#PlatVnyl3 - The Award Show Survivor

The music industry is changing, and the industry, to be civil, is clueless. I took time to vent at the industry this winter, so I wont repeat myself here. It is safe to say that a mantra of the industry is that iTunes saved the music business, but that is only partially true. The industry may still die.

• Crowdsourcing: Kickstarter and others have weakened the position of the labels, so they no longer have the upper hand in the negotiations. If tensions arise between Label and Artist, the artist leaves, starts a kickstarter campaign, and is usually the better for it. Talk about taking the bull by the horns.
• iTunes and Amazon Music are, in some cases, the only avenues an artist takes. I have noticed a "download only" option for as much as a year before a physical CD is released
• Youtube had De-commercialized the Music Video, though the labels are desperately trying to control that medium by pulling down videos.

The latest changes are in the award show industry. Surprisingly, the changes seem to favor the little guy. The Platinum Vinyl Awards hasn't, as of yet, been able to get into the "Swag Stream" to obtain free CD's to review. Our decisions are based upon purchases, free album streams, and song samples. That being said, we at Night Beat HQ haven't had any shortage of material to review. Funny the big boys can't find it. The Gospel section of the Grammy Awards is officially a joke. Three awards this year. And the Dove Awards skipped their spot in the rotation in April, and will be going from April 2012 to October 15, 2013. Now that pushes them past #PlatVnyl3 and into the beginning of the nomination pool for #PlatVnyl5. They will have missed a whole year of entries.

I will be posting results as they come in on the Award Page, and will be doing blog posts as I can. Keep with me, share the results and make your comments below, or use #PlatVnyl3 on Twitter. I am trying to get some buzz going. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply. Now, about that swag...

Flashback Friday: Forever Friends

"...a lifetime's not to long to live as friends." The most popular song in Christian Music History probably generated enough tears to launch a small navy. I should know. While the song somehow missed my High School Graduating Class I couldn't escape it in college. My Senior Class voted it Class Song, which means we all had to sing it at graduation.

The person responsible for unleashing this song on the masses is none other than "Smitty", also known as Michael Whitaker Smith (Michael W. Smith). It first appeared on his debut release, The Michael W. Smith Project (1983). It's amazing what kind of damage a song can do after almost 30 years.

All joking aside, it is rare that a new artist gets a hit single on their debut. Even rarer still that the hit is still considered memorable three decades later, much less the artist who wrote the song. Both things apply to Smitty.

• 24 Albums (so far, as of 2011)
• 3 Time Grammy Award Winner, 13 Overall Grammy Nominations
• 31 Number One Songs
• 1 Multi-Platinum Album
• 6 Platinum Albums
• 16 Gold Albums
• Over 17 Million Albums Sold
• 36 Time Dove Award Winner

It's that last fact that gets music critics like me riled up from time to time. The Doves tend to have a "he recorded an album? let's give it to Smitty" attitude, and probably during at least one stretch of time somebody more deserving got the shaft. Maybe not, but the odds are in my favor. With that 17 Million Sold (Why do I feel like a McDonald's Sign?) it's hard to blame them too harshly. That 1 multi-platinum album puts him on par with Evanescence (actually since Fallen is over 7x Platinum on its own, perhaps they put a dent in the entire platinum stash). Here's friends. Warning, have Kleenex handy.


Are your eyes dry enough to read? Good, let's proceed. While Friends may be the #1 Recorded CCM Song of All Time as voted by CCM Magazine, but he was hardly a one hit wonder. 1990 brought Go West Young Man and "Place in this world". It rose to #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Smitty Struck again just two short years later with I will be Here for You from Change Your World In 1999 the Columbine tragedy struck. One of the students killed in the Massacre was Cassie Bernall. She was killed especially for her faith in Christ. This is This is Your Time, written in her memory. I remember when it was performed at the Inside Out Soul Festival a few years later. It's a very moving song. Personally, it's a lot better than friends.

Though Michael went astray, musically speaking, in my opinion as he chased the pop market, he recently returned to his orchestral roots back in 2010 with Wonder. Recently, (actually 2011), he went instrumental with Glory. Smitty and Keaggy, both of them really know how to do instrumental albums. They could make it famous without uttering a word.

That concludes this edition of Flashback Friday. Next Friday we will have a bit of Choir Music for you. Calm yourself, it's not what you think. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Flashback Friday: She Has Her Father's Eyes

Sometimes all you need is one name. Rihanna, Madonna, Tiffany. Christian Music doesn't traditionally have that kind of star power. Not usually.


