Bad Moon Rising: The 2014 Platinum Vinyl Awards 4th Qtr - Alternative

I've decided to go with Chronological Order here, so of the two I am starting with Alternative. Each genre got 15 nominees to the pool, that's two finals worth IN ONE QUARTER ALONE. Pardon the shouting but that's how big this is. So without further ado:

Alternative

• Anberlin - Lowborn
• Bellarive - Before There Was
• Climbing Blind - Burn
• Colony House - When I Was Younger
• Esterlyn - Love
• For King and Country - Run Wild, Live Free, Love Strong
• Golden Youth - The Kingdom
• Gungor - I Am Mountain (Deluxe)
• Gungor - I Am Mountain (Bonus Material)
• House of Heroes - Smoke EP
• Jars of Clay - 20
• John Mark McMillan - The Borderland Sessions
• Needtobreathe - 60/50 Oceanway: The Live Room Sessions
• Switchfoot - The Edge of the Earth: Unreleased Songs from the film Fading West
• Tenth Avenue North - Islands

Anberlin is going out on top of their game, and that's good for all of us. And Gungor is going to start something with their bonus material release. It makes all of us who buy the original album happy when we can get a deluxe edition without the repeats. Gotta have Gospel to finish. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Polar Vortex Polka: The 2014 2nd Quarter - Remix Pop

We move on to our second of three multiple genre posts. This time we have Pop Music and the new genre Remixes. There are enough Remix albums out there now to merit a full genre, though not enough each quarter to have its own post. Both of these genres contributed four entries apiece.

Pop Music

• Anthem Lights - You Have My Heart
• Jamie Grace - Ready To Fly
• Lights of Day - Lights of Day
• Loftland - I Don't Want to Dance

Remixes

• Capital Kings - Remixed EP
• Jars of Clay - Inlandia: The Remix Collection EP
• Jesus Culture - Jesus Culture Reconstructed, Volume 1 
• David Thulin - Reconstruction 2.1

That concludes our second of three multiple genre postings of the second quarter releases that made the pool. Next up is our final installment with Rap and Metal.
 

Night Beat Rewind: March 2014

Taking A Break from the announcements of the nominees for the Video Award Category of the Platinum Vinyl Awards. We still have four categories to go, and they will be announced next Tuesday through Friday. I intend to have a regularly scheduled Music Video Monday on Monday. No Fooling.

Right now, it's time for some spring cleaning. The March edition of Rewind is upon us. March has been a very good month for releases. We begin, as always, with those releases, which PVA speaking:

Missed The Mark

• Big Daddy Weave - Love Come to Life: The Redeemed Edition 3.75 Emeralds
• Bread of Stone - The Real Life (Deluxe Edition) 3.75 Emeralds
• Hillsong United - The White Album (Remix Project) 3.75 Emeralds
• Samuel Lane - 252 Sessions, iTunes Deluxe Edition 3.50 Emeralds
• Robin Mark - Liberation Praise 3.75 Emeralds
• Scribbling Idiots - Invitation Only 3.75 Emeralds
• Michael W. Smith - Hymns 3.75 Emeralds
• Various Artists - All The Saints: Live from the Centric Worship Retreat, Volume 1 3.75 Emeralds

Most of these just missed the mark. I was a bit more turned off by Samuel Lane, but I was most disappointed by Hillsong United. I gave it a pass for award consideration because it failed as a remix. Actually, I was most disappointed by Smitty. What happened to the big orchestration. This was simplicity pushed to the point of blah.

There is no blah in the next grouping.

Pure Platinum

• Christon Gray - School of Roses 5 Emeralds
• Kari Jobe - Majestic (Live) 5 Emeralds
• Planetshakers - Endless Praise 5 Emeralds
• Rend Collective Experiment - The Art of Celebration 5 Emeralds

I think it is a first to have three Modern Worship releases among the perfect albums. Kari Jobe put together a stellar release around the awesome Forever. Planetshakers Kissed Toward the Throne of God, and Rend. They blend worship, folk, rock, an almost infinite variety of instruments. They continue to amaze.

