" or mid-tempo cuts like the title track and the bouncy "I Still Get Butterflies." However, "Turn Him Loose," and "Golden Girl" reveal Causey's much slept on funky side. That is especially true of "Turn Him Loose," and not just because it could be considered a straight up funky dance number.
Ty Causey is a love singer. He is usually extolling the virtues of his woman, which is what he does in "Golden Girl," or he's expression his desire to hold onto a good thing in tunes such as "Make This Moment Last." One of the things that makes "Turn Him Lose" stand out is that the tune represents something of a topical flip of the script for Causey. This song finds him stating his claim that the woman of his desire needs to leave the man she's with and get with him. The chorus is has a classic soul vibe to it: "If you want my lovin' I can give you plenty of it/Turn him loose/I can give you what you need/Pack your bags and leave/Turn him loose."
All told, True Love in Motion is a well balanced CD with a mixture of good ballads, mid tempo songs and even some dance tracks. This is the kind of CD that you might want to play at a dinner party. I'm sure some of your guests will want to learn more about the singer. Somebody might even ask to borrow your copy -- but you may think twice about loaning it out. Recommended.
By Howard Dukes