There are a few exceptions. We have our own Tiffany, but she records under the moniker Plumb (Tiffany Arbuckle Lee). There is Smitty (Michael W. Smith), but that is a last name nickname. There is only one Eowyn, however.


Then there is Amy. Officially there is only one, but when I hear Amy my mind goes straight to Amy Lee of Evanescence, but she was kicked out of the kingdom so there is still only one.

To start things on a note of absolute Irony, Amy Lee Grant was born November 25, 1960. Do I sense a conspiracy here. Naaah. Couldn't be. A Georgia Girl who moved to Nashville at an early age, she became the first true star of Christian Music. Of course it probably isn't a surprise that a southern belle has the middle name Lee, just the last name Grant is bad enough. It could have been worse, Amy Sherman Grant would have been way worse. Any way, long before Leigh Nash took the music world by storm by asking for a kiss or even before an Australian teen screamed "It's God" there was Amy hoping "She has her Father's eyes".

Amy Grant to most people is Christian Music personified, and who can argue. 6 Grammy Awards and 25 Dove Awards kind of solidify that. Age to Age was the first Christian album to be certified platinum, and Heart in motion went 5x platinum. Of course the other Amy Lee took her debut to over 7x platinum, but we won't talk about Fallen, will we.

Her first album, which was self titled, was released back in 1977. My Father's Eyes was released two years later. 1982 brought us Age to Age, and with it the timeless song El Shaddai. This video of a live performance of El Shaddai and Thy Word, another Grant Classic from 1984's Straight ahead, has accompaniment by fellow music legend Michael W. Smith.

The nineties brought Amy to the Big Time, as far as crossover potential at least. She was a Superstar in the Christian Music world already. Heart in Motion was released in 1991 and with it the Radio Hit "Baby Baby". The Official Music Video for Baby Baby Follows.

With Success came controversy. Never mind Baby, Baby. Crossover appeal started with the Peter Cetera/Grant duet "Next Time I fall in Love". Amy sings a duet with someone other than her husband Gary Chapman. It was a kerfuffle. Never mind she had never done a duet with Chapman. It was a beautiful song nonetheless.

Of course when Chapman and Grant Divorced in 1999 they knew the seeds were started here, even though Grant would later marry Vince Gill, not Peter Cetera.

Amy Grant was the first Christian Artist to deeply bond with her audience. She will always be "Our Amy", just like she was a member of our extended family. Rebecca St James has come close, but not to the level that Amy Grant ever did.

That concludes the Night Beat look into the life of Amy Grant. It also, for the most part, concludes our look into the 70's. I will begin the 80's next Friday. I don't think I will start with Smitty, but you never know. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Gospel Grammy Results

The Grammy Awards are now over and the second guessing can begin. For those of us covering the Gospel Section, it's a really short job.

Since this is a Music Blog, it is proper that I give Night Beat Condolences. I found out about the death of Whitney Houston via my twitter stream. She was a great singer who began in Gospel. With Two Emmys Six Grammys and a host of other awards, her talent was unquestioned. And a note to the religious out there. God wants all of us to have a long life. 48 is not long. Too anyone who says it was "Her Time", quiet.

Now, on to the second guessing. As I said previously, there were only two real awards: Song and Album of the Year in Both Gospel and CCM. For my predictions click on the genres.

I thought that I would be able to do pretty well due to the sparse choices, but that was not to be. For the Gospel section, album division, I thought that they would be honoring the return of a legend in Andrae Crouch, but I was wrong. I also thought that Mary, Mary was the best choice, and I still think that was the correct way to go. The Grammy went to: Kirk Franklin. This is one of the cases where an award goes based on past results. I have heard quite a bit of music from Kirk Franklin, and in my opinion this was not his best album. Still the Grammy's have spoken Score: 0/1.

Moving on to Gospel Song. I hit it out of the park. For some reason I felt that Grammy would award Kirk Franklin best Gospel Song for Hello Fear. Even though I felt Canton Jones had a better song in Window, I guess I was picking Name Recognition for the win, and it paid off: Score 1/2.

Christian Contemporary Music is up next, and here the consequences of savaging the Christian categories becomes painfully evident. Gungor is alternative, Royal Tailor is Pop, Mandisa is Dance/Gospel/R&B, Chris Tomlin is Modern Worship/Pop, and Leeland is Modern Worship/Rock. No Rock. No Metal, No Hip Hop or Rap. All fighting for one prize. I am underwhelmed.

