07 Aug Commissioned – Matters of the Heart (1994)

It’s hard to select a Commissioned album for classic review. Formed at the cusp of the 1980s, the standard of this Gospel super-group’s back catalogue is so high, any one of their pre-1999 albums could be analysed in depth for their timeless appeal. Nevertheless, 1994’s Matters of the Heart is noteworthy for a few reasons. It was the first album recorded without erstwhile mainstay Keith Staten; he of the operatic style that should have been out of place in a soul outfit but somehow strangely fitted in. It was the last studio album that Gospel legend Fred Hammond, one of the original and most pre-eminent members of the line up, recorded with his old band. Hammond had already released at least one solo project at this stage-‘I am persuaded’-but joined his soul brothers one more time for his Commissioned swan song.