Lets hope Cansting Crowns is not on a slow fade
Posted March 05, 2008
By Nathan,
Being one of the most popular artists in today's Christian music, for good reason, it can be tough to be consistently good. Honesty this writer thought Casting Crowns would fall at the album Lifesong, but Casting Crowns put out another incredible album. But is their third and latest album the Alter and the door as good? The answer is no. the music does not have the smoothness of previous albums and the lyrics not quite as good. Nonetheless this is still a brilliant album.
Setting the stage for this much anticipated album was the smash hit single "east to west" the simple soft song which is not a great Casting Crowns song but considering the competition how could it not be a hit? The album starts out with "What this world needs" a good rock song, "everyman" is next but the chorus of the song is not impressive. The "word is alive" is a good light rock song, and the title track "the alter and the door" is good also but the high notes on the words 'cry', 'eyes', and 'try' prevent the song from being great. On every Casting Crowns CD the first half is great but the second half is lacking, the same is true again.
The ironic thing is the problem with the second half is with songs they didn't write. The radio single by Fee "all because of Jesus" and Jeff Chandler's "I know you are there" both have spots on the ten track album. My conclusion of those two lone worship songs is that Casting Crowns should write their own songs. "Prayer for a friend" is very soft anda little weak, but conveys a decent message. The other rock song on the album is "slow fade" which is excellent musically and the lyrics are nothing short of fantastic. The only drawback from this incredible song is the singing debut of Reagan Hall at the end of the song, which takes away from the urgency of the song.
Mark Hall write some of the best lyrics in the business; he sings about not being content with where we are but getting to be where we should be ("somewhere in the middle" the would be title track) to not just being good on Sunday, but taking God with you the rest of the week ("the alter and the door"). Some of the messages are simple but they are still a cut above the average lot for some reason ("east to west" and "every man"). "the world is alive" is a good song, but what makes it great is the case it makes for the authenticity of the Bible.
The Alter and the Door is not as good as previous Casting Crowns albums, now that it's out in the open this is still one of the best CD's out there today. Avoiding singing about God in his glory all the time like Chris Tomlin or Aaron Shust, Casting Crowns goes for the deeper messages in life and the Bible. And it has worked out well so far as they accomplished a monster hit single, an album that was the number two besting selling even among secular CDs. A good inspirational album, but let's hope Casting Crowns doesn't slip.
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