I figured they would go for Brandon Heath considering how gaga they were over Leaving Eden when the album came out, so that was my prediction. I said that the strongest entry would have been Mandisa, but I was wrong and they gave the Grammy to Chris Tomlin. A good modern worship album, but I never saw it coming: Score: 1/3

I guess I was mailing it in on an anti-Brandon Heath rant for song. Though the Grammy's would go for Your Love and made a split pick of I lift My Hands by Chris Tomlin and Hold Me by Jamie Grace Harper but the Grammy went instead to: Blessings by Laura Story. I guess we were on a mellow bent. It was the quietest of the songs.

Final Score: 1/4 (0.250). Hey, that is okay for a major league stint in Baseball, but it wasn't what I was expecting. So, I'm no Carnac.

Well that's it for the Grammy Awards. Dove nominees come out on the 22nd. I will return with my picks for that shortly afterward. Until next time, 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.

Gospel Grammy: The Night Beat Prediction, Part One

The Grammy Awards are Sunday Night, and I just heard about it. Now while I don't follow all the Award Shows religiously, I am a music blogger, so I should have been more up on things.

Personally, I am blaming the Grammy Awards themselves. In their reinvention of the awards, they have savaged the CCM portion. I mean, it makes a critic cry (figuratively). I may have been critical of their picks in the past, but there are now really only two categories in the entire show. (In the Interest of full disclosure, there are technically five gospel categories but I am doing a genre combining trick. We Have Gospel and Contemporary Christian Music awards in Song And Album of the Year as well as a combined Gospel/CCM Performance of the Year- Basically 2.5 awards. This one's going to be tough.)

Gospel Music Grammy Nominations

Gospel Album of The Year

• Kim Burrell - The Love Album
• Andrae Crouch - The Journey
• Kirk Franklin - Hello Fear
• Mary Mary - Something Big
• Trin-I-Tee 5:7 - Angel & Chanelle Deluxe Edition

Who will win: I think that the Grammy's are going to go with a legend and Pick Andrae Crouch. Crouch is among both Gospel and Christian Music in General a Legend and his albums deserve a place on any 100 Best List.

Who Should Win: From my listening viewpoint, the best of all the albums nominated was Something Big by Mary Mary. It got a near perfect 4.75 Emeralds and really wowed me.

Gospel Song of the Year

• Kirk Franklin - Hello Fear
• Sitting With Me - Mary Mary
• Spiritual - Donald Lawrence
• Trust Me - Richard Smallwood
• Window - Canton Jones

Who will win: Honestly, I have no clue, not having regularly heard a lot of these songs, except for clips. Based on the Grammy's quirks, I am going with Kirk Franklin, though I thought the album was only worthy of 4 Emeralds. Reputation usually wins.

Who Should Win: Based on hearing the complete album and having the song in regular rotation in my iTunes library, I would go with Window by Canton Jones. It's a get up and dance type number that is also word based and encouraging. I love it.

For the sake of post brevity, I think I shall hold off the CCM nominations for a second post. Until Next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Night Beat Rewind: August 2011

We are here at the Penultimate Edition of Night Beat Rewind for the 2011 Platinum Vinyl Awards. In case anyone is unclear on the word, that means next-to-last. Now remember my eligibility year is October 1-September 30, smack in the middle of the Grammy's (September 1, 2010-September 30,2011) and the Doves (November 1, 2010 -October 31, 2011).

Since I've been picking up new readers through Triberr and other sources, I think it's time to review my Emerald Rating System. As regards to regular music listening anything worth listening to on a regular basis will be scored 3 Emeralds or Higher. Now with regards to the Platinum Vinyl Awards, the bar is set slightly higher. PVA inclusion begins with 4 Emeralds, anything lower than that will not be considered (If you use a star rating, The numbers stay the same). At the end of the Year of Eligibility the entries in each genre will be cut down to get to a "Final Round" which, in a perfect world, would be Seven Nominees, but it will be how it will. Last year some categories only had Two nominees for the entire year. The Basics are as follows.

• 5 Emeralds - In to the final round. (There will never be 7 5 Emerald albums in a year in any given category, trust me on this one).
• 4.75 Emeralds - Great chance of making the final 7
• 4.50 Emeralds - A Very Good Chance of Making the Finals
• 4.25 Emeralds - Do You Believe in Miracles?
• 4 Emeralds - The Lowest bar of inclusion in the original mix, but let's not get too giddy about your chances.
• 3.75 to 3 Emeralds - These aren't Platinum, but Bronze Silver and Gold are still nice metals.
• 2.75 Emeralds or Lower - Break out the Gong and the Shepherds Crook.

As always, we start with the ones that didn't make it and progress to the ones that did make the initial mix.

