Phoenix Rising: The 2019 Platinum Vinyl Awards 1st Qtr - Modern Worship

The final genre is Modern Worship. 18 Entries. Almost three full categories in one quarter. But that is the way it usually is. Let's finish off the quarter.

Modern Worship

• 3C Live - Good To Me (Live)
• CRC Worship - Greater Than All, Part 1
• CRC Worship - Greater Than All, Part 2
• Christ Fellowship Worship - What Love Looks Like (Live)
• Covenant Worship - Covenant Worship (Live)
• Sean Feucht - Wild
• Hillsong Young and Free - III (Live at Hillsong Conference)
• Influencers - On Earth/In Heaven
• Iron Bell Music - Glory To Glory
• Robin Mark ft New Irish Choir and Orchestra - A Belfast Symphony
• Northpoint Inside Out - Northpoint Inside Out
• Brian Ortize - Open The Windows EP
• Prestonwood Worship - Songs of The People: Revival EP
• Planetshakers - Heaven on Earth
• Planetshakers - Heaven on Earth, Part 3 EP
• River Valley Worship - Million Lifetimes: Deconstructed
• Chris Tomlin - Holy Roar
• Bryan and Katie Torwalt - Praise Before My Breakthrough

That completes our first quarter wrap. The second quarter is already underway. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Swing Season: The 2014 1rst Quarter - Modern Worship

We have come to the end. Modern Worship had a whopping lucky thirteen entries this quarter. King of The Quarter. Since we try to narrow the final results down to seven, if this pace keeps up there will be a whole lot of hair splitting, and tearing hair out, among the judges.

The second quarter is upon us, let's waste no time finishing this.

• I Bow Down , Sean G. Park
• Burning Lights (Deluxe Edition) [+video] , Chris Tomlin
• Burning Lights (Deluxe Edition) [+video] , Acquire The Fire
• God's Great Dance Floor, Step 02 , Martin Smith
• Hope Will Rise , WARR Acres
• Kingdom Come , Soul Survivor and Momentum
• No Other Love , Jeremy Horn
• The Rock Won't Move , Vertical Church Band
• Stand Up , Luke Hellebronth
• The Water & the Blood , Dustin Kensrue
• We Are Young & Free (Live) [+video] , Hillsong Young and Free
• Women Of Faith Presents Gateway Worship A Collection , Gateway Worship
• Worship God - Everlasting , Maranatha Music 

That concludes the announcing of the pool eligible entries for the first quarter of 2014. The Second Quarter is already in Full Swing. I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Night Beat Rewind: October 2013

October is finally in the bag, release wise. It's time to do the monthly rewind. We begin the Platinum Vinyl Award Eligibility year with a doozy. Talk about candy store. There were a whopping eight Perfect 5's. One was a push from last year. Since the album was announced in the previous year but finally ceased to be vaporware in October. And then there was the Christmas releases, which aren't eligible for an award but have to be counted. There will be no links at first for this post, for obvious reasons.

Christmas Music (Non-Eligible)

• Paul Baloche - Christmas Worship 3.75 Emeralds
• Dave Barnes - A December to Remember 4.75 Emeralds
• Jonathan Butler - Merry Christmas To You 4.75 Emeralds
• For King and Country - Into the Silent Night 4.75 Emeralds
• Brandon Heath - Christmas Is Here 4.50 Emeralds
• North Point Music - North Point Christmas: Let There Be Light 3.75 Emeralds
• Phillips, Craig and Dean - Hope For All The World 4.50 Emeralds
• The Robertsons - Duck The Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas 5 Emeralds
• Marvin Sapp - Christmas Card 4.75 Emeralds

 Though I'm not a fan of Country, the Duck Dynasty group had me smiling. It's hard to top a duck call version of Deck The Halls. On to the releases which

Missed The Mark

• Keith Elgin - Our Hope Live 3.75 Emeralds
• The Exchange - The Exchange 3.75 Emeralds
• The Fold - Morning Past 3.75 Emeralds
• Natalie Grant - Hurricane (Deluxe) 3.75 Emeralds
• Gurl Code - Gurl Code 3.75 Emeralds
• City Harbor - Come However You Are 3.75 Emeralds
• One:nine - North Flew South For The Winter 3.50 Emeralds
• Lynda Randle - Ageless Hymns 3.50 Emeralds
• Sivion - Group Therapy 3.50 Emeralds
• Austin Stone - King of Love 3.75 Emeralds
• Various - Holy Hip Hop, Volume 17 3.75 Emeralds
• Various - Jam The Hype, Volume 1 3.75 Emeralds
• Various - Just As I Am 3.50 Emeralds
• Michelle Williams -Do You Know 3.75 Emeralds

