Ty Causey sets 'True Love In Motion'

By Strings

Despite what you might have been told, there are some things you can count on: The sun coming up in the east (barring some unforeseen Divine demonstration), death and taxes—and Ty Causey putting a great album. His latest, “True Love In Motion” [Tyvonn Music], a 14-somng collection of dynamite love songs, is no exception.

For years, I’ve been an unapologetic fan of Brother Causey. To paraphrase an old saying, a real talent is rarely honored in his or her own land. And, while Causey has earned a stellar reputation in his home of Fort Wayne and the surrounding area, toured with legendary saxophonist Najee and even earned a date at the famed Blue Note in New York with his own group, I’m still at a loss as to why this guy isn’t a national star in his own right.

First of all, Causey has got one dynamite voice. It’s a classic, second- wave R&B voice—somewhere in the realm of folks like Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Philip Bailey… Causey harkens back to the not so far away past when soul singers had range, tone and a sense of melody—a time when they could sing an entire song with changes and not just work the repeated hook in a nearmonotone drone.

Second, he’s a dynamite writer when it comes to the quiet stormturned- neo-soul style that’s gaining a wider audience these days, despite being a bit scarce on the airwaves.

Third, he produces records that have some real musicianship on them, accented by top-notch arranging for the genre—layered, yet never obscuring the words and feelings he puts across in the writing. Causey’s music goes beyond the simple loud, derivative and sample-based “beats” that have become so popular in this era of bombast-over-basics music. Check out the subtle solo licks tastefully dispensed in songs like “Closer To Your Love.” Or focus on longtime compatriot W.R. Sanders’ handy work on guitar and guitar synth. Check out the funk on “Be For Real.” For that matter check out his work throughout. Oh yeah, and there’s some tasty reed work by another local favorite, saxophonist and flutist Dave “Mr. Streeter” Streeter, who stretches out a bit on “The Love Of My Life.”

“True Love In Motion” also reminds folks that urban music can be about something besides pain, violence and despair. Call it “grown folks” music if you like— especially if you’re the type that thinks Luther Vandross or even Frankie Beverly supplied the perfect backdrop for an evening of tender and elegant love. Unlike too much other music that objectifies women as something to be used in a relationship, Causey’s writing honors lovers, as in the title track:

The love we share today/will never fade away/We have a future in love

My body, heart and soul/dedication in control/this love is so rare

You mean the world to me…

Or on the absolutely stellar “I Still Get Butterflies:”

I still have memories/of being with you

Sometimes my heart can get confused

You can start the rain that showers me with love

You can make the flowers grow

You can send the sun to brighten up my day

And you know

I still get butterflies/when you call my name

I feel your fire from the flame

Or, just check out “Golden Girl.” It’s got the kind of lines you might want to steal to talk to your own lover.

There’s also a few cautionary notes on the record as in the “Turn Him Loose,” about a tug of war with a good man who loves a woman who, unfortunately, is hung up on someone who treats her a like a dog. Grown folks music!

With each record, Causey just keeps getting better and better at what he does. He’s really hit stride on this record, his already great voice maturing and him using it to explore even more emotional nooks and crannies in his writing and production. Check out the closing of “Make This Moment Last.” Along those lines, “True Love In Motion” is a lover’s tasty, musical smorgasbord, full of thoughtful, tender and sensual tracks that should make folks, well, fall in love. (Yeah, fellas, you might want to be careful—you girl might fall in love with my man if you don’t handle your business while letting her check this out!) If you’re going to spend your hardearned dough on some music to set up the perfect evening for an upcoming Valentine’s Day celebration— or any “special” day for that matter—you might as well get your money’s worth in spades and spend it with one of Fort Wayne’s own, Ty Causey.

If you like real soul music and real lovers’ music, I guarantee you can search far and wide and you’ll be hard pressed to find any new offering better than “True Love In Motion”—anywhere.

This is part of the January 21, 2009 online edition of Frost Illustrated.

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