Over And Underneath
by
Tenth Avenue North I have to admit I initially bought this album for track three “by your side”. I have heard it played on the radio numerous times but never caught the artist name. Once I had the Album I realized I have...
The Shack
by
Adriana The Shack is story. The Author tells you it is a story. The entire book is a combination of stories and life experiences. The author plainly tells you it started out as a story for his kids. “Young” is...
Rock What You Got
by
Superchick Fantastic is a great word for this album! I love music that has a message and the crew of superchick has very specifically got a great message in this album. The last time I heard such a clear and verbose...
A power house | Posted February-07-2009
I have to admit I initially bought this album for track three “by your side”. I have heard it played on the radio numerous times but never caught the artist name. Once I had the Album I realized I have actually been listening to three of their songs on the radio but have attributed them to other artist. Tenth Avenue North has a very common musical sound on this album. I mistakenly looked for them under Switchfoot, Casting Crowns, and various others. Musically the entire album is very solid and very well executed.
Lyrically the album is a power house. I am very impressed, every song on the album deals with belief and unbelief. Effort vs. Faith in balance with the Word. There is no one song that is a breakaway, on the other hand there is no one song that is a throw away either. Once you listen to the album in its entirety you quickly realize there is no one song that is a take away. What pushes this album into the excellent category, no one song makes the album. All the songs have to be taken together. Together they bring so much more of a message then any one track. The entire album brings a continuous message in eleven parts. If you get to hear ten tracks you heard most of the story but you miss the message.
This is not an album you will want to take in twenty minutes. This is an album that you will want to commit time to listen to. Achieving that is master craftsmanship at its best.
Performance vs. Grace | Posted February-02-2009
The Shack is story. The Author tells you it is a story. The entire book is a combination of stories and life experiences. The author plainly tells you it started out as a story for his kids. “Young” is not trying to teach you anything. He is trying to share with you a story. So there are embellishments to make the story work. Just like any other “fiction” book. I have read some reviews that want to discredit the book as heresy because “God” presents himself as a woman. After all God is a man right? After all the bible does say that “God is spirit, neither male or female”. Yet God saw fit to reveal himself in Jesus as well as a dove. Oh and not to mention a burning bush, a pillar of fire at night and a cloud in the day. But hay it’s heresy to think God would show himself as a woman.
We live in a world today that is pretty much void of grace. Yes we speak about it like it’s a good luck charm. We say we live in it, yet we still perform to try and win God’s Love. How quickly we are to justify ourselves for our hollow and void performance in front of our God. How quick we are to justify that while Jesus died for my sins it really was not enough despite what he said. I have to add my little bit into it to make my acceptance to God complete. How quick we are to tell God how entitled we are to whatever we think we should get. Welcome to the world of “POP Religion”. Welcome to “The Shack”, the very center of our pain.
The Shack very quickly address’s POP Religion and puts it up on center stage. It does it in an amazing way and quickly reveals where you are at with regards to the performance vs. grace equation. And then God shows up. For all that this story say’s, one thing is for certain it takes you on an incredible journey. A journey of grace. How much does God love you? When Mack gets judged by the spirit of God, I had to sit down and repent before a “Most High God”. I preach against the “entitlement” philosophy all the time and yet it still hit me like a Rocky Balboa punch. When you recognize the grace weaved throughout the story you are left questioning not how much God loves you but have you let God love you? Then the story has achieved its goal. God loved us long before we loved him. Are we telling God how to love us or are we on God’s terms letting him love us? Not what can you give us, but how do we receive your gift of grace. You will walk away from this story asking that question. That’s a good question to be asking.
Rock ette | Posted June-20-2008
Fantastic is a great word for this album! I love music that has a message and the crew of superchick has very specifically got a great message in this album. The last time I heard such a clear and verbose voice was "Monkeys at the Zoo" by Charlie Peacock. This album has the message and the music to make the message real and relevant. The song "Alive" really captures the words, emotion and the expression of so many of us altogether. Driving home a point while at the same time bringing out a point in the listener. "Hey Hey" does the same thing in a very pronounced but different way. I have read, the entire band went through hardship prior to making this album. It's not often you hear a battle cry like this after something like that. The entire song list pulls you in but then pushes you right back out. --Your alive now get into the mix of life and live legendary you.-- Yes, that's a message we all need to hear. There is not a song on the album that is lacking in any way. The title exemplifies the creative muse of the band, by the end of the last track you will be on your feet "Rockin What You Got" be it singing dancing or maybe just facing a new day. One thing is for sure you will know you're alive. You will proclaim I am not dead yet! I am not defeated! I didn't come to play I came to win!
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