Most of these albums just missed being pool eligible, so they are not bad albums. We move from the not in to those albums which are deemed to be 

Pure Platinum

• All The Bright Lights - The Wind and the Waves 5 Emeralds
• Anberlin - Devotion Vital Special Edition 5 Emeralds
• Beautiful Eulogy - Instruments of Mercy 5 Emeralds
• Downhere - Love & History: The Best of Downhere 5 Emeralds
• Icon For Hire - Icon For Hire 5 Emeralds
• Robbie Seay Band - Psalms EP, Volume 1 5 Emeralds
• Martin Smith - God's Great Dance Floor, Step 2 5 Emeralds
• Aaron Sprinkle - Water and Guns 5 Emeralds 

All The Bright Lights is the holdover. Anberlin is a special edition including a live second disc, and Downhere is a best of, which won't make the finals, because we don't have a best of Category. 

Finally we go to those releases in the middle, or ones we deem

Semi-Precious Metal

• Bride - Incorruptible 4.50 Emeralds
• Canon - Mad Haven 4.50 Emeralds
• Steven Curtis Chapman - The Glorious Unfolding 4.50 Emeralds
• Family Force 5 - Reanimated 4.75 Emeralds
• Flame - Royal Flush 4.50 Emeralds
• Gateway Worship - Women of Faith Presents: Gateway Worship 4.75 Emeralds
• Hillsong Young and Free - We Are Young and Free 4.50 Emeralds
• Dustin Kensrue - The Water & The Blood 4.75 Emeralds
• Thousand Foot Krutch - Made In Canada: The 1998-2010 Collection 4.50 Emeralds
• Bryan Popin - You Can Make It 4.50 Emeralds
• Press Play - #LITO 4.75 Emeralds
• Righteous Vendetta - The Fire Inside 4.75 Emeralds
• Royal Tailor - Royal Tailor 4.50 Emeralds
• Sainthood Reps - Headswell 4.50 Emeralds
• Laura Story - God of Every Story 4.50 Emeralds
• Superchick RE:Collections 4.50 Emeralds
• Jon Thurlow - Stand In Awe 4.75 Emeralds
• Chris Tomlin - Burning Lights: Deluxe Tour Edition 4.75 Emeralds
• Various Artists - My Hope: Songs Inspired By The Message and Mission of Billy Graham 4.50 Emeralds
• Vertical Church - The Rock Won't Move 4.50 Emeralds
• WARR Acres - Hope Will Rise 4.75 Emeralds
• Wolves at the Gate - Back To School 4.50 Emeralds 

That finishes off the month of October. Things are getting off to a roaring start here in the 5th Platinum Vinyl Award Eligibility Year. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The Groundhog Blues: Winter 2013 Releases - Modern Worship

Well this is finally it. I know it because I have everything checked off. There are no more 2nd Quarter Releases to be rated. We end the quarter with Modern Worship, which was a big contributor this time around. A whopping 25 entrants hopped into the pool. That guy at the pool of Bethesda couldn't get past that Stampede. That number is almost enough for four years. Major judging in this category.

Modern Worship

• Meredith Andrews - Worth It All
• Todd Ballard - Anthems
• Bethel Music - Without Words [+video]
• Bridgecity - Bridgecity
• Bridge Music - New Has Come
• Citizens - Citizens
• Elevation Worship - Nothing is Wasted
• The Ember Days - More Than You Think
• Gateway Worship - The First 10 Years
• Charlie Hall - The Death of Death
• Hillsong United - Zion
• Kingdom - Kingdom
• Passion - Passion: Let the Future Begin
• Planetshakers - Limitless
• Rend Collective Experiment - Campfire [+video] : Worship and Community Reimagined
• Seventh Day Slumber - Love and Worship
• Kim Walker Smith - Still Believe (Live)
• Chris Tomlin - Burning Lights
• 1211 - Unplugged: The Baptism
• Various Artists - From the Inside Out
• Various Artists - Mars Hill Music Worship Sampler
• Paul Wilbur - Your Great Name
• Worship Central - Let It Be Known (Live)
• Worship For Your Family - Yellow
• Darlene Zschech - Revealing Jesus

I know, that's quite a list. Still, there are a few points of mention. Rend Collective is always a solid contender, as is The Ember Days. Surprisingly we got a perfect 5 in worship this time around from Kim Walker Smith. 5's in Modern Worship just doesn't happen. I guess there's a first for everything. On to the spring releases. Third Quarter ends in a few days. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

MVM Special Edition: Cover Me - White Flag

Today we conclude out special all Satellites and Sirens Themed Music Video Monday posts. We needed three days to do all of the videos that inspired The Covers. Once again I remind you to click on the link and purchase any of the songs from Amazon. The WENC Night Beat is an amazon associate, and your purchase will help things keep humming smoothly at Night Beat HQ.

