Presents The Christmas Classics EP
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House Of Heroes In lieu of last year's turning point for the band, House of Heroes has been doing their darnedest to make sure you remember them, all through a series of three 3-song EPs. First it was acoustic, then it...
Family Force 5's Christmas Pageant
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FF5 (formerly Family Force 5) It seems that every year I hear yet another person expressing their hate for Christmas music. After all, it's the same classics spelled the same different ways, by the same voices. For these people, there's...
Hello Hurricane
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Switchfoot I'll admit it. After such a long drought of a solid album (their whole career), and the recent draught of even a decent album (Since 'Beautiful Letdown'), I kind of gave up on Switchfoot. Add to that the...
Chris Tomlin's Best Album | Posted August-07-2007
This is Chris Tomlin's best album, but that's not saying much since the others were mostly hit or miss. It's interesting because Tomlin actually toys with the arrangement of the songs, changing them from their album version quite a bit. "Indescribable" one of the top classics in CCM history, starts off as a very slow well done, but then quickly speeds up. I personally like the slower version better. But the crowd is great anyways, since every Christian in America has heard the song. "Forever" quite improves on the album version, and gives a great live performance. "On Our Side" is another great highlight.
"How Great Is Our God" is possibly the most improved song live, over album, in history. The album version was only OK, but this makes it from bland, to powerful. From skipable, to worship service lineup in church. And again the crowd really makes the song. When the crowd sings back a song with all it's might, it's an instant classic, and a great moment for the listener, and the artist.
However, the album is quite short, 8 songs in all. Could more have been added? Most definitely, if he couldn't record anymore, grab some Passion recordings. The Passion version of "Famous One" is a lot better than this version. So, I would have liked to seen Passion version, but this is good. Chris Tomlin is going in some Hall of Fame somewhere, and for good reason. He still could be better, but he's made his mark, and few artists to that. So give him his props, he deserves it.
If You Don't Have It, Buy It. If You Do Have It, Buy 4 Songs | Posted August-07-2007
The reviewer below me said you should buy the five new songs off the album if you already own it. Let me correct that, out of the six new tracks, you should only buy 4. The acoustic versions are good, not exactly for the punk fan, but for the pop/rock fan, buy it. The other two tracks are fillers, Jason Dunn speaking in French? Please, I've seen some pitiful bonus material, but this takes the croissant. The other track you shouldn't buy is the introduction to "My Generation" which tells the basic information about the song. Hawk likes the Who, and they played it on a now cancelled TV show, big deal. The cover is OK, not a big fan of The Who, but hey, it's OK.
I bought this album not having the original album, so I was pleased that I waited. Now, why can't the band keep putting out more bonus material for their new album? Pet peeve maybe, but buy this edition if you don't own the album. If you do, buy the non-useless material off I-Tunes.
Bad Album From A Myspace Addict | Posted August-02-2007
After the release of "Sunrise To Sunset" Paul Wright became addicted to Myspace, he composed songs for the site, he spends so much time on the site it's sad. Unfortunately, Myspace has also drained his talent. "Saturday" is a great dance song, a great fusion of disco and rap. Great rap, Paul can rap, better than most rappers, which isn't hard to do, but still pretty cool.
Unfortunelly, the Myspace syndrome starts kicking in and the CD goes downhill, literally. By the end of the album you're praying for the ride to stop, not because it's scary and unknown, but because it's frankly boring. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Paul Wright, his first two albums are excellent! But Myspace has taken away his talent. Now he is nothing more than a quickly fading memory. Sorry Paul, but drop Myspace while you still can, it's not too late!
One Song Makes This 5-Star | Posted August-02-2007
Fact: "Mercedes Baby" is one of the best songs EVER in Rock, not just Christian rock, but rock period. That's right, it's that good. You have to hear it to believe it, and get the version off this album, it has the best guitar solo EVER in music history. Bold to say the least, but 100% true. This band is the best kept secret of Christian rock. And while I'm not a big fan of their other work, mainly "Buckets For Bullet Wounds" but "Mercedes Baby" ROCKS! Buy it, love it, rock it, crank it up, air guitar to it. You won't be sorry.
