The Drive To Five: Turning One With Two

As a one year old should be larger than a newborn infant, so the first year anniversary of the Platinum Vinyl Awards should be bigger and better than the inaugural awards. And so it was. The total number of awards exploded from 20 to 30 (okay, a minor explosion). The growth came from the addition of the Song of The Year Awards, as well as the creation of the Adult Contemporary/Inspirational Genre, which was split off from Pop Music.

In a related move, the award process was assisted with the creation of the Emerald Rating System, which awarded anything from 0 (nothing has ever been this bad) to 5 Emeralds, which is considered a "Perfect" album. Calendar year 2011 (of which 9 months were in #PlatVnyl2) produced 18 perfect albums, a number which has increased each year, owing either to an increased quality of music in CCM, or the fact that I am a push-over. As of this time 2014 has had over 40 perfect albums. Over twice the original list.

The GRAC/Clean Secular/Crossover section of The PVA's exploded in the second year with entries from The Civil Wars, Jackie Evancho, Blessid Union of Souls and Switchfoot. Fortunately none of these artists fell afoul of the industry, so there was no Fallen Award handed out in the second year.

All in all the field was very promising as we entered the second awards. As we continue through the week we shall see get into the meat of the second awards. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Flashback Friday: Where The Streets Have No Name

Welcome to a special Saturday edition of Flashback Friday, courtesy of Google Blogger, where we bring readers in the present up to speed on the favorite Christian Bands of the Past, though sometimes they are still around. This week we once again have a Crossover from the mainstream.

I was introduced to this band in College. I must confess, I never had heard of them. They come from Ireland. Their first album was called Boy. If you haven't guessed by now, they are Adam Clayton (Bass), Larry Mullen, Jr (Drums), The Edge (Guitar) and Bono, collectively known as U2.


U2's transformation came after their debut release, when Bono, The Edge and Mullen got saved. When there are only four people in the band and three become Christians, the direction is set. Good for us they played rock and roll, because that consigned it to the evening hours, when the administration offices were closed. Therefore fights with the college brass over playing "secular music" at WENC were avoided.


"I will follow" from Boy was their first ever hit, Talk about Boy, or boys, they were babies in 1980. Like most early releases, nobody would be able to tell these kids were going to make it big.

October came out the next year, and the change would be marked. Gloria went straight to the top of Christian Radio. Even Latin could be cool. The video shows that they may still be kids, but a new found maturity surrounds them. October made #41 of the CCM Magazine 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music. It is still one of the most covered Rock Worship songs out there. I believe even Delirious may have done one.

Of course it took a War to bring U2 to the top of Christian Charts, and a Sunday, Bloody Sunday, which expertly blended Politics with Easter.

And then on the same album, was 40 (for those not in the know, it's Psalm 40)

Four Years later came the Joshua Tree and super stardom. Island Records was poised to bring the 77's to stardom when that came out. It was kind of a case where one Christian Band kind of upstaged another. U2 rose to the top and the 77's maintained their cult status in Christian alternative. Two bad Island didn't have the wherewithal to push both of them. This is Still Haven't Found What I'm looking For. The Joshua Tree is #6 on the CCM Magazine List.

The most successful bunch of Christian Musicians ever. Probably the most successful Crossover artists ever. Rock on. This has been a special edition of Flashback Friday. I am Awaiting Your Reply..

Flashback Friday: Toto, I don't believe we're in Kansas anymore

It's Friday, and the 2nd Platinum Vinyl Awards are finished. That means it is time for another edition of flashback Friday. For those new to The Night Beat, Flashback Friday is where we go back in the time machine, and bring a new generation up to speed on some of the bands of the past. While for the most part we feature Christian Bands, this week we step into crossover territory.

In the 1970's in the Heartland of America a Progressive Rock band was formed by Dave Hope (Bass), Phil Ehart (Drums) and Kerry Livgren (Guitars, Keys, Synths). It was called Kansas. From the beginning the album was gold (or actually Platinum). One album in particular, Leftoverture (1976), was certified 5x Platinum in 2001. While that is a pretty good record, pardon the pun, by way of reference Evanescence debut Fallen is over 7x Platinum with only about half the time needed. Success is relative. The biggest single on Leftoverture was Carry On Wayward Son.

A Funny thing happened on the way to success. A few of Kansas "wayward sons", specifically Hope and Livgren, got saved. Beginning with Audio-Visions, Kansas entered a sort of Christian Phase. By the time Vinyl Confessions was being written things came to a head, and vocalist Steve Walsh quit after refusing to sing Crossfire.

Kansas had to quickly find a new vocalist and they hired John Elefante, who, in a bit of a surprise coincidence, also happened to be a Christian. Vinyl Confessions got a lot of airplay on WENC, but my favorite wasn't crossfire but instead Play the Game Tonight.

The Christian era of Kansas soon ended, and Livgren and Hope left the band and founded what was one of the most innovative Christian Rock bands of the era. AD. Officially they put out Three albums: Timeline, Art of The State, and Prime Mover. To most fans the second is the best. AD wasn't afraid to take on the issues of the day, but unlike most bands, they married the message to top notch production and music. In the Christian Music world this was as far apart as Kansas was from Oz.

This is Slow Motion Suicide from Timeline

And finally, this is Progress from Art of the State.

There aren't many bands like AD today, willing to take creative risks, on either side of the music aisle. Perhaps they were right. Progress is marching backward. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

CCM and The Christian Fringe

CCM is short for Christian Contemporary Music, an all encompassing label that usually includes the Pop, Rock, Alternative, Hip-Hop, Ska, Big Band/Swing, and Country Genres.  It does not refer to Southern Gospel or Modern Worship in most cases, nor does it usually include Urban or Regular Gospel and R&B.  The Night Beat Blog will review most of the accepted list, Country excepted (sorry, I can't stand it.)  You can also be assured that no Southern Gospel will pass by this reviewer, for the same reason.

In addition to accepted CCM, I will also attempt to give a fair amount of coverage to the Christian Music Fringe, usually consisting of Hard Music (Red, Demon Hunter); Metalcore (My Children My Bride), Industrial (Skillet), Techno/Electronica (Joy Electric, And then there were None) and others.  Urban Gospel and R&B may also be reviewed.

Due to the reviewers personal taste, I may, if the occasion arises, dip into Crossover material that is spiritual in nature but is no longer universally recognized as Christian Music, examples of which are U2, Creed, Evanescence, and more recently Jennifer Knapp.  I will deal with these in a later post.