Finally, we go to the middle group, the

Semi-Precious Metal

• Audrey Assad - O Happy Fault 4.75 Emeralds
• Michael Boggs - More Like A Lion 4.50 Emeralds
• Erica Campbell - Help 4.75 Emeralds
• Capital Kings - Remixed EP 4.75 Emeralds
• Demon Hunter - Extremist 4.75 Emeralds
• Peter Furler Band - Sun and Shield 4.75 Emeralds
• Future of Forestry - Piano and Strings Sessions 4.75 Emeralds
• Jason Gray - Love Will Have The Final Word 4.50 Emeralds
• Jars of Clay - Inlandia: The Remix Collection EP 4.75 Emeralds
• Jesus Culture - Jesus Culture Reconstructed, Volume 1 4 Emeralds
• KB - 100 EP 4.75 Emeralds
• Kings Kaleidoscope - Live In Color 4.75 Emeralds 
• Lights of Day - Lights of Day 4.50 Emeralds
• John Mark McMillan - Borderland 4.50 Emeralds
• Memphis May Fire - Unconditional 4.75 Emeralds
• The Overseer - Rest and Let Go 4.50 Emeralds
• The Royal Royal - The Return of The King 4.75 Emeralds
• Satellites and Sirens - One Noise 4.75 Emeralds
• Shonlock - A Night to Remember 4.75 Emeralds
• Various Artists - God's Not Dead: The Motion Picture Soundtrack 4.25 Emeralds
• Various Artists - WoW Worship (Lime) 4.50 Emeralds
• Various Artists - WoW Worship Deluxe (Lime) 4.50 Emeralds

I'm not holding out much hope for Jesus Culture's chances here, but they were slightly better than Hillsong United in the remix department. Kings Kaleidoscope was the big winner on this list. It might have been a 4.50 Emeralds releases, but Felix Culpa is a 20+ Emeralds song. Still I had to take off that the rest of the album wasn't as jumping, so 4.75 it is.

I am going to forgo links for now, and update it when I have time. I will return with a regular Music Video Monday and finish the announcing of the Video Nominees for this years Platinum Vinyl Awards. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply. 

 

 

The art of the Remix

Here at the +The WENC Night Beat we are big fans of remixes. For those not up on music lingo, a remix is when the audio track of a song, and sometimes the lyric track as well, is taken by another artists and put into a blender and worked over until the song bears little or no resemblance to the original. Now take out the word blender and replace it with synthesizer and you have the truth.

Remixes are all the rage these days. I think we average one a month around here. A few years ago we might have had one all year long. Just because they are all the rage doesn't mean you should do one. Take this month for example. We have four remix projects out. +Hillsong United has The White Album (boo hiss on The Beatles Reference). +Jars Of Clay put out Inlandia. +Capital Kings come out with Remixd, and +Jesus Culture puts out Jesus Culture Reconstructed Volume 1. I'll take two to compare.

First, the good. Jars of Clay remixed a few songs from Inland and in the process transformed themselves into The Choir. Not really, but Jars, especially in their early work, really lent itself to an ethereal sound, something that The Choir is know for. Since I love both bands, the result was awesome. Mission Accomplished. The songs were remixed into something completely different.

On the flip-side we have Hillsong United. It isn't a bad album, it's just that, despite the claim, it isn't a remix album. Note my definition above. The songs sound just like a typical Hillsong United album. The tempo hasn't increased, the sound hasn't been distorted, nothing has really changed except for a few beeps and other sounds being added. It's a major fail. 

It looks like the remix category at the PVA's is here to stay, at least for another year. I'll be sure to make sure you know about the best ones. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Night Beat Rewind: February 2014

Welcome to March. Spring better be in the air soon. The Polar Vortex should put the deep freeze on any of the Global Warming nuts. Just bury them in the snow drifts. With the groundhog, who's probably on the lam in Aruba.

