Night Beat Rewind: June 2012

July is just getting underway and already I have completed rating the June Releases. I love it when things are going my way. It's time for the June Rewind, a quick hits column where I pick the perfect, the not so perfect, but still contending, and those that miss Platinum Vinyl Consideration. As always, we begin with those releases which

Missed The Mark

There were a few of those this month. You can't only mention those you think are worthy of a Platinum Vinyl Award and still maintain credibility. The also rans

• Altars - Conclusions 3.75 Emeralds
• Beautiful Eulogy - Satellite Kite 3.75 Emeralds
• Maria Jenkins - The Journey of A Worshipper 3.75 Emeralds
• Looking Forward - Down With The Ship EP 3.5 Emeralds

As I state in each Rewind post, these aren't necessarily bad albums (since my minimum bar is 4 Emeralds, absolutely not. These just missed being under Platinum Vinyl Consideration by a hair. Try 3 Emeralds and below for ones to avoid. Don't worry. I'll let you know about those. In the meantime, there occasionally pass our desk those releases which are

Pure Platinum

And there was one this month, sort of. I say sort of because it was a best of release, and that is sort of fudging it. You already have tons of material to sort through. You should be able to pick a 5 Emerald release from it. Especially when you, like Petra, have 5 decades of work to go through. They did limit themselves to their most memorable decade though.

• Petra - Best of the 80's 5 Emeralds

As is the case every month, most of the releases are neither perfect platinum or non-contenders. Though that is probably because I really don't want to give a bad review, the fact is that most releases are simply.

Semi-Precious Metal

• Bellarive - The Heartbeat 4.75 Emeralds
• Regina Belle Higher-  4.5 Emeralds
• Canopy Red - Wake Up 4.5 Emeralds
• Children 18:3 - On The Run 4.5 Emeralds
• The Devil Wears Prada - Dead & Alive (CD+DVD) 4.5 Emeralds
• Amy Grant - Rock of Ages: Hymns of Faith 4.25 Emeralds
• Israel & New Breed - New Season 4.75 Emeralds
• Natalie LaRue - Even Now 4.5 Emeralds
• Lovelite - In Three Persons 4.5 Emeralds
• The Overseer - We Search We Dig 4.5 Emeralds
• Page CXVI - RE: Hymns 4.75 Emeralds
• The Rocket Summer - Life Will Write The Words 4.5 Emeralds
• Various - Maranatha! Top 25 Praise Series Classics 4.25 Emeralds
• BeBe Winans - America America 4.5 Emeralds
• Write This Down - Lost Weekend 4.75 Emeralds

A few notes on this final list. Amy Grant isn't new, while it is good, it is a re-issue. The original album came out back in 2005. Israel Houghton is also a re-issue, his is from 2001. And of course BeBe Winans is a 4th of July Patriotic release. I may still stick it in in Inspirational, but it's final status is yet to be determined.

That does it for June. Hooray. Good thing things start to get quiet on the release front as the Summer months heat up. It's festival time. Get out to Cornerstone before it ends. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.