Bold Right Life
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Kierra Audiences have literally watched Kierra Sheard grow up in the spotlight, though now that the singer’s out of her teens and approaching womanhood, she’s making noticeable strides at more mature sounding...
Hail To The King
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Hillsong London In just over 10 years Hillsong London has grown from 100 congregants to well over 6,000. And considering the mass market modern worship contributions its sister church, Australia’s Sydney-based mega congregation,...
Christmas Songs
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Fernando Before his major label debut in 1997, Fernando Ortega recorded a variety of albums independently, utilizing mainly acoustic instruments and understated arrangements to capture the simple beauty of hymns...
NEW CD BUILDS ON FORMER LEAD SINGER’S LEGEND OF ROCK | Posted September-24-2008
Twelve years have passed since John Schlitt released his last solo recording. Since then, the infamous rocker, best known as Petra’s front man, added a fourth GRAMMY to his collection, was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and Hard Rock Café and released six more Petra records before adding his farewell to the band’s final stand in 2005. A mainstay in Christian rock since his debut with Petra in 1986, Schlitt has remained uncharacteristically quiet since the band’s retirement, leaving fans to wonder if his absence from the industry he so carefully helped define was permanent.
Fortunately for fans, a classic rocker rarely stays silent. Picking up where 1996’s Unfit For Swine left off, Schlitt releases The Grafting, soaring through 10 new recordings that service the legacy he began over 20 years ago.
In “Only Men,” Schlitt demonstrates the heavy-hitting power ballad that has become synonymous with his musical persona. “Stand” and “Gravity” pack the heaviest punch, while “Face of God” and modern worship standard “Lord Have Mercy” play less rock more pop, the latter paying homage to Petra Praise, the band’s worship trilogy and biggest commercial success. Surprisingly, the title cut, a laidback acoustic comment on adoption, provides the album’s highlight, shuffling through a refreshingly easy four minutes of melody and lyric.
Produced (and largely written) by his son-in-law and drummer extraordinaire Dan Needham (Katinas, Steven Curtis Chapman), The Grafting’s tracks are sonically cogent. The most distinctive ingredient remains Schlitt’s trademark vocal, a wonderful throwback for an entire generation of Christian music fans.
Though the record is strong and Schlitt has nothing to prove, it would be enjoyable to hear something truly progressive from the rock vet, perhaps taking a cue from last year’s monumental Robert Plant/Alison Krauss collaboration, stepping outside his own nostalgic sound while staying true to the musical inclinations that have made him a rock legend. –Andrew Greer
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from Christian Music Planet. Click here to visit ChristianMusicPlanet.com today!
“AMERICAN IDOL” ALUM HAS A WAYS TO GO | Posted September-24-2008
Most listeners remember Phil Stacey because of his version of Keith Urban’s “Where the Blacktop Ends” on “American Idol,” when it became clear his voice was destined for country crooning. This momentarily carries through on his debut project, where songs like “What I’m Fighting For” wrap tightly around Stacey’s distinct voice. The track “No Way Around a River” best showcases his strong vocal by honing in on simple background melody. The second track, “Looking Like Love,” will most likely please fans of superstar group Lonestar.
Sadly, the remainder of the album is full of forgettable melodies and even clumsier lyrics. Stacey didn’t pen any of the 11 songs, which is disappointing. Worse yet, the opening track, “It’s Who You Know,” trips along with trite lines like “Here’s the deal/You can walk on water/You can walk on the moon/You can walk through Memphis wearing blue suede shoes.” Listeners will do well to remember Stacey for his cover of Urban’s single, because the hits are few and far between on this project. With time and experience, if Stacey starts to branch out creatively, then he won’t have to depend on his status as an “Idol” alum. –Grace Cartwright
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from Christian Music Planet. Click here to visit ChristianMusicPlanet.com today!
“SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR” HITS THE MARK WITH LATEST RELEASE | Posted September-24-2008
When artists go about producing their own records, at times you worry that the bold delivery might be a bit lacking in production or instrumentation development. Cindy Morgan instantly puts those fears to rest on her independent release Beautiful Bird.
The album opens up with “Lay Me Down,” reminiscent of an old spiritual that easily sounds like it could belong on the soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou? The haunting melody instantly captures you in a sway to hum along. As the songs progress, you find yourself engrossed in the depth of the songwriting prowess of a woman who introspectively births art out of life, love and relationships. You can easily see why this year’s Dove Award winner for “Songwriter of the Year” was the right choice. Advertisement
In “I Wish,” Morgan enables you to pull out your laundry list of desires to better not only yourself, but everyone around you. In response to these illustrations, this offering is an honest summation of her heart. Morgan neatly draws on all stages of life throughout this record. No matter where you find yourself, she has a way of encouraging vulnerability and openness to speak to the joys and hurts, the victories and disappointments. Her bravery to face the tough parts of life in her songwriting is admirable.
