This month the quartet spotlight shines on the silky smooth sounds of the Baltimore based group Damon Little & Nu Beginning.  While many probably remember Damon with Kenny Davis & The Melodyaires and also his own group Damon & The Sons of Power, this 2002 project opens a new chapter in the singing career of this young rising star.  The 11 song project features everything from quartet drive to soul-stirring ballads of Love and admiration to our Savior Jesus Christ. 

With the simple words "I think back on the morning of 911" Damon Little makes it very clear from the opening selection that this project will be true Ministry in action.  The song mixture showcases the youthful flavor of a new group, while still staying true to what we have come to know as the traditional quartet sound. Great cameo appearances from Johnovan "BoPeep" Sauls formerly of Reive, Niko Harden, and Clarence Fountain of The Blind Boys of Alabama top this project off making it a great listen for quartet lovers of all ages.

Like many of the other Summer releases from the World Wide Gospel record label this new project from Nu Beginning is filled with potential radio and fan favorites.  In fact a full year or more before this project was released the quartet industry was already a buzz with talk of a comical yet serious quartet grove entitled "You Can't Straddle The Fence".  Now with the release of the entire "You Can't Straddle The Fence" CD all the expectations and hopes have surely been met.  While many of the selections have long been favorites from Damon's Sons of Power days, this album gives new flavor to even the older hits. 

While literally every selection is worth talking about there are a few songs that I'll mention briefly to give you  an idea of what this new release has to offer.  As was aforementioned in the introduction the opening selection "Kissing This World Goodbye" is nothing short of ministry in song.  Making reference to the terrible New York tragedy of 911; Damon goes on to encourage the hearts of those Christians who die in Christ.  This song effectively reminds the listener of the temporality of human existence and the sure promise of heavenly rest. Nu Beginning treats this ballad with all the care of a mother with a newborn child.  The project then moves immediately into one of this year's quartet breakout songs "You Can't Straddle The Fence".  This mid-tempo quartet groove is an interesting call to true Christian discipleship and being a "Real Christian" in every aspect of the phrase.  A heavy bass grove and great guitar licks make this selection easy on the ears while still providing a poignant message. 

While Nu Beginning does have a very unique style selections like the smooth track "I'm Blessed" will definitely put you in the mind of groups in the style of the Racy Brothers or Keith "Wonderboy" Johnson & The Spiritual Voices.  As was mentioned earlier there are many great cameo appearances on this release.  Legendary lead vocalist of the Blind Boys of Alabama Clarence Fountain appears on two of the eleven selections.  His gravelly yet poignant voice supports Damon on the other single which received airplay long before this entire project's release "I'm Determine".  This song is yet another ballad that enjoyed great success and is featured on Damon Little & The Sons of Power's 1990 Wajji album "I've Been Changed".  The simple ballad "Trouble" finds Clarence Fountain exercising his vocal cords a bit.  With the recent success of The Blind Boys singing in other styles it is good to hear Clarence back in straight up quartet form.    

While we have covered both Mid-Tempo and slow ballads you might wonder if there are any straight up quartet drive songs on this project.  To answer that question we present "I Found A Friend" and "This Joy".  While talk of "This Joy" is sure to bring to mind the ridiculously hard driving selection of the same name from The Sons of Soul Revivers; this version is very different.  Featuring both Damon Little and Johnovan "BoPeep" Sauls formerly of Revive, this song is what we call a toe tappin' foot stompin' good time.  "I Found A Friend" has a good drive but has nothing on "This Joy" which rocks along for a solid 4 minutes.