Have Yourself Committed

This Light Records release is R&B lite -- saxes, Hammond organs, and slightly funky bass guitars arranged with the synthesized homogeneity that dominated the radio in the 1980s. Any soul comes from Bryan Duncan's impressive vocals. There's too much synth-string sentimentality, but the title track is an entertaining exception; it's a clever Motown tune explicating the central tenants of Christian redemption doctrine with a string of puns: "Get yourself acquitted for the crime you've yet to pay/'Cause the judge has found you guilty and you're sure to do the time/So have yourself committed now or be dying for the crime." ~ Darryl Cater