The title track opens the door for the rawness of emotion that accompanies the release of expectations on your own identity. With its well-designed tempo to just keep putting one foot in front of the other, “The Sun Shines Through” uplifts in the most bewildering and undeserved circumstances.
As the record nears its end, “Most of All” is a moving prayer that reminds listeners to not let those most meaningful moments pass us by. In keeping with her roots from her rural upbringing, you’ll hear many different sounds from Appalachia folk and country to piano-driven pop. Beautifully fashioned together, this record is an accurate reflection of its creator. Listen to this record on purpose and with the intent of walking away like you just sat on the porch and had a deep conversation with Cindy about life, love and how God is utterly interwoven into the fabric of every piece. –Amy Fogleman
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from Christian Music Planet. Click here to visit ChristianMusicPlanet.com today!
CHRISTIAN MUSIC CELEBRITY REISSUES TIME-HONORED DISC | Posted September-24-2008
In the same way Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water diagnosed an entire era of civil strife and Carole King’s Tapestry prescribed an age of peace, love and repair, Amy Grant’s paramount 1988 release of Lead Me On defined a new generation of truth seekers, thoughtfully and unashamedly maturing through life within the framework of greater spiritual meaning. (What’s even more amazing than it’s sustained popularity and continued relevance is the inability of any other Christian music release, as of yet, to come even close to its stature as one of the best Christian music albums of all time.)
Now, 20 years after its initial distribution, Grant combs the vault to release Lead Me On: The 20th Anniversary Edition, archiving some of ‘ccm’s most revered and honest recordings on her first project for EMI (excluding last year’s Greatest Hits compilation).
If you listened to Christian music at any point in the late ’80s, you probably remember the first time you heard the magnificent electric guitar delay over the title track’s epic intro or related to Laura’s “little family” in the true story “Saved By Love.” Remember rewinding that cassette tape to listen to the hallowed lyrics of “1974” and the haunting melody of “If These Walls Could Speak” for the umpteenth time?
Lead Me On certainly sounds and looks even fresher than the day it came out over two decades ago. The original disc has been specially remastered and repackaged with a second “previously unreleased” disc that includes an interview with Amy and brand-new acoustic versions of “Lead Me On” (with Vince Gill), “Faithless Heart” (with Michael W. Smith) and “Say Once More.” But the real gems on the new volume are the four never-before-heard live tracks from1989’s 150-city Lead Me On concert tour, serving up a fresh reminder of the energy-packed impact Christian music made as it stepped outside the Church and forayed into the arenas of the world.
Though fans are certainly ready for all-new material from Grant, there’s no gamble here. Buy, listen and remember one of the finest records, by one of the greatest artists in Contemporary Christian music history. –Andrew Greer
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from Christian Music Planet. Click here to visit ChristianMusicPlanet.com today!
DANCE-POP SONGSTRESS TURNS TRAGEDY INTO TRIUMPH ON BUOYANT NEW RELEASE | Posted September-24-2008
You may not instantly recognize Tammy Trent’s name, but you have probably heard her music. Beginning with her self-titled debut in 1995, the dance-pop singer released three successful records, spawning a slew of Top 10 radio hits and three No. 1’s. But after Trent lost her husband in a freak diving accident in 2001, the typically sunny minister of song needed a break.
Taking time to grieve and reassess, Trent reemerged sharing her story of loss and testimony of healing at Women of Faith and REVOLVE conferences nationwide and releasing 2006’s candid (and still upbeat) I See Beautiful. Nearly two years later, the singer/songwriter readies Stronger for the masses.
From the get-go “You” introduces the disc with an ambitious straight-ahead pop program, while “Shine” features a laidback guitar syncopating beneath Trent’s radiant, Nelly Furtado-like vocal, creatively exploring our ability to bear witness even amidst trial.
In the record’s most effective statement, “Edge of the Water” delivers Trent’s personal testimony of terrifying tragedy and subsequent surrender with the transparent lyric: “When I stood on the edge of the water/With fading hope there would be a tomorrow/You held me safe in your hands/Reminding me I would walk again.”
There is no doubt Tammy Trent’s fifth record will find its place alongside Natalie Grant and Avalon in the catalogs of hardcore pop fans, but with so much music available today, it is difficult for new projects to differentiate from one another. From major label celebrities to independent no-namers, artists have to test their musical formulas in order to provide a creative edge, significantly pushing the envelope just to be heard.
On Stronger, lyrical poetry forfeits to kitschy catechisms, too often downgrading heartfelt prose to banal humdrum. Though Trent is not looking for heady, introspective verses, even the lighter side can be slighted by thoughtless rhyme.
