Polar Vortex Polka: The 2014 2nd Quarter - Metal Rap

We have reached the end of the multiple genre posts. From here on it is one genre a post. Heavy Metal and Rap Music had 3 and 4 entries respectively. Without further delay.

Hard Rock/Heavy Metal

• Demon Hunter - Extremist
• For Today - Fight The Silence
• The Overseer - Rest and Let Go

I know I'm going against the tide on Demon Hunter. A lot of people dislike that they have gone almost all ballad on this release. To me, however, it is artistic perfection.

Hip Hop/Rap

• Deraj - Mirrors and Medicine EP
• KB - 100 EP
• Andy Mineo - Neverland EP
• Shonlock - A Night To Remember

Next up in our quarterly  wrap up is Adult Contemporary. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

 

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. 

 

 

Music Video Monday: Surrender

Music Video Monday now turns to Hip Hop. Though the song category was full, the Official Music Video area is kind of light. Still, I prefer to look at the glass as half-full.

First up is the title cut from the latest release by Da T.R.U.T.H. The Whole Truth
A definite smooth R&B feel to that one. I think it's really nice. It's definitely something that can be appreciated even by people not necessarily into rap. We move on next to Shonlock. This is Hello, from his release Never Odd Or Even

We are halfway through this edition of Music Video Monday. We move on to one of the hottest rappers in CCM today, Lecrae. This is Just Like You, from Rehab



And finally, the tease is over. This is Surrender feat V. Rose from the album Capturedby Flame.

That does it for this edition of Music Video Monday. Next week we move on to Rock. Depending on how things go we may split it up into hard rock and rock for two weeks. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The Heat is On: PVA 2011 3rd Qtr Nominees - Gospel/R&B

It's amazing how fast things can go when one genre doesn't have any possible entries and four others have so few they can go into only two posts. Such will not be the case from now on. We move on to Gospel, the real kind, as opposed to that stuff called Southern Gospel (aka "The Devil's Music"), as well as its close relative Rhythm and Blues aka (R&B). The two styles combine quite effortlessly in CCM and it makes sense to combine them, even though no one would really mistake Fred Hammond (Gospel) with say Trinitee 5:7 (definitely R&B).

Gospel/R&B

There were 6 potential nominees this time around, which is encouraging, since, for all of last year, I was only to come up with eight nominees total, which I whittled down to seven (the cast off was We Fit by K-Drama). We wont have a problem like that this time around.

• The Love Album, Kim Burrell
• Keep Living, Ricky Dillard
• What if We Were Real, Mandisa
• Never Odd or Even, Shonlock
• My Heart Says Yes, Troy Sneed
• Angel & Chanelle, Trinitee 5:7

Of the six nominees, if I had to break it down, Burrell, Dillard and Sneed (I don't know why, but that sounds like a law firm) would go into Gospel and Shonlock, Mandisa and Trinitee 5:7 would be R&B. I am familiar with four of the six artists (I never heard of Ricky Dillard or Troy Sneed before this quarter), and I was the most surprised by Mandisa. Since he is a double genre nominee, all I will say is to Check out my full reviews of What if We Were Real and Never Odd or Even by clicking on their titles.

Six down, Four to go. Next up is Alternative. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The Heat is On: PVA 2011 3rd Qtr Nominees - Hard Rock and Hip Hop

We continue with the Third Quarter nominations for the 2nd Annual Platinum Vinyl Awards, continuing this time with Hip Hop and Rap and Hard Rock. Usually these two categories can be relied upon to produce quite a few entries in any given quarter. Surprisingly though, each only gave us four entries this time around.

Hip Hop & Rap

As I said above, there were only four eligible entries in Hip Hop and Rap. Not surprisingly, they were from some of the leaders in the genre.

• Live In Concert, Manafest
• Hotdoggin, Playdough
• Never odd or Even, Shonlock
• Blacklight, Tedashii

Playdough is a new one to me, but you've got to have an artist willing to name himself after a moldable clay, at least that's what I think he is naming himself for. With the Hip Hop Community, you just never know. Of the four entries this quarter I confess to be most knowledgeable about Tedashii, and I can thank the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for that. For those not in the know, the BGEA and Franklin Graham sponsored Rock The River in Canada at the end of Summer last year, and Tedashii was at 2 of the Three Events. Now You Know. As to Shonlock, read more later in the post.

Hard Rock

Another short list this time around, but, with the exception of August Burns Red, there weren't any leaders in this group.

• Leveler, August Burns Red
• Before There Was, The Chariot
• Dissimulation, Hope for the Dying
• Ark of the Covenant, Separation

This quarter I didn't get to hear any of these in their entirety with the exception of Shonlock. I did manage to get a review of Never odd or Even in. Once again I would like to thank the staff of New Release Tuesday for keeping the album preview up for Three Straight Weeks. I really do love you guys.

That finishes the first four categories. Technically we are half way done with the quarter, seeing that Folk/Folk Rock had no entries this time around. Up next is Gospel/R&B. As I say now at the end of every post, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

I'll Pick Even...And Odd

Never Odd Or Even, the the palindromic titled fifth release by Hip Hop/Rap/R&B artist Shonlock (aka Deshon Bullock) is a CD which would be just as comfortable to be heard in the home, car or the Dance Floor.

While some will criticize the ever present use of auto-tune, which is common for those bands or artists in the Dance/Techno genre, the songs on the CD swing between rock, R&B, Pop, and Dance. Having this many genres share space on a single disc, especially one that is not a multiple artist compilation, can usually come of as lacking direction (for an example of such an album, I would point out Israel Houghton Love God. Love People. I know, it won a Grammy. It was still terribly uneven in my opinion). I always welcome comments to the contrary, or, maybe you agree.

After repeated listenings, I am starting to like the ultra-smooth R&B ballads You Act Like and Cheers as well as the Title Cut . Fans of Family Force Five will love Bet Ya House. He barely restrains the rock in Scarred. Shonlock expertly moves back and forth between the various styles, creating the feel of a unified theme. It is a mark of a mature artist.

My final rating on Never Odd Or Even? I give it 4.5 Emeralds. This should stand up in the Dance Category and probably in the Gospel/R&B category as well. This CD will be among your favorites this year as well, whether played forward or backward.