A Band is a Terrible Thing To Waste

Pardon the ripoff of the UNCF Slogan, but it applies. You are never too much of an expert to learn something new. Never more could that be applied than to the Modern Worship genre. The lesson to be learned comes form the Gospel Genre "A Choir, Never Leave Home Without It." Whenever a Gospel album is released, though the Album title may not reveal it (John P. Kee, Fred Hammond, etc) the Choir (Love Fellowship Crusade Choir, etc.) is ALWAYS THERE, along with the orchestra. They know what people want and they give it to them.

Modern Worship has forgotten that, evident by the trend in "Solo" albums that are coming out from famous worship leaders. The latest release comes from Hillsong Church Australia's Darlene Zschech called You Are Love. I reiterate here a problem I have with live concert albums which I posted in my previous review of such an album by The Rocket Summer. "There is something missing". Now it's not as bad as last years Simply Darlene. That one was missing a lot. I hated it just enough to not bother reviewing it, but if I had, I would have snarkilly called it something like "Simply Awful". As much as I complain that the modern worship genre has been "Hijacked by Hillsong" (I like the alliteration and apologize to all those offended via the proximity of the statement to 9/11). As much as anyone would like to protest, Darlene is Synonymous with Hillsong. That's just the way it is. I'm going to give it 3.75 Emeralds as a final review. Close, but as they say close only counts in Horseshoes and Hand grenades.

Night Beat Bonus: Also suffering from the same problem but a bit better is Cindy Cruse Ratcliff from Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston. Simply entitledTwenty-Three. It is just enough better on its own to go into the Platinum Vinyl mix for the genre, but I don't think that it will survive the judging. I'm giving it 4.25 Emeralds.

That will do it for this week. Tomorrow starts a whole new slew of releases, and keep it locked here to stay informed on them all. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The 2010 Platinum Vinyl Awards: Best Children's Music Album

Like the Major Awards, we begin the awarding of the Platinum Vinyl Awards with the minor awards and will build up to the big ones. The least of these is Children's Music. During the eligibility period only two entries surfaced, and I seriously considered dropping the category. However I thought it bad taste to drop a category before the first awards had been announced. Both of the albums might be hard pressed to be thought of children's music, especially if you're thinking Veggie Tales or Music Machine. It might be better to call this music geared for kids that can be enjoyed by people of all ages. I think we can all agree that it takes a certain anointing to listen to real children's music for extended periods of time (that or a natural talent for acting) unless you are a child yourself.

The two entries for the inaugural Platinum Vinyl Awards are former Newsboys guitarist Phil Joel's Deliberate Kids 2 and Kickin it Old School by Go Fish.  After listening to both, I am going to give the first Platinum Vinyl Awards ever for Children's Music to (dramatic drumroll)....Go Fish. Of the two, Kickin it Old School was the more playful sounding, and in the end that was all I could go on. The Awards are now underway, and there is much more to reveal, so stay with me all day.
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