Today's edition wraps things up, and it is the longest post of all, with six videos in the mix. We begin with what I believe was the video that started everything off, and that was the cover video of the Goyte song Somebody that I Used to Know.

We continue with the new hot thing (at least for the tween crowd) One Direction. I have been told by one parent that this version is much more tolerable than the original. This is One Thing.

Keeping things light and fun, we move on to Katy Perry. For those not in the know, Katy used to be a CCM artist by the name of Katy Hudson. The label that had her self titled debut album went belly up shortly after its release. She went into hiding and reemerged as dance queen Perry a few years later. This is a cover of Part of Me.

We move on to our only CCM video this time around (as per the originals, of course). This is White Flag by Chris Tomlin.

Only two more to go. The penultimate video is from Jason Mraz. This is I wont give up.

We conclude with Fun (yes, that's the name) and We are Young.

Whew, that's a marathon. If you missed Part One or Part Two of the series, you should click on the respective post link to get all the video cover goodness. Tomorrow we will have the August Edition of Night Beat Rewind. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Gospel Grammy: The Night Beat Prediction, Part Two

Continuing with my picks in the anemic Gospel Grammy Awards category. This time we shall move on to the Contemporary Christian Music side of the aisle, having taken the Urban/R&B/Gospel side last time.

This is where things really suffer. On the CCM side of the aisle, the Platinum Vinyl Awards has a section for Children's Music, Dance, Alternative, Modern Worship, Folk, Hard Rock, Hip Hop, Rock and Pop. All these categories fight it out for the one category of Contemporary Christian Music. With only six nominees for Album and 5 for Song, how can you not snub anyone?

Contemporary Christian Music Grammy Nominees

CCM Album of The Year

• Gungor - Ghosts Upon the Earth
• Brandon Heath - Leaving Eden
• Leeland - The Great Awakening
• Mandisa - What if We Were Real
• Royal Tailor - Black and White
• Chris Tomlin - And if Our God is For Us

Who will win: Again, going with the peculiar quirks of Christian Music judging out there. There seems to be a lot of idol worship, and the current idol is Brandon Heath.

Who Should Win: Don't think I'm going too far out on a limb. A 5 Emerald Release, Knock your socks off songs ranging from Dance to R&B to Dance: Mandisa.

 

CCM Song of The Year

• Blessings - Laura Story
• Hold Me - Jamie Grace Harper
• I Lift My Hands - Chris Tomlin
• Strong Enough - Matthew West
• Your Love - Brandon Heath

Who Will Win: This one is tough, because there are no knock your socks off anthems or stirring ballads among them, but I think it is going to be a two-fer for Brandon Heath

Who Should Win: Also a tough call for the same reasons, but based on the available choices, I am going to go with Strong Enough by Matthew West, it is the best overall orchestrated song, though as a side bet I would also pick Hold Me by Jamie Grace Harper (feat TobyMac). You really can't go wrong with anyone discovered by TobyMac and the Gotee bunch. He has and knows talent.

That's it for the Grammy's. I don't think I even broke a sweat. I intentionally disregarded the Performance award and stuck to the two major ones. I will have a bigger job picking winners when the Dove Nominees are announced on February 22. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Night Beat Rewind: November 2011

The Final Night Beat Rewind for the Year is upon us. There are only 3 releases scheduled for December, so this should be it.

As always we begin with the albums that didn't make the cut.

Missing The Grade: November 2011

• Chris August - No Far Away (Christmas Deluxe Edition) 3.5 Emeralds
• Susan Boyle -  Someone to Watch over Me 3.5 Emeralds
• Adam Cappa - The Rescue EP 3.5 Emeralds
• Elevation Worship - For the Honor 3.75 Emeralds
• Newsboys - God's Not Dead 3.75 Emeralds
• B. Reith - How the Story Ends 3.75 Emeralds
• Saving Grace - The King is Coming 3.75 Emeralds
• Shake The Nation - Colliding Grace 3.75 Emeralds
• Elizabeth South - Do it afraid 3.75 Emeralds
• Chris Tomlin - How Great is our God 3.75 Emeralds
• Various - Maranatha Music: Heart of Worship, Vol 2 3.75 Emeralds
• Various - Christian Workout Playlist, Slow Paced 3.75 Emeralds
• Various - Christian Workout Playlist, Medium Paced 3.75 Emeralds

A few comments. Susan Boyle hit the music world by storm and has consistently produced good music. But, as is usually the case, even Consistent doesn't have to be spectacular, and this one didn't wow me. Two Albums did wow me this time around the one

Perfect Platinum

• William McDowell - Arise 5 Emeralds
• Wolves at the Gate - We are the Ones 5 Emeralds

And of course there are a lot of albums that were eligible for the Platinum Vinyl Award nominating process but weren't perfect.

