#PlatVnyl3 - Album of The Year

The Album of The Year is given to the album which shone above all others. While all the winners of the Platinum Vinyl Awards contain a certain "wow factor", the Album of the Year, well, does the Big O mean anything to you? Every one of the 10 nominated albums was given a Perfect 5 Emerald Ranking.

• Arise : The Live Worship Experience, William McDowell
• Current , Sarah Macintosh
• Evanescence , Evanescence
• Feel The Power , Blessed By A Broken Heart
• Hats Off To The Bull , Chevelle
• Make It Right , Abel
• Overcome , Lara Landon
• Remembering You , Poema
• True Defiance , Demon Hunter
• Wait for the Siren , Project 86

There was no "first entry bias" as the nominees came from all 4 Quarters in a 3-2-2-3 fashion. Hard Rock had 3 nominees, Rock and Alternative each contributed 2, and Gospel, Pop and Adult Contemporary each contributed a single nominee. Also only three of the entries won their genre. These 10 would be battling to join last years inaugural winner, Barton Hollow by The Civil Wars. That's some big shoes to fill.

The first round of voting knocked out four of the contenders, and two genres. Gone was the sister act Poema and Gospel's McDowell. Hard Rock was reduced to one as both Demon Hunter and the boss's favorite, 80's Hare Metal Band Blessed by a Broken Heart. Did I ever tell you how much I love the 80's?

Destiny would not be with Demon Hunter, but it did wash over the category like a flood. A comeback album, the first release in five years. Songs that touch our darkest moments, vocals which chill spine and soul. The true Revenge of The Fallen. The Winner of This Years Platinum Vinyl Award for Album of The Year is EVANESCENCE.

#PlatVnyl3 - Video of The Year

A category having its debut this year, Video of The Year honors the Music Video, once responsible for launching two cable networks (VH1 and MTV), now it is the red headed stepchild of the industry.

Judging in this category skews heavily to the visual element. The song could be simply average, yet when combined with the video it becomes unforgettable. Of course, both parts could be equally strong. A weak video and a strong song would not be considered, however.

Due to the visual element, the nominees for the video categories were reduced from the usual seven to five.

• Black Heart Hearse, White Collar Sideshow
• Carry You, Close Your Eyes
• Poison and Wine (The Civil Wars Cover), Satellites and Sirens
• The Proof Of Your Love, For King and Country
• Timing is Everything, Lights

Each of the nominated videos is a striking visual image in itself. From the Flashdance inspired Timing is Everything where Lights proves the truism that "something red always draws the eye" to the dystopian nightmare that is "The Proof of Your Love". In retrospect, perhaps Valerie (Lights) should have drenched herself with water (a la Jennifer Beals), because the judges went with the St. James Gang instead of her (For King and Country is Joel and Luke Smallbone, brothers to Rebecca St. James). Also on to the next round was a tale of Life, Love and Death that would impress even Evanescence. Carry You by Close Your Eyes.

When the smoke cleared, however, Walt Disney carried the day. Well, Pixar at least. Satellites and Sirens made an album of cover songs and then created a music video for each of them. They were all good, some silly, and a few notable. Among the latter category was a cover of The Civil Wars Poison and Wine. They used a montage of images from Pixar's UP, and it is a real tear-jerker.

Yes, the judges wept. If you don't while watching, then perhaps you need a hearse for your black heart. Just a few more to go. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

#PlatVnyl3 - Song of The Year

Song Of The Year. The name screams "Big". You may more properly name this the Anthem of The Year, as that is the type of song that lends itself to this award. Ballads need not apply, usually. Some things are expected of the winner. It must have a certain in your face attitude. It must be an earworm song, in a good way (Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen need never apply). It must have awesome Orchestration. Strings are always welcome. Soaring Vocals Too. In a phrase, the song must be bigger than life.

Six songs made the initial pool. Five genres were represented

• Blush , Pilgrims and Prodigals, Annie Moses Band
• Fire Walk With Me, Make it Right, Abel
• Lord of Patience, The Attributes of God, Shai Linne
• Lost in Paradise, Evanescence, Evanescence
• My Heart is Broken, Evanescence, Evanescence
• Our God is Coming, Center of it All, Desperation Band

The race to succeed "Manifesto" by The City Harmonic was on.

The first round of voting reduced six songs to four. My Heart is Broken had its heart broken by being deemed the weakest of the two Evanescence nominees. Joining the ranks of the broken hearted was Lord of Patience, the rap entry.

