A Night Beat Video Post: Switchfoot Live in New York

I would like to give credit to my good friends at Jesusfreakhideout for these videos, and for keeping the embed codes available.

Switchfoot releases Vice Verses on September 27, and in promotion for the upcoming album they appeared in concert in New York City on Fox and Friends on the Fox News Channel. The video is pretty good, but only Dark Horses is done in its entirety. I've put the video below.

They also did an interview, and I've but the video for that below as well.

As always, I invite your comments, and I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Downhere is Living The Dream

A few days ago I hurried of a quick post alerting my readers to a free full album listening party for Downhere's latest release On the Altar of Love. A lot of my readers may be unfamiliar with this band. First of all, their Canadian. They are not a new band, starting back in 1999, and in that time they have put out ten albums. If you catch them on tour it must be a rarity because I think they must live in the studio.

Anyway, I came to a more than a casual knowledge of the Band back in 2009, of at all times Christmas. Most people don't usually think of a Christmas Album as being a resume builder, but How Many Kings is probably responsible for the great majority of us here in the States knowing about the band, and it we learned about the non-holiday stuff afterward.

Last Summer a few fortunate folks, your favorite blogger included, got to see Downhere (sort of) Live in Canada. Billy Graham Ministries held an event called Rock The River, and those who knew about it (From the U.S.A.) were able to watch it Live on the Web for free. This year it seems to be in Fort Smith, AR. This show will be for the Rocker, with P.O.D. and Children 18:3 among the acts. No word yet on a web stream.

On to the album. The Album's opening track, Only The Beginning, which is an encouragement for the newly saved, could also be a metaphor for the fortunes of the band. The album is more orchestrated and string laden than the typical Downhere album, but from my perspective this is a good thing. If you've been reading The Night Beat for any length of time, you know that I am a sucker for strings and synthesizers. Christian Music needs more of both.

The album consists of soaring anthems with lots of strings. If you were looking for some rock songs like "My Last Amen", which Martel has been known to describe as "A Happy Little Song About Death", you will be disappointed. This album really builds on How Many Kings. If I have any complaints about this album, it is that Martel's voice (and in a self-deprecating manner he says he sounds like a girl) gets drowned out in a lot of songs. This is a production problem and not related to the songs. Anybody's microphone can be adjusted to insure they can be heard  above the music. The Banjo picking on Seek is pretty good.

Despite the minor mix problem, I am giving On The Altar of Love a final score of 4.5 Emeralds. This should bring in a load of new fans, and still manage to keep the old ones satisfied. Don't let the cover photo scare you away. Downhere may say thank you For The Heartbreak, but even they know that they are Living The Dream.

Night Beat Bonus: Not every album can impress here at The Night Beat, and that's a good thing. If every album impressed me, the Platinum Vinyl Awards would be a joke (my Critics think they still are). Aaron Shust This is What we Believe releases tomorrow, and has been the subject of a Listening Party since last Tuesday at New Release Tuesday. It's a praise and worship album, and to a degree so is On The Altar of Love (reviewed above), but it just has that sameness feel. Good but Not Good enough gets it a rating of 3.75 Emeralds. No Platinum Vinyl Award for Aaron this year.

You get a two-fer this time around. Soon I will make an announcement regarding the second Platinum Vinyl Awards. As a teaser, let's just say I am considering expanding the judging pool. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Chicks Who Rock

Yeah, Yeah, So I'm not P.C. The fact is that some of the best music out there in CCM comes from Female Fronted bands. Get used to it guy's, you've lost the war.