What may have stood out even five years ago is hard pressed to draw attention in 2008. Unfortunately, Stronger fails to make the cut. –Andrew Greer
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from Christian Music Planet. Click here to visit ChristianMusicPlanet.com today!
INIMITABLE ARTIST BUMPS IT UP A NOTCH, ADDS ONE MORE VOLUME TO CREATIVE CATALOG | Posted September-24-2008
Since Nicole C. Mullen’s self-titled disc began its epic climb to the top of the best-sellers chart in the summer of 2000, she has remained one of Contemporary Christian musi c’s greatest treasures. With a creative gene that has only multiplied over the years, Mullen continues to chronicle her unique mixture of rock, funk, R&B and any other influence she can manage to squeeze into a four-minute pop song.
Last year, however, Mullen released Sharecropper’s Seed, Volume 1, an India.Arie-esque concept album that showcased a calmer, stripped-down version of the enterprising singer/songwriter. But this year’s A Dream to Believe In, the second installment in her themed trilogy, returns Mullen to imaginative record-making, issuing the same genre-defying hooks and non-stop grooves that permeated her first three studio records.
Rotating between bass-busting tracks and spine-tingling ballads, the powerhouse vocalist once again pulls out all the stops. The most assertive Nicole C. track to date, “Look Like Me,” opens the record with a bang, proclaiming the gospel of unity by urging listeners to “Take a moment, close your eyes and dream of harmony/If you could look inside my heart would you look like me?”
“Like A Lady” adds to the parade of styles with nylon-string guitars, rhythmic claves and ripping horns licking over a Latin bossa beat, while the singer’s killer vocals spell out the basics of how a man should treat a woman.
“Blessed and Broken” tributes the hair-raising anthems with large crescendos and big voices the two-time “Female Vocalist of the Year” Dove winner is widely recognized for. But it is the quieter, more introspective Mullen that truly benefits her lovely vocal dexterity as revealed in “Start Over Again,” a spouse’s compelling supplication to attempt repair by getting reacquainted.
My advice: Buy A Dream to Believe In. If you don’t own Sharecropper’s Seed, buy it, too. And when Volume 3 is released, I’ll race you to the store. –Andrew Greer
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from Christian Music Planet. Click here to visit ChristianMusicPlanet.com today!
BEST-SELLING BIG DADDY ISSUES ITS BIGGEST AND BRIGHTEST TO DATE | Posted September-24-2008
It’s been nearly six years to the day since Big Daddy Weave released its national label debut to the masses. Ever since, the pop/rock quintet has remained at the forefront of Christian music, releasing a handful of heavily played radio tunes, hitting the road for back-to-back tours and selling hundreds of thousands of units. Not a bad track record for a band that has consistently made a point of prioritizing ministry over media attention.
Fortunately, the mission-minded quintet has chosen not to forfeit the quality of music it produces, nor has it relegated its artistic creations to the world of worship music, recycling songs that have already been serviced well. Instead, the band issues a creative force that continues to progress at its own steady pace. And on the new release, What Life Would Be Like, it works.
Kicking off the 10-song set, “You Found Me” incorporates the band’s most commercial sound to date with an infectious hook Rascal Flatts or Keith Urban could easily spin to the top of country radio.
Back-to-back tracks “Right With You” and “Falling Into You” pay homage to the guys’ horn-hitting jams with a tinge of Jason Mraz laced into Mike Weaver’s rhythmic rhyme.
As a sucker for sentimentality, “From Here” is easily the album’s highlight. With simple swells and a finely picked acoustic guitar, the marvelously crafted parental love song is performed from the perspective of a deceased father in heaven, expressing his watch and love “ ... from here.
Though the band has its apparent influences, they’re not worth listing here. Big Daddy’s sound is neither entirely original nor solely derivative, but fans will like what the guys are serving up.
With a stretch of steady sales over four records and an incredibly contagious fifth disc that is progressing the band into its brightest era yet, Big Daddy Weave is headed down a good road. Let’s just hope they keep inviting us along for the ride. –Andrew Greer
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from Christian Music Planet. Click here to visit ChristianMusicPlanet.com today!
COUNTRY MUSIC GIANT CONTINUES 25-YEAR LEGACY WITH STURDY 11-SONG SET | Posted September-24-2008
Thank goodness for Randy Travis. As a country music staple for a quarter century, the man with the booming bass has become iconic, not only in country music but in the worlds of film and television as well. The stats speak for themselves: 21 million albums sold, six GRAMMY Awards, six Dove Awards, nine ACMs and five CMAs, plus 10 American Music Awards. It is safe to say he has become one of the most endearing musical acts of all time.