With this edition of Rewind we are beginning a new segment. I am adding a quick hit rating for released singles. We shall see how this helps or impacts the picking of song awards. There were three songs released in February.

Single Songs

• Forever (Live) , Kari Jobe 4.50 Emeralds
• Splendour , Quiet Science 4.50 Emeralds
• Tonight , KJ-52 4.50 Emeralds
• You Won't Let Go , Michael W. Smith 4.50 Emeralds

For purposes of this post, we shall say this is a very good song, and should go into the song pool. On to the album ratings. As always, we begin with the albums which will not get an award because they failed to make the pool. These are they which

Miss The Mark

• Ellie Holcomb - As Sure as the Sun 3.75 Emeralds
• Kutless - Glory 3.75 Emeralds
• Mike Mains and The Branches - Calm Down, Everything Is Fine 3.75 Emeralds
• Rapture Ruckus - Invader Volume I 3.75 Emeralds
• Various Artists - Son Of God Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [+digital booklet] 3.75 Emeralds
• Various Artists - WOW Gospel 2014 3.75 Emeralds

A few words about this list. Kutless and Wow Gospel, though in different genres, suffered from the same malady. Simply put, they sounded flat, as if it was mailed in. Rapture Ruckus started out good, but repeated listenings wore me out. Simply put, there were only seven songs and the first and last were the same (the final cut a remix of the opener), so eventually you didn't know if you were ending or beginning. My biggest disappointment, however is reserved for Son of God. This was no Music Inspired by The Story. Even a good orchestra couldn't save it.


We move on to the perfect, the 

Pure Platinum

• Canton Jones - Lust, Drugs & Gospel 5 Emeralds
• Sumerlin - Runaways 5 Emeralds

There really isn't much to say about these except Wow. I reviewed Runaways in full. Canton Jones is a mixtape, and I love the way he can move seamlessly between Rap, Hip Hop, Gospel and some smooth R & B.

Most of the releases, however, are neither perfect nor horribly flawed, they are simply what we call 

Semi-Precious Metal

• Anthem Lights - You Have My Heart 4.75 Emeralds
• Dave Barnes - Love Songs EP 4.50 Emeralds
• Carrollton - Breathe In Deep EP 4.50 Emeralds
• City Harbor - City Harbor 4.75 Emeralds
• Deraj - Mirrors & Medicine EP 4.50 Emeralds
• James Fortune and FIYA  - Live Through It 4.75 Emeralds
• Jars of Clay - Jars 20 Stage It: Debut Album 4.50 Emeralds
• Loftland - I Don't Want To Dance 4.50 Emeralds
• The Love Amendment - The Love Amendment EP 4.50 Emeralds
• For Today - Fight the Silence 4.50 Emeralds
• Veridia - Inseparable EP 4.75 Emeralds

Of the list above I was most impressed with Veridia. For a debut. Wow. It could have been perfect with a few more songs. Plus, you've got to make the young ones suffer a bit. Until next time, think warm. I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Heat Advisory: The 2013 Fourth Quarter - Alternative

Alternative Rock is next. This genre is tied with Pop this quarter for second place with 11 entries. Modern Worship took the title with 16.

There was one perfect album in the mix this time around. Cloverton was just about the definition of what Alternative should be. All that was lacking was a photo and a dictionary. Coincidentally, of course, they are first on the list.

Alternative Music

• Cloverton - Patterns
• Crave - Crave
• The Digital Age - Evening Morning
• Falling Up - Hours
• Falling Up - Midnight on Earthship
• Gungor - I am Mountain
• Jars of Clay - Inland
• Nations - Nations
• Seabird - Troubled Days 
• Search The City - Flight
• Derek Webb - I was wrong, I'm Sorry, and I Love You.