The second round of voting took the lush pop ballad Blush by Chamber Pop group Annie Moses Band and Middle Eastern Twinged Modern Worship Song Our God is Coming out. AMB pretty much had the ballad hopes wrapped up. The final round showdown was on. In this corner, Fire Walk With Me by Abel. In the other corner Lost in Paradise by Evanescence. The former is a classic sing along song, complete with chorus "Oh, the devil wants to drag my soul, drag my soul, down to the lake of fire." The latter is much more difficult to sing along with. It is hard to disagree, however, that the girl can make pain beautiful.

And when you have 12 nominations, the odds are in your favor that you are going to win some. No one expected 11 wins (2 nominations in Song of Year, only 1 Award). But the Big ones are the ones that count. The Platinum Vinyl Award for Song of The Year goes to Evanescence for Lost in Paradise. Just a few more posts to do. Do me a big favor. Click on the Links, Download the Song. Support The Night Beat. I am Awaiting Your Reply.

#PlatVnyl3 - Female Vocalist of The Year

Though the same rules apply to the Female Vocalist as the Male Vocalist, the fact is that the shenanigans are not as present here. Usually because most of the ladies record under their own names and not under a band. That is changing though: (i.e. Amy Lee of Evanescence; Hayley Williams of Paramore, etc), so shenanigans may abound in the future.

Since there are more ladies recording under their own name, that usually means there will be a bigger nominee pool for FVY. There were, but we managed to narrow it to 7.

• Audrey Assad
• Sara Groves
• Lara Landon
• Sarah Macintosh
• Lindsay McCaul
• Moriah Peters
• Beckah Shae

Both McCaul and Peters would be classified as New Artists as well, so you can't accuse us of holding out until someone "proves themselves". We recognize talent up front.

Of course, one can't help it when the judges almost literally "fall in love" with an artist. And who can disagree anyhow? A "voice" that can carry off any style of music they choose, soar above the loudest instruments or whisper with a sultry style that best is described as "torch singer." That combination carried her above the unique Macintosh, the Powerful Peters, the powerful vocals of Assad. Their time will come. This year, however, the Female Vocalist of The Year in the Platinum Vinyl Awards goes to Lara Landon.

I have a few more wrap-up posts to go. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

#PlatVnyl3 - Male Vocalist of The Year

We try to keep things honest here at PVA Central (I know, that sounds like a home improvement store). The Male and Female Vocalists of the Year are the place where shenanigans take place, usually in the form of having a band front man (i.e. John Cooper of Skillet) nominated as a Male Vocalist. Because of things like that, our rule is that any nominated vocalist must have released an album under his own name during the year of eligibility. There were 5 nominated vocalists.

• Chris August
• Lecrae
• Andrew Peterson
• Mac Powell
• Phil Wickham

I can hear the objection as I write. "Mac Powell, he's the Lead Vocalist for Third Day". Yes, that's true. Third Day released Miracle back in November, and that will be considered for the 4th Platinum Vinyl Awards. However, way back in August Mac released a self titled album in time for these 3rd Awards.

A funny thing happened on the way to the voting. People with me from the start know I have a distaste for Country Music. Since Mac publicized his album as Country, one would think that would have knocked him out of the running. Well it didn't. Mac wisely didn't stray too far from Third Day and it was more Southern than their usual Southern Rock, but it was rock enough. Mac's got a great drawly rock voice which makes him instantly recognizable and puts him apart from the crowd. It also means that Mac Powell is the Platinum Vinyl Award winner for Male Vocalist of The Year. 

That concludes our first wrap up post. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Night Beat Rewind: June 2012

July is just getting underway and already I have completed rating the June Releases. I love it when things are going my way. It's time for the June Rewind, a quick hits column where I pick the perfect, the not so perfect, but still contending, and those that miss Platinum Vinyl Consideration. As always, we begin with those releases which

Missed The Mark

There were a few of those this month. You can't only mention those you think are worthy of a Platinum Vinyl Award and still maintain credibility. The also rans

• Altars - Conclusions 3.75 Emeralds
• Beautiful Eulogy - Satellite Kite 3.75 Emeralds
• Maria Jenkins - The Journey of A Worshipper 3.75 Emeralds
• Looking Forward - Down With The Ship EP 3.5 Emeralds

As I state in each Rewind post, these aren't necessarily bad albums (since my minimum bar is 4 Emeralds, absolutely not. These just missed being under Platinum Vinyl Consideration by a hair. Try 3 Emeralds and below for ones to avoid. Don't worry. I'll let you know about those. In the meantime, there occasionally pass our desk those releases which are

Pure Platinum

And there was one this month, sort of. I say sort of because it was a best of release, and that is sort of fudging it. You already have tons of material to sort through. You should be able to pick a 5 Emerald release from it. Especially when you, like Petra, have 5 decades of work to go through. They did limit themselves to their most memorable decade though.