Move Over Chris Tomlin | Posted August-02-2007
Move over Chris Tomlin, you're good, but this CD is better. "Stand To Praise" is one of the best praise songs I've heard in a long time. Most of the songs on here are church quality music, and music I wish they would play. But there's some great worship, and some great praise. If it's a good praise and worship CD you want, pass up Tomlin, because you won't be disappointed with this. This is one of the best genre's best talents in a long time.
Note: I loved Aaron Shust before the craze. I bought his CD six months before "My Savior, My God" was released on radio. So don't say I ride the waves, I came before the wave. In fact, I created the waves. Alright, that might be an exaggeration.
"The Next Big Thing" Is A HIT! | Posted August-02-2007
I've only heard "The Next Big Thing" off the album, but this song rivals Relient K, yeah, it's that good. It's a great punk rock song, and it's catchy. Turn it up loud, and sing along, you'll LOVE it! So even though I've only heard one song, it's so good, I give the CD 4-stars.
No Looks, No Substance | Posted August-02-2007
Alright, there's only one minor enjoyable song on here, and that's the first, the rest including "Everyday" and "What I Hear" are disgraces to music. Really, it's that bad. And other people agree, they might not say those particular songs, but I think most would agree that there's at least one part of this album that is unlistenable. So why buy the CD? The vocals, lyrics, melody struggle throughout the whole record to say the least. What about looks? Sorry, nothing to look at here, move on. In fact, pass on the CD, and it's songs, period.
A Special Edition Worth Getting | Posted August-02-2007
If you haven't heard FF5 yet, do yourself a favor and listen to the best debut album of ALL TIME!!! That's right the best debut, of all time! There's no hype, just substance. And the special edition makes it even better. While you're not going to get hip-hop with these new songs, you'll get some great rock. The riff for "I Love You To Death" is incredible.
Did I mention the new album art? AMAZING! Check out the picture behind the actual CD. Original. Buy this CD, love it, share it, Crank It UP, and hang the art on your wall.
The Best Modern Worship Album | Posted July-31-2007
This is a great release by Kutless, their best by far. In a world where the worship genre has the depth of the kiddie pool, this is a great breadth of fresh air. The original songs aren't that great, so the Kutless written part still isn't that good. But the covers are moving to say the least. When I listened to their version of "Word Of God Speak" I fell to the floor in adoration. Now I've never done that before with any worship song, ever! So this CD is very powerful.
"Take Me In" is also very powerful, and one I would like to see integrated into worship services in churche. However this version is great until the forth go-around, then it gets repetitive. "We Fall Down" is another great worship song.
Overall, underrated. Most people didn't like it because there wasn't enough original material, when I actually think that that's a good thing. A very powerful worship album, and definitely one worth buying.
The Christian Version of Hear Music | Posted July-30-2007
If you drink coffee, than you know Starbucks. I personally hate the company, and drink for that matter. But if you've ever been in a Starbucks, then chances are you've heard their background music. That's Hear Music, Starbuck's own music brand who just released the new Paul Mcartney CD, and released the famous last Ray Charles duet album. The brand often releases "Unplugged" or acoustic versions of popular AC songs, i.e. Alanis Morrisote, Oh how I hate her.
This is the Christian's Hear Music album. A great CD to drink coffee to, or just read a book and relax.
Note: This is not a live album, it's just unplugged in front of a select audience of maybe 50 people. This is not what a Jeremy Camp concert looks like, there's no orchestra or conductor behind him.
Now that we have that out of the way, let's explore the quality of the album. Underrated is the word. Nobody liked the album because they thought it was "Live", so nobody bought it. But get the album's true art, and you'll love it. The album is an acoustic masterpiece. Every song is given a new layer, and many times improved upon. This is most evident when his wife sings with him as background vocals, nothing short of stellar.
The only problem is I wish it was longer, more songs. But overall, the album is truly an underrated classic work of art. The DVD is also a great bonus, totally adds to the album and music. The video work is very well done, and is award winning quality. So go into the album expecting a Starbucks style album, and you'll like what you hear, and want more.
art10's Music and Book Reviews 