I loved Gungor this time. Not perfect, mind you, but really loved. I say that because a lot of reviews criticize it for being too "new age" and "Not a Worship Album". Of course, for someone who loves New Age Music (yoo-hoo Mannheim Steamroller), I said, "you say it like it's a bad thing."

A few more to go. To all the entrants of the Great WENC Night Beat 3rd Birthday Giveaway, thank you. If you were a winner, your prize was shipped. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Night Beat Rewind: August 2013

One month to go. Labour Day (I've decided to go with the Canadian spelling) marks not only the unofficial end of Summer and (formerly) the beginning of school, but it also marks the final month of eligibility in the 4th Platinum Vinyl Awards.

First, though, we must put August to bed. As we always do, we begin with those entries that

Missed The Mark

• Fuzed Worship - By Your Blood EP 3.75 Emeralds
• Mercy Me - The Worship Sessions 3.75 Emeralds
• Amanda Noelle - Beautiful Name 3.75 Emeralds
• The Ongoing Concept - Saloon 3.50 Emeralds
• Soulfire Revolution - Revival 3.75 Emeralds
• Various Artists - Lead me to the Cross: Today's Biggest Praise Songs 3.75 Emeralds

The biggest surprise here for me is Mercy Me. I became a fan when I first heard "I can only imagine". It's tough being a trend setter, and nothing recent from them stirs me like that song. Even so, to not have it wind up in the initial pool is shock enough. Two entries struck gold, or more accurately

Pure Platinum

• Audrey Assad - Fortunate Fall 5 Emeralds
• The Civil Wars - The Civil Wars [+digital booklet] 5 Emeralds

Double A has been on my radar from her debut. On her third album she strayed a bit from her pop comfort zone and went perfect. I think this album will wind up in multiple categories, as it is either AC/Inspirational or Modern Worship. The Civil Wars? Beside the fact that they have managed to strike double platinum (Barton Hollow was a Perfect 5 as well), you can also land a copy of your own by entering the Great WENC Night Beat 3rd Birthday Giveaway. Most albums fall somewhere in the middle and are classified as 

Semi-Precious Metal

• The Ambassador - Hors D'oeuvres 4.50 Emeralds
• Bridgecity - BridgeCity 4.75 Emeralds
• Seth Condrey - Keeps on Changing 4.50 Emeralds
• Cornerstone Sanctuary Choir - Glorify 4.75 Emeralds
• Crave - Crave 4.50 Emeralds
• Decyfer Down - Scarecrow 4.75 Emeralds
• The Digital Age - Evening Morning 4.75 Emeralds
• Jars of Clay - Inland 4.75 Emeralds
• Love and Death - Between Here and Lost 4.75 Emeralds
• Love and The Outcome - Love and The Outcome 4.50 Emeralds
• Mandisa - Overcomer 4.50 Emeralds
• Nations - Nations 4.75 Emeralds
• New Life Worship - Strong God 4.50 Emeralds
• Norma Jean - Wrongdoers 4.75 Emeralds
• One: A Worship Collective - We Believe Live 4.50 Emeralds
• 1 Girl Nation - 1 Girl Nation 4.50 Emeralds
• Stellar Kart - All In 4.50 Emeralds
• Tammy Trent - Sunny Days 4.75 Emeralds
• Tye Tribbet - Greater Than 4.50 Emeralds
• Tricia - Radiate 4.75 Emeralds
• Christa Wells - Feed Your Soul 4.75 Emeralds
• Matthew West - Into the Light: Life Stories and Live Songs 4.50 Emeralds

A bit of a Caveat. Bridgecity and Love and Death seem to be re-releases of a sort. Both originally were rated in our January 2013 Rewind. It seems to be a greater release. Matthew West is a double dip. It closed out the 3rd PVA and is repackaged with a DVD. I'll keep updating the links as we go along, but I think the big ones are good enough for now. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply

The Greatest Christian Albums Ever?, Part Eight

The Greatest Christian Albums Ever. That surely is a mouthful. Over the past seven posts we have looked at CCM Magazine's attempt back in 2001 to attempt to create a list that would accomplish that grand aim. On the whole I think they did a good job, but, ten years later, I think it is time that we tried again.