• Petra - Best of the 80's 5 Emeralds

As is the case every month, most of the releases are neither perfect platinum or non-contenders. Though that is probably because I really don't want to give a bad review, the fact is that most releases are simply.

Semi-Precious Metal

• Bellarive - The Heartbeat 4.75 Emeralds
• Regina Belle Higher-  4.5 Emeralds
• Canopy Red - Wake Up 4.5 Emeralds
• Children 18:3 - On The Run 4.5 Emeralds
• The Devil Wears Prada - Dead & Alive (CD+DVD) 4.5 Emeralds
• Amy Grant - Rock of Ages: Hymns of Faith 4.25 Emeralds
• Israel & New Breed - New Season 4.75 Emeralds
• Natalie LaRue - Even Now 4.5 Emeralds
• Lovelite - In Three Persons 4.5 Emeralds
• The Overseer - We Search We Dig 4.5 Emeralds
• Page CXVI - RE: Hymns 4.75 Emeralds
• The Rocket Summer - Life Will Write The Words 4.5 Emeralds
• Various - Maranatha! Top 25 Praise Series Classics 4.25 Emeralds
• BeBe Winans - America America 4.5 Emeralds
• Write This Down - Lost Weekend 4.75 Emeralds

A few notes on this final list. Amy Grant isn't new, while it is good, it is a re-issue. The original album came out back in 2005. Israel Houghton is also a re-issue, his is from 2001. And of course BeBe Winans is a 4th of July Patriotic release. I may still stick it in in Inspirational, but it's final status is yet to be determined.

That does it for June. Hooray. Good thing things start to get quiet on the release front as the Summer months heat up. It's festival time. Get out to Cornerstone before it ends. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

On The Wings of a Dove

Treasure that title, SG fans, it's as much as you're ever going to get from The Night Beat.


The Dove Awards have been long ago handed out, the TV show is over, and we at The Night Beat missed it. Since I never made a prediction post in time I declare that no picks were wrong. I do reserve the right to comment on the GMA picks, however.


Album of The Year Awards


One of the best evidences that there is in fact a God is that Martha Munizzi was shut out of both AOY genres that she was nominated in. From my perspective, the album started out Gospel but then ran out of gas midway through and sounded like a tame modern worship project. The powers that be at the GMA nominated each half. Contemporary Gospel and Praise and Worship Album of The Year. More sensible heads prevailed and Chris Tomlin got the MW nod and the Contemporary Gospel went to Kirk Franklin. Now while the PVA's were not impressed with Mr Franklin's work this time around we'll say it was a better pick than Munizzi would have been. , and none of the other nominees made our list either. As to Tomlin I will only say that he is a PVA contender this year, so good choice bt the GMA here.


If there ever was a no brainer it was Children's Music. Denver and the Mile High Orchestra made a Children's Music Album that will have parents grooving to as well. Will they bring home an Elpy as well? Time will tell.


Finally we will comment on Rock Album. The Dove went to Switchfoot for Vice Verses. I think it was a tossup beyween them and Red, and right now I'll say Switchfoot deserved it. Tomorrow I may say Red was robbed. One thing is certain, they may both win an Elpy because they are nominated in different genres. Here's to both.


The rest of the AOY winners, with just a little comment

• Rap/ Hip Hop: Rehab: The Overdose - Lecrae (A+)
• Pop/ Contemporary: Blessings - Laura Story (B-) Would have went with Francesca or Mandisa, but that's just me.
• Rock/ Contemporary: The Reckoning - Needtobreathe (C). Would have went with Hawk Nelson here.
• Inspirational: Hope for the Broken World - Selah (B+) Really the best of the available picks, but a pretty weak field overall.
• Urban: Church on the Moon - Deitrick Haddon (A+)
• Traditