The Home of the Platinum Vinyl Awards. Reviews of New CD releases, mostly CCM but also mainstream releases that may interest the Christian Music listener. Music News and Commentary, especially when there's a CCM connection.
Welcome to the first edition of Night Beat Rewind for #PlatVnyl8. Eight years. It really doesn't seem that long at all. One note. Christmas Music season is now upon us. Since that is time sensitive, I will be linking those albums for purchase. All others will be held until the quarterly wrap. Let's get started. We begin with the aforesaid Christmas Music, which is not eligible for a Platinum Vinyl Award.
Chris Howland - Savior ft Joel Vaughn 4.75 Emeralds
DJ Maj - What If ft Aaron Cole 4.50 Emeralds
Puntin - L's 4.50 Emeralds
Joel Vaughn - As You Are 4.75 Emeralds
We are loaded, so let's move right on to the albums which are left out of the pool.
Missing The Mark
Applejaxx - Bake Sale 3.75 Emeralds
Paul Baloche - Your Mercy 3.75 Emeralds
Bizzle - Crowns and Crosses 3.75 Emeralds
Poured Out - To The Point of Death 43.75 Emeralds
Seeker - Loss 3.50 Emeralds
Phil Wickham - Children of God: Acoustic Sessions 3.75 Emeralds
I liked the original Children of God album, but something was missing here. It was certainly not the same feel as his Singalong albums. I know what was missing, the singalong. Of course having six albums here makes me think this ship of state is still afloat. Never mind stay afloat, the following releases Rule The Seas.
Pure Platinum Perfection
Jonathan Cain - What God Wants To Hear5 Emeralds
The Digital Age - Galaxies 5 Emeralds
Disciple - Long Live The Rebels 5 Emeralds
Nimisilla Park - Welcome to Nimisilla Park 5 Emeralds
Ocean Calling - Quiet Magic 5 Emeralds
Rend Collective - Campfire II: Simplicity 5 Emeralds
Satellites and Sirens - Tanks 5 Emeralds
Theocracy - Ghost Ship 5 Emeralds
Jean Watson - Wonder 5 Emeralds
I really can't say much except WOW for these albums. Of course having 9 in this category would be worrisome if it were not for the 6 that missed the mark. It sort of balances itself out. Most releases are in the middle, however.
Semi-Precious Metal
About A Mile - Trust You All The Way 4.50 Emeralds
Audrey Assad - Inheritance Deluxe 4.75 Emeralds
Sho Baraka - The Narrative 4.50 Emeralds
Dez Childs - Work of Art 4.75 Emeralds
Comrades - Lone/Gray 4.75 Emeralds
The Devil Wears Prada - Transit Blues 4.75 Emeralds
Consumed By Fire - Giving Over 4.75 Emeralds
Fit For A King - Death Grip 4.75 Emeralds
Keith and Kristyn Getty - Facing A Task Unfinished 4.75 Emeralds
Maria Gilpin - Giving It AllEP 4.50 Emeralds
Philip Hamrick - Getting Stronger 4.75 Emeralds
Dead Heroes - Dead Heroes EP 4.50 Emeralds
Hillsong - Let There Be Light (Live) 4.75 Emeralds
Heesun Lee - Beauty For Ashes 4.75 Emeralds
Stephen Miller - In God We Trust 4.50 Emeralds
Derek Minor - Reflection 4.75 Emeralds
Britt Nicole - Britt Nicole 4.50 Emeralds
Matthew Parker - Adventure 4.75 Emeralds
B. Reith - Heart on my sleeve 4.75 Emeralds
Austin Stone Worship - Only Jesus 4.50 Emeralds
Tenth Avenue North - Followers 4.75 Emeralds
Chris Tomlin - Never Lose Sight 4.75 Emeralds
That does it for this first Night Beat Rewind of #PlatVnyl8. Stay with us as we cover our biggest and greatest year yet. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
Welcome back to an all new edition of Music Video Monday, where we serve up the best and the latest CCM videos we can find. We are going to begin with another video from Sho Baraka and his new release The Narrative. This is Fathers, 2004. Next up we continue with Rap, this time with Canon. Sometimes I wonder if this guy ever takes a breath. He should be called machine gun. You do have to stop and reload a canon. This is Eagles from Loose Canon, Vol 3. And finally we take a break from rap, though this is an all African-American version of Music Video Monday. This is VaShawn Mitchell from Secret Place: Live In South Africa, this is Joy. That does it for this edition of Music Video Monday. See you next time. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
The final post of the 2016 4th Quarter Wrap is here. To no ones surprise the big winner for the quarter is Modern Worship, as it is for most quarters. Nineteen entrants is enough for around three years if they all made the finals. Let's get to it.