Semi-Precious Metals

• As I Lay Dying - Decas 4.25 Emeralds
• Caleb - To The Ends of the World 4.25 Emeralds
• Eleventyseven - Sugarfist 4.5 Emeralds
• Gateway Worship - Great Great God EP 4.25 Emeralds
• Sarah Hart - This Winter's Eve 4.5 Emeralds
• In the Midst of Lions - Shadows 4.25 Emeralds
• Shai Linne - The Attributes of God 4.25 Emeralds
• John Mark McMillan - Economy 4 Emeralds
• Leigh Nash - Hymns and Sacred Songs 4.5 Emeralds
• Rel Paul - Spoiler Alert  4.25 Emeralds
• A Plea for Purging - The Life and Death of A Plea for Purging 4.25 Emeralds
• Righteous Vendetta - Lawless  4.5 Emeralds
• Run Kid Run - Patterns 4.5 Emeralds
• Satellites & Sirens - Frequency 4.75 Emeralds
• Seventh Day Slumber - The Anthem of Angels 4.5 Emeralds
• Michael W. Smith - Glory 4.75 Emeralds
• Various - Christian Workout Playlist, Fast Paced 4.25 Emeralds
• Various - Gospel's Best Praise 4.5 Emeralds
• Various - Holy Hip Hop, Vol 12 4.25 Emeralds
• Victory World Music - Shake Heaven 4.25 Emeralds
• Wavorly - The EP 4.25 Emeralds
• The Wrecking - My Window to Heaven 4 Emeralds

That will do it for this time around. Night Beat Rewind will return in February of 2012 with a wrapup of all the January releases. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Breathing Room

The release schedule in the music world can be hectic, if predictable, even in the CCM world. Small scale operations like The WENC Night Beat and the Platinum Vinyl Awards will take any respite as a Godsend. This week is one of those weeks we get to catch our breath. The only release scheduled for tomorrow is a band known as Onward To Olympus. Right now Amazon only gives the Audio CD as available, so only time will tell if there will be any audio samples up. Next week will be hectic, with Caedmon's Call (CD Release of Waking Up The Dead), Brenton Brown, newcomer Katelynne Cox, Echoing Angels, Eleventyseven and a whole lot more dropping. I will use the downtime to get this years PVA's finalized and possibly awarded. I would love to finish it before the Doves in April.

Getting back to the Platinum Vinyl Awards will give me an excuse to further ignore the Hysterical Nuclear Apocalyptic Television Soap Opera formerly known as the news. For all the attention you would think something big happened in Japan, like a winner take all battle between Godzilla, MechaGodzilla, Mothra and Gamera on the streets of Tokyo. Come to think of it, I would watch that. Seriously folks, what happened in Japan is a tragedy, and our prayers are with everyone there, but can we tone it down a little. Japan was not destroyed. No nuclear plants have melted down or probably will. Tokyo barely felt the shock, and that is where most of that nations economy is. Our looney news seems to be rooting for another Chernobyl, but they are destined to be greatly disappointed.

Back to the subject of Music. This week was somewhat of a slow week, with only Abandon Kansas and a few worship releases among the entrants. Of the three modern worship entries, the best two were Aaron Gillespie (of The Almost) Anthem Song and Chris Tomlin and Friends (aka Passion) Here For You. Pardon the snarkiness, but when you have a 12 cut album, and 6 of the cuts are from one artist (Tomlin), I think it's justified. The best parts of the CD were the "Friends" with 2 from Kristian Stanfill, 2 from David Crowder Band and 2 From Christy Nockels. Tomlin's cuts sounded like they were mailed in and lacked energy. I give it 4 Emeralds on the strength of the friends, but I am not holding out hope on it being among the final entries in modern worship. There will be better coming down the road.

Possibly among the initial entrants, but also most likely not making the final cut for 2011 is Anthem Song, the solo debut from Almost frontman Aaron Gillespie. He seems tentative in his choice of Modern Worship, and while I liked the cut with Nine O Five, overall the album did not impress. 4 Emeralds for this one as well.

Thanks for the continued following folks. It's great to know you're being checked out in places like Australia, Romania, Denmark, Russia, Canada, the USA, even Vietnam. I know I left out a few nations, but I didn't intend a full list here. I appreciate all of you. Suffice it to say that one day a possible error in the Google analytics said I had a view in Iran. That went away but Vietnam stayed, so that was real. Didn't think I'm a whack a job was reading my blog.