Make A Move and "Hire" this Band

We'll Start with Ariel, lead singer for Icon For Hire. I haven't seen a singer pull off pink hair since the Days of the Benjamin Gate. (We Miss You Adrienne). Here they are in their official music video for Make A Move

Ashes Can Be Beautiful

Moving on from Icon For Hire, we will go with a few more established acts. If your tastes are a little harder than your standard rock fare, might I suggest Eowyn. She's been getting better with each album, and now, with Beautiful Ashes, she has gone into full scale Evanescence mode. While Eowyn is firmly in the Kingdom, Beautiful Ashes is her Fallen. I see great things coming for her. Anyway, here is the video for Beautiful Ashes

Wait No More

Well I started with a Redhead, and Went to a raven-haired beauty, so I'll finish with a blonde. And who better to end with than Dawn Michelle, the lead singer of the Platinum Vinyl Award Winning Fireflight. We conclude todays post with the Video for the title track For Those Who Wait

This has been a different kind of post. I am still trying things out here at the night beat. I hope you enjoyed some hard rocking tunes, and a bit of eye candy as well. Until next time. I am Awaiting Your Reply

A Real Kids "Swing Set"

Every so often a CD comes across the attention of The Night Beat and the Platinum Vinyl Awards that completely takes over a category, or demands that a category be created for it. So Far this year I had to do that for Jackie Evancho, as I couldn't really figure out where to put such a excellent album.

I have no such problems this time, as the album is marketed as a Kids album. But it really is an album for parents that kids will love as well, or vice versa. The Album is Entitled
Groovy, and if you click on the title, you will be taken to the Denver & The Mile High Orchestra page at Hearitfirst.com, where this week you can get a full album preview. Due to a particular quirk at the Hearitfirst site, you will probably have to click each song to play it, but they will have a complete song this week, and not a 30 second clip. After this week it depends on how quick they switch to the clips.

Let's Quickly go over the track listing

1. I Am a Promise
2. Movin to The Beat
3. Groovy
4. All of My Heart
5. Man Gave Names to All The Animals
6. Sunday School Swing
7. Groovy ABC's
8. Brand New Day
9. Prayin' Man
10. Get Down

Let me say this up front. This is not your typical Kids album. I mean this is my third time straight thru, and it is getting better every time. The typical Children's Music album, even the best of them, all of them feel, let's say "Dumbed Down" or Childish. Not this one. Founder Denver Bierman refuses to put out an album not up to Big Band/Swing Standards. Big Trombones, Saxophones, Trumpets will have you and your kids dancing. There is even a Bob Dylan Cover here (Man Gave Names To All The Animals), which coincidentally, he does along with guests Go Fish, which won the Children's Music Category of the Inaugural Platinum Vinyl Awards with Kickin it old school. The band obviously had fun making this album, and they show it, especially on tracks like Sunday School Swing, which is a medley containing a bunch of classics like Yes Jesus Loves Me, The B.I.B.L.E, that's the book for me, Joshua Fought The Battle of Jericho, He's got the whole world in his hands, and This Little Light of Mine. If you've got kids just learning their ABC's a listen to Groovy A,B,C's should be just the thing to have it stick.

This marks a new record for The Night Beat, the first Children's Music Album rated 5 Emeralds. This album is the front runner at the PVA's this year. I invite you to listen, come back and tell me what you think, and hopefully come back and support the Night Beat by buying through my links at Amazon. Oh, and maybe invest in a Felt Fedora. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

On the Altar of Love

Canadian Alternative/Modern Worship Artists Downhere are back. Their latest release is titled On The Altar Of Love. I'm loving it right now at a JesusfreakHideout.com Listening Party! It should be up for a while so you will be getting a full review in the future, but for right now enjoy.

Re: Creation

Steven Curtis Chapman is a household name in CCM, having released his debut, First Hand, back in 1987, when your favorite blogger was a DJ. I confess that I was not very knowledgeable of his stuff then or now. In fairness it is kind of mild. No I was more into Heavy Metal at the time, along with the usual Rock staples (D&K, Petra, Servant, Steve Taylor).

I probably heard his music on and off over the years, but I never really heard an album through from beginning to end until, while working Promotions for Sparrow Records at the Inside Out Soulfest (now simply Soulfest) at Loon Mountain in 2000, as part of the perks of the Job, I received a copy of Speechless (1999). Now a lot of people came into Chapman's orbit at that time, seeing that the Album went Platinum (1,150,000 Copies Sold). Now That's Good for Christian Standards, but it's no Fallen (7x Platinum U.S./17x Platinum Worldwide) or Satellite (3x Platinum).