• Blaze - Exposed 3.75 Emeralds
• Patrick Ryan Clark - Where Would I Be 3.75 Emeralds
• Bethany Dillon - Beautiful: The Hits Collection 3.75 Emeralds
• Stellar Kart - A Whole New World EP 3.75 Emeralds
• Lindsay McCaul - If it Leads Me Back 3.75 Emeralds
• Brother's McClurg - Alive 3.75 Emeralds
• Sandi Patty - The Best of Sandi Patty 3.5 Emeralds
• Sainthood Reps - Monoculture 3.75 Emeralds
• Aaron Shust - This is What We Believe 3.75 Emeralds

Yes I know it seems like a copout with all the 3.75's (and no complaints from the Sandi lovers out there). My opinion is that these just missed. Still not so sure on Stellar Kart. I know they're doing Disney Covers here but this might be a parody album. On to the best for the month of August.

• Ashes Remain - What I've Become 4.5 Emeralds
• Braille - Native Lungs 4.5 Emeralds
• Steven Curtis Chapman - Re:Creation 4 Emeralds
• Dorinda Clark-Cole - I Survived 4.75 Emeralds
• Committed - Committed 4.25 Emeralds
• DecembeRadio - The Southern Attic Sessions 4.25 Emeralds
• Denver & The Mile High Orchestra - Groovy 5 Emeralds
• Divided by Friday - Prove It EP 4.25 Emeralds
• Downhere - On the Altar of Love 4.5 Emeralds
• The Ember Days - Emergency 4.75 Emeralds
• Southbound Fearing - Southbound Fearing 4.5 Emeralds
• Shaun Groves - Third World Symphony 4.5 Emeralds
• Deitrick Haddon - Anthology 4.25 Emeralds
• Icon For Hire - Scripted 4.5 Emeralds
• Jai - Culture Shock 4.5 Emeralds
• Forever Jones - Get Ready (Deluxe Edition) **
• Mat Kearney - Young Love 4 Emeralds
• Donald Lawrence - YRM: Your Righteous Mind 4.5 Emeralds
• Mikeschair - A Beautiful Life 4 Emeralds
• Geoff Moore - Saying Grace 4.5 Emeralds
• Matt Papa - This Changes Everything 4.25 Emeralds
• Planetshakers - Nothing Is Impossible 4 Emeralds
• Cindy Cruse Ratcliff - Twenty Three 4.25 Emeralds
• V.Rose - V.Rose 4 Emeralds
• Selah - Hope for the Broken World 4.25 Emeralds
• Beckah Shae - Destiny 5 Emeralds
• Veggie Tales (feat Moriah Peters) - Songs for a Princess 4.5 Emeralds
• Warr Acres - Warr Acres 4.5 Emeralds
• Your Chance to Die - Suscitatio Somnus 4.25 Emeralds

** Forever Jones is being passed along at the same rating as the original album Last Year.

Links in this post go to my original review. In the case of Cindy Cruse Ratcliff, scroll down to the bottom of the linked post, which is for Darlene Zschech.

Am I glad I finally got everything fixed. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

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.

CD Smackdown: Grammy vs. Platinum Vinyl

The 2011 Grammy Awards are over, and now the second guessing can begin. Here at The Night Beat there is plenty of second guessing to do. Of course the only categories we are concerned with are the categories named Gospel, but that still provides plenty of fodder.

My biggest gripe with Grammy gospel award is its limited scope. There are only five genre-specific sub categories (Rock/Rap Gospel, Pop/Contemporary Gospel, Country/Southern Gospel, Traditional Gospel, and Contemporary/R&B Gospel). On the other hand, the Platinum Vinyl Awards have ten genre-specific categories (Pop, Rock, Hard Rock/Metal, Alternative, Hip-Hop/Rap, Gospel/R&B, Dance/Electronica, Techno, Folk/Folk Rock, Modern Worship and Kids Music). As long as we are clear on who belongs in a category, the more categories the better. After the jump, I will take on each of the Grammy Winners with a who won, who should have won format.

Update: The First Annual Platinum Vinyl Awards

After researching the two major awards for CCM (Grammy's and Doves), and finding that none of them do a calendar year eligibility, instead choosing September 1-August 31 and November 1-October 31 respectively, I have decided to join them and split the difference.

Eligibility for consideration for the First Annual Platinum Vinyl Awards is October 1, 2009-September 30, 2010.  I will be researching 4th Quarter 2009 Releases for Inclusion, along with the initial TBSF post and TBSF 3rd Quarter Posts.  All album reviews beginning October 1, 2010 on this site will be eligible for the second annual awards, to happen sometime in 2012. This also answers the question I posed in my review of the Project 86 Release.  It will be considered for Next Year.

Keep following The Night Beat for exclusive coverage for the Platinum Vinyl Awards