For me, 2005 has been a year of unexpected pleasures, and this is another one. I'd never heard of First Creation until I received this disc in the mail, and I have to confess that it has greatly surprised me in both the quality of the vocal performances and in the strong material throughout. Just Don't Want to Go Back has a decidedly Old School feel that hearkens back to the great Winans albums of the early and mid-80s, and it stacks up surprisingly well with those revered discs.
The title cut, which opens the album, is a terrific slice of upbeat Gospel/Soul that could have been a hit by Fred Hammond and Commissioned a decade ago. Equally impressive are the ballads "I Know" and "The Love That's In Me" and the mid-tempo number "Supernatural." The second half of the disc takes a slightly more modern turn, taking cues from the Boyz II Men/New Edition sounds of the early 90s, especially on the fine ballad "I Found A Place" and the upbeat "My Time" (which sounds quite similar to Bobby Brown's "Every Little Step") The compositions on the disc are first-rate and producers Terrance Cook and Leroy Lewis provide a full, appealing sound with relatively sparse accompaniment (generally an electric guitar, keyboards and programmed drums).
Just Don't Want to Go Back is a solid, quite well performed piece of crossover Gospel that will be a welcome introduction of First Creation to an international audience. And with the Winans and Commissioned now both long gone, First Creation here stakes its claim as a leader in carrying the torch of the classic soulful Gospel group sound. Highly recommended.
By Chris Rizik