Re:Creation is a hybrid release. Of the fourteen cuts on the album (not exactly unheard of on a Best-Of Release or even a studio album. For someone with his body of work, it could be somewhat short), eight are modern Re:creations. I'm kind of mixed on them. Some of them are best described as acoustic versions, and if the original was rocking, sometimes I think they fall flat. I'm more impressed with the new music, including one song recorded with his son Caleb.

I don't like giving preliminary ratings this far down, but that is what I am going to do here. I am giving Re:Creation 4 Emeralds. PVA Status is yet to be determined. I would like your help on this one readers. Normally 4 Emeralds guarantees PVA entry, but I am always torn with Best Of releases. It always feels like cheating.

Tomorrow, Destiny by Beckah Shae comes out, and you must get the album. I am also anticipating a winner with the Debut release of V.Rose, also out tomorrow. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply

Put Your (Platinum) Love Glasses On

Every so often an artist comes along who manages to take the Christian Music Listening fans by storm while making barely a raised eyebrow of interest in the industry at large. In recent history I can think of three.

• Tiffany Arbuckle Lee (aka Plumb) - From her beginnings as frontwoman for a band by the name of Plumb in 1997 to her solo career since, the Queen of Christian Dance Music has done so without much hoopla or support from the industry at large. Probably why she now records on Curb.
• Charmaine - She started out as backup singer for Rebecca St. James, and released her solo debut All about Jesus back in 2002, and then disappeared. Love Reality came out last year with the pop dance Tokyo as radio single. The pop song was deceptive with regards to the entire album, which was mostly a heavy techno dance album. And awesome. The work was not rewarded by the industry at large at the awards shows, but it was here. While the album itself did not win a Platinum Vinyl Award, the range of vocals on the album was enough to garner Charmaine Female Vocalist of the Year for 2010, the inaugural award year. Which brings us to:

Unlike Charmaine, Beckah Shae is no novice. This is her fifth release since appearing on the scene in 2006 with Butterfly (2006). The Night Beat came up to speed with Life, which came out last year and sported the single I Choose. There was also 2008's Joy and Last Year's Christmas release Emmanuel.

Give Us Good Music

Destiny kicks off with the only non-dance track on the album, the spacey R&B/Gospel track Are You Ready. It has a simple Piano opening with drum accompaniment and Beckah (as Jesus) utters the haunting chorus Does anybody hear me, does anybody see? Is there anybody willing to follow me? And is anybody thirsty? Anyone hungry. Is anybody dying, is anyone ready?

Cue the lights and mirror ball, because it's time to dance. "Come on Give us Music" is the motto of this album. Last years Dance winner was Outta Space Love by Dance/Hip-Hop Trio Group 1 Crew. This album takes the energy of that CD and cranks it up to stratospheric heights. Even the song Holy, which would be classified as worship, is heavy techno dance. David would be proud, Michal would hate it. (Ask yourself: How would David dance? He would love Snythesizers). The album is centered around the Book of Esther from the Cover Photo to the songs For Such a Time as This and Destiny. We even step into a bit of Reggae with Show Me. Even though it is an excellent song on its own, the single #putyourloveglasseson is just one of many excellent songs. They could have picked any of them.

More Precious Than Gold

The penultimate song on the CD says that we are "Going through the fire, Coming out Gold." Beckah shouldn't sell herself short. I think it's coming out Platinum. I am giving this album the coveted 5 Emerald Rating. I don't hand these out like candy. Plus this is an indie release, on the artist/producer created Shaeshoc Records.

This is a must have in your collection, especially if you like to dance. It is the front-runner in the Dance category, to say the least. Is it, to quote DeGarmo & Key, Destined to Win? We shall see. Until then I am Awaiting Your Reply