The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music, 2001

• 30 - Heart in Motion, Amy Grant, A&M/Myrrh, 1991
• 29 - Dry Bones Dance, Mark Heard, Fingerprint, 1990
• 28 - Humans, Bruce Cockburn, True North/Columbia, 1980
• 27 - Big Town, Ashley Cleveland, Atlantic, 1991
• 26 - Secret of Time, Charlie Peacock, Sparrow, 1990
• 25 - Orphans of God, Various Artists, Fingerprint, 1996
• 24 - This is Another Day, Andrae Crouch & The Disciples, Light, 1976
• 23 - Love Song, Love Song, Good News, 1972
• 22 - Jars of Clay (aka Frail), Jars of Clay, Essential, 1995
• 21 - The Big Picture, Michael W. Smith, Reunion, 1986

A good selection this time around, though I have a small gripe with Number 22, (more on that later). Amazon pulled a no-go on Ashley Cleveland and Love Song. Cleveland's link directs to Google Shopping.


Love Song was one of the first Christian Rock bands out there, preceding Petra by just a couple of years. They grew out of Calvary Chapel's Jesus Music era of the Late 1960's and Early 70's, which grew into the CCM industry we now have. Founding Member Chuck Girard, who went on to a moderately successful solo career in the Late 70's and Early 80's, has a link to a bit more modern CCM in that he is the father of Alisa Childers, one of the members of the Christian Dance Outfit Zoegirl.

Jars of Clay. Maybe they are not the most successful Christian Band out there, but they certainly are the most well known. When their debut came out on Essential Records back in 1995, it created quite the Buzz in Christian Circles, for all the right reasons. To put it quite simply, "these guys were good." It was a kind of Folk-Rock that had not been heard before, and presaged great things for the band. Though the Band got more polished as time went on and they hit a few road bumps along the way (personally, I feel that If I Left The Zoo is an album that should have been left unmade. Whenever a producer throws out all your songs and substitutes his own, you should fire the producer. But that's just me. They righted themselves with The Eleventh Hour and really hit their stride with The Long Fall Back to Earth. Their latest release Jars of Clay Presents: The Shelter (aka Shelter Project) is a Folk-Rock masterpiece that should remind listeners of everything that caused them to fall in love with Jars in the first place. This is where you belong.

Two posts remain, and then we begin the task of a new list for a new millennium. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Related Posts:

• The Greatest Christian Albums Ever?
• The Greatest Christian Albums Ever?, Part Two
• The Greatest Christian Albums Ever?, Part Three
• The Greatest Christian Albums Ever?, Part Four
• The Greatest Christian Albums Ever?, Part Five
• The Greatest Christian Albums Ever?, Part Six
• The Greatest Christian Albums Ever?, Part Seven
• The Greatest Christian Albums Ever?, Part Nine
• The 10 Greatest Christian Albums Ever?

The Winter Melodies: Platinum Vinyl Awards 1rst Quarter- Rock

Despite the onslaught of Christmas Music this Quarter, the Rock Genre had quite a few entries, though most were in October and November.  Without further ado, the nominees for Rock for the Second Annual Platinum Vinyl Awards

• Move by Third Day
• Stars, Guitars and Megaphone Dreams by Yancy
• Revolution of Mind by John Elefante and Mastodon
• American Dream by Rocky Loves Emily (D) 
• Remember to Live by Flyleaf
• Friendly EP by Queen's Club
• The Transition EP by Philmont

(D): Indicates either a Debut Release, a Major Label Debut or in rare cases, when they gained significant public attention.  Qualify for Best New Artist Award.

I can already hear the Critics whining "Where's Jars of Clay?" No, I didn't forget them. See my earlier post on Pop, Folk, and Techno.  The Shelter is not a Rock album.  Most of the tracks are undeniably Folk or Folk Rock. Sorry to all those looking for a Jars vs Third Day Showdown. Not going to happen here.