For the past eight years, Travis has been taking advantage of Warner Bros.’ relationship with Christian music mammoth Word Records, recording and releasing primarily gospel music, winning him droves of new fans and purporting a reliable insurgence in his already legendary career. But with the release of Around the Bend, Travis returns to his celebrated brand of storytelling songs that first endeared him to audiences in the mid-’80s with hits like “Forever and Ever, Amen” and “Diggin’ Up Bones.”
The title track kicks it off with fiddles turning around Travis’ emotional vocal: “One day I’ll wake on a distant shore/My soul some place it’s never been before/I don’t know what waits/But I am not afraid ...”
“You Didn’t Have a Good Time” is a classically constructed ballad journaling a man’s wrestle with his conscience and the bottle, especially convicting considering Travis’ former fight with alcohol. Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” delightfully shuffles under a vintage electric guitar and lickin’ dobro, making it a surprise stand-out and proving Travis is indeed a champion song picker.
“Everything That I Own (Has Got a Dent)” and “Every Head Bowed” flaunts Randy’s best backwoods sensibilities, showing he mastered verses of wit long before Brad Paisley was parodying celebrities or singing about ticks.
As other veteran artists’ careers autopilot, their recorded material becomes weak and dated. So, it is remarkable then that Travis, after 25 years of making music, has likely recorded his choicest album to date. With so many significant songs and such impeccable interpretations, Around the Bend will be playing in listeners’ iPods for a long time to come. –Andrew Greer
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from Christian Music Planet. Click here to visit ChristianMusicPlanet.com today!
MERCYME’S MILLARD SCORES SECOND HOME-RUN WITH PERSONAL HYMNBOOK | Posted September-24-2008
It’s not everyday a multi-platinum selling “ccm” artist sidesteps his worldwide career to release a hymns record. Especially when this artist is fronting a band famous for its consummate contribution to the modern worship scene, helping reshape it into the industry it is today. But MercyMe’s Bart Millard has taken the time to do just that, again.
Shuffling through 10 historic gems and one original tune, Hymned Again is a dazzling departure from MercyMe’s more pensive pop/rock fare. Flinging the door wide open for interpretation, Hymned Again brilliantly stylizes its classic catalog with western swing, brassy big band, finger pickin’ Dixieland, simple acoustic and waltzy blues and jazz.
Conjuring up scenes of Southern Baptist potluck, “Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus” introduces the record, striking up a band that includes a thumping upright, strumming banjos and a wily clarinet.
Similarly, “I Saw the Light” broadcasts a blazing testimonial, while “What A Friend in Jesus” utilizes loose snare rolls, bleating horns, a saucy New Orleans-inspired woodwind and Millard’s take it or leave it vocal to convict you out of the pew and down the aisle.
Even with all the roaring horns and foot-stomping arrangements, it is the soothing strains of “Jesus Cares For Me” that give this second installment of hymns its pinnacle. An impeccable duet with Vince Gill, Millard’s voice so effortlessly harmonizes with Gill’s sweet transport it’s hard, at times, to discern who is singing where—the true mark of a stellar collaboration.
Hymned Again is an unusual and oh so wonderful blend of melody, music and history that is unfortunately rare in today’s capitalistic musical commerce. –Andrew Greer
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from Christian Music Planet. Click here to visit ChristianMusicPlanet.com today!
LEGENDARY WORSHIP LEADER RELEASES “AMERICAN” EFFORT | Posted September-24-2008
I’m not sure why Brenton Brown would want to release an “American” album. But that’s exactly what the proficient South African worship leader says he intended to create with his latest, Because of Your Love. The decision seems questionable only because Brown’s notoriety spans the last 10 years with popular songs like “Everlasting God,” “Lord Reign in Me” and “Hallelujah (Your Love is Amazing).” In other words, why mess with a good thing?
Yet, Brown doesn’t disappoint on this Stateside influenced collection (Brown has been living here for the last three years), choosing modern and radio rock accoutrements for the new tracks.
Paul Baloche contributes on the straightforward rock song “Our God Saves,” while Leeland Mooring’s fingerprints can be found all over the slow-building “Adoration.” “Come Let Us Return (Gloria)” is a summery, rollicking number that rides catchy acoustic strums as a call to worship. It’s a joyous tune with infectiousness destined for congregations near and far. The pensive “Send Your Rain” was a response to the California wildfires, according to Brown, and the additional meaning only strengthens the solid track.
Some songs seem a bit too familiar (especially the oft-retread lyrics of “Holy”) but Brenton Brown continues to build his legacy of providing the church with quality, vertical songs for worship. –Matt Conner
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from Christian Music Planet. Click here to visit ChristianMusicPlanet.com today!
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