Reviewed by Adrian Cherrill

If you're into R&B/gospel sounds with plenty of vocal gymnastics and lyrics very much locked in standard biblical proclamation, then you might want to investigate this 2004 release. But if you prefer your R&B/gospel CDs to be filled with well structured, catchy tunes then you can ignore 'Gotta Keep Moving'. Tamela has much going for her as a vocalist with an impressive armoury of octave leaps and acrobatic displays of melisma, but in truth this CD really is little more than a workout for her vocal ability and even though there are some big name composers like Myron Butler and Tyler Perry involved, none of the songs here really register. In fact, most of the actual melodies here are carried by the backing vocalists which is fine on two or three songs but not on just about every one. And rather than successfully mix the two styles of modern R&B and gospel together, it simply seems to be unable to make up its mind which way to go and ends up being a bit of a mish-mash. The album closes with a truly cringe-worthy "Praise Medley" (which the sticker on the front describes as a "hit song"). Maybe the two ballads "Safety In His Arms" and "In Your Corner" are worthy of a listen but on the whole this is a release best avoided.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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