Still to come, entries for Hard Rock, Modern Worship, Alternative and Hip Hop.  All here on The Night Beat, your exclusive home of the Platinum Vinyl Awards

Lift Up Your Face.....And Move

Very rarely is an album the subject of heated debate before it even hits the shelves, but such is the case in the era of live streaming and iTunes and Amazon downloads. One such question has recently popped up in music forums, which is better Jars of Clay The Shelter or Third Day Move. I will answer the question definitively by saying: WRONG QUESTION. No, I am not evading the question, merely refocusing it. Third Day and Jars of Clay are two entirely different kinds of bands. It's kind of like saying which is better Katy Perry or Sandi Patty. More appropriately there would be two similar questions, which I will pose here. Question 1-Which is better The Shelter or Raising Up The Dead by Caedmon's Call. Question 2-Which is better Move or Horseshoes and Handgrenades by Disciple.  Those in the first category fall in the Folk Rock category and in the second the Hard Rock category, though Disciple is somewhat harder than Third Day, both seem to fit nicely into the Southern Rock/70's Rock mold. My answers? For Question 1- Hands Down The Shelter, though with the caveat that I have not heard the entire Caedmon's Call album. The answer for Question 2? Let's just say that the Platinum Vinyl Awards for Rock is getting quite interesting. The answer will be revealed soon.

Gimme Shelter

Jars of Clay Presents The Shelter, the eleventh studio release by Grammy award winning folk-rock band Jars of Clay, is a return to the raw sound of frail, or as some call it, their Self Titled debut, which released way back in 1995, that initially drew many fans with its unique sound.  If it were not already called The Shelter it could have been named Jars of Clay and Friends, due to its abundance of guest vocalists and musicians.

1. Small Rebellions (feat. Brandon Heath)
2. Call My Name (feat. Thad Cockrell, Audrey Assad)
3. We Will Follow (feat. Gungor)
4. Eyes Wide Open (feat. Mac Powell, Derek Webb, and Burlap to Cashmere)
5. Shelter (feat. Toby Mac, Audrey Assad, Brandon Heath)
6. Out of My Hands (feat. Mike Donehey, Leigh Nash)
7. No Greater Love
8. Run in the Night (feat. Thad Cockrell) 
9. Lay it Down (feat. David Crowder, Dawn Richardson)
10. Love will find us (feat. Sara Groves, Matt Maher)
11. Benediction (feat. Amy Grant)

No, I didn't make a mistake. Remarkably, No Greater Love is the only classic Jars of Clay song on the CD.  That's neither good or bad. It simply is. Someone already wrote that part of the fun with albums of this kind is to see if you can pick out the guests. I think I did fairly poorly in this regard, because I only could pick out the more obvious ones (Mac Powell's accent is obvious, a don't blink or you'll miss it Toby Mac, Leigh Nash's high pitched vocals, and the guitar work of Burlap to Cashmere). Some of it was because I am not familiar with the artist (Thad Cockrell, Dawn Richardson, Matt Maher, Audrey Assad), but for the most part it was due to the fact that their parts were not distinct other than in the case of Assad, Groves, Richardson and Grant, you knew it was a female voice. Note: After the original post, I discovered that Dawn Richardson is the maiden name of Dawn Michele, the lead vocalist of Fireflight. I sincerely regret the error or the fact I didn't recognize her voice.

This is a unique sort of album, and it's hard to play favorites with the tracks. I have come to enjoy a 4 song grouping though, tracks 4-7.  I guess it's because I like Mac's voice. Shelter seems like it was designed for a church choir, and I guess I've missed Sixpence NTR recently.  And Jars, well, they're Jars, what's not to like?

I'm giving The Shelter 4.5 Emeralds, and it will certainly make the Fall 2010/1st Quarter Platinum Vinyl Awards nominations for 2011. A great album.