The Slammin All-Body Band is comprised of body musician (if that term is confusing, give a listen to "Body Music: Slammed") Keith Terry, the bass voice of Bryan Dyer, human beatboxer Steve Hogan, and vocalists Kenny Washington, Zoe Ellis, and Destani Wolf. If ever there was a case of the sum annihilating the parts, this is one. So much talent here, both raw (check out the Destani Wolf vehicle "Where I Know My Name" and the gospel explosion of "Can't Get It Right," featuring Zoe Ellis) and imaginative (Keith Terry and Steve Hogan's "Gateway to Freedom").
For as much as I don't like to pit one song against another, I've got to select the cover of Outkast's "The Way You Move" as coming out on top. It's an example of the transformative power this band is capable of. Beginning with a Hogan percussion intro, group members slowly cast in until full-on Hip-Hop Zen is achieved. Destani Wolf's vocal "scratching" truly needs to be heard to be believed.
This album may not cause me to revisit all of those dreaded acapella records of yore, but at the very least my eyes and ears have been opened to yet more possibilities. I've got to admit that there's a whole lot more going on in this genre than I knew. Time for some investigations.
I may have experienced an acapella epiphany. Sort of.
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