Born Again: Miracles Edition

Born Again: Miracles Edition, the latest release by Newsboys, is also the latest in a trend (a disturbing one in my opinion) of re-releasing an album, adding as few as one new song, and branding it as a "new release". Depending upon the timing of the release, it can also be a craven attempt to Double dip one album across multiple years of eligibility at the Doves or Grammy's (a shocking concept, I know).

Born Again: Miracles Edition is better than most in the sense that the 12 Songs on the original CD have been expanded to 20 Songs (and they still held everything to one disc, which is impressive). The first 12 songs are identical to the original release, with one exception. The new song, Save Your Life, replaces the song Impossible in the fourth slot. Four other new songs are on the CD, comprising tracks 13-16. Also are four remixes of Born Again, Miracles, Way Beyond Myself, and Mighty to Save (I know, I know, TWO!?, on the same album. Hasn't the song been done enough?)

Born Again: Miracles Edition track list

1. Born Again
2. One Shot
3. Way Beyond Myself
4. Save Your Life
5. When The Boys Light Up
6. Build Us Back
7. Escape
8. Miracles
9. Running to You
10. On Your Knees
11. Mighty to Save
12. Jesus Freak 
13. We Remember
14. I'll Be
15. Give Me To You
16. Glorious (Tait Version)
17. Born Again (French Horn Rebellion Remix)
18. Miracles (Mega Is A Gang Remix)
19. Way Beyond Myself (Flatline Remix)
20. Mighty to Save (Family Force 5 Remix) 

In my previous post on the original release last summer, I gave Born Again 4.5 Emeralds out of a possible 5. I think the rating holds this time around. The remixes bump it up a little, but having two versions of Mighty to Save on the same album might be too much for some people.

Now as to pricing. Buying all 20 mp3 tracks separately would set you back $19.80. I doubt anyone is going to do that, but it's out there. If you are one of the few people out there that haven't bought Born Again, you have two options. You can buy the Physical CD for $11.99 or $12.99 for the mp3 Album. While the CD is cheaper this time around, there is shipping and handling there, while the mp3 is instant (or as instant as your internet connection)

If you're like me, and you already have a copy of Born Again. I would propose this money saver. Go to Amazon and download Save Your Life and the new songs and remixes (Tracks 4 and 13-20). That will only set you back $8.91. For the ultimate in penny pinching, for a limited time you can go to the Newsboys Site and get Save Your Life for free. Then you use your computer and burn the extras to a CD-R, and you've got the expanded edition for a fraction of the cost.

Now, to the Big Question. "Will the WENC Night Beat fall to the craven move and put the Born Again: Miracles Edition among the nominees for the 2011 Platinum Vinyl Awards?" In a word, Yes. Before you write angry comments, this is an easy decision. There were 12 songs on the original, and, yes, 11 of them are on the new edition. However there are 5 truly new songs on the new edition (which would constitute 42% New Material. The remixes, being a new version of the song, add an additional 33% to the total. So based upon the original 12 track edition, there is a whopping 75% new material. That makes it a new release in my book, no apology needed. So get the Miracles edition to add to your collection. You just don't need to pay twice as much to get the new stuff. Miracles do happen.