That does it for the 4th Quarter Roundup. The 1rst Quarter of 2017 Begins. #PlatVnyl8 beckons, and it appears to foretell a Monster Year. Stay with me as we enter it. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
The final of our ties is Rock, which provided a full complement of Seven Entries. If you've been keeping track you know who won the quarter, and you also aren't surprised in the least. You'd be surprised if they didn't win. Let's get right to it.
That does it for rock. And The Winner for the 4th Quarter of 2016 is (big drum roll): Modern Worship with 19 entrants into the pool. That's a lot for one quarter. Until next time, when we finish, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
And now, for the moment you've all been waiting for. The final of our Dove Wrap posts. There really isn't much to write about here. Only 3 awards coincide, so this will be short. When last we met we were covering the Song Predictions and their results. At that time we had gone through 10 Awards ( I did not make a pick for every category) and had gotten 4 correct. In baseball terms .400 is Holy Grail territory. Woo-Hoo. Let's see if I can keep it up. New Artist of The Year is the first one out of the gate. I looked at the available choices (Hollyn, Jordan Feliz, Stars Go Dim, Travis Greene, and We Are Messengers) and listened to all the available products. I went with Hollyn, and the Doves went with Jordan Feliz. We are not off to a good start. (Score 4/11)
Artist of The Year is next, which usually goes to more established artists, which makes Lauren Daigle's inclusion in this list a bit of a head scratcher. But, if you are willing to look only at quality and not age or "paying ones dues", there is no question who rises to the top of this milk bottle. The Doves and I agree on Daigle. A rare meeting of the minds. (Score 5/12).
Finally, we arrive at Song of The Year. While not having a ridiculous number anymore, it has a healthy 10 entrants, which may be what winds up at a Platinum Vinyl Awards, try as we do to get down to 7. I'm not going to list them all here. Suffice it to say that when I looked at the list I felt that the cream of the crop was First by Lauren Daigle. The Dove went with Good, Good, Father by Chris Tomlin. Now I like the song, but thought Zealand Worship did a much better job at it. Final score 5/13 .385
I'm happy with that. Hey, it's not Ted Williams, but I think it will definitely win me the Batting Title. That does it for the Doves. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
Of course by Monster I mean totally Awesome. This is a Christian Music Blog after all. Now that the month has wrapped, I guess it is quite appropriate that I have handed out Perfect 5's like candy. 10 of them were handed out this month. I believe that is a record, though all of them deserved it. I guess that just tells you the quality of the work that is out there. No complaints about the current state of CCM. You are just listening to the wrong stuff. I'll do the list alphabetically, as I don't want to give any hint as to order.
Jonathan Cain - What God Wants to Hear - The Journey of A Thousand Miles, sorry. What can you say when the former Journey Frontman gets saved. As a Word of Faith person will I be hearing "Don't Stop Believing" at the SWBC next year? This was a big surprise and I loved it.
Lauren Daigle - Behold: A Christmas Collection - CCM's latest fave, and deservedly so, gets to showcase her pipes on a Holiday Collection that exudes Sultry Jazz. What's not to love.
The Digital Age - Galaxies - The former band of David Crowder returns with an electronic worship experience like no other, and mixed with a bit of Armstrong, Neil Armstrong among the songs.
Disciple - Long Live The Rebels - The Southern Rockers return. Kevin Young and company come out with their loudest yet.
Nimisilla Park - Welcome to Nimisilla Park - very rarely will I hand out a 5 for an EP. My standard practice is to deduct a quarter of a point for length. An excellent mixture of Rap, Driving Rock, and Gospel Music made me change my mind.
Ocean Calling - Quiet Magic. The Debut of Sophie Wilkie of Los Angeles, California by Way of Great Britain (hey, I detect the accent) is a blend of Synthpop, Trance, and ethereal vocals. My second favorite Trance artist since Salt of the Sound.
Rend Collective - Campfire II: Simplicity - Our Northern Ireland worship band goes back to the basics, and mines platinum. The past release seemed normal, and that is a bad thing for this slightly unhinged band that reminds me of Caedmon's Call in that they will attempt to play just about anything (xylophone, trash can lids, etc). Stick to what works, I always say.
Satellites and Sirens - Tanks - Another excellent release by Geoff Hunker and company, which skews a bit toward pop while maintaining a good synth mix. I personally love Old Souls, but maybe I am just in a nostalgic mood.
Theocracy - Ghost Ship - Talk about excellent timing for a release. I had never heard of the band until I started doing research on The Emerald List for Heavy Metal. If Stryper ever decides to Retire (I hope not) these guys will pick up the Crown with little backlash. Excellent clean vocals, monster guitar solos, and a solid Christian Message. Who said a Theocracy was a bad thing?
Jean Watson - More ethereal vocals, though this time going operatic more than trance. Though a lot of these songs would be excellent in a Lord of The Rings movie.
There you go. 10 Pieces of ear candy. Indulge, as long as often as you want. I promise you will not get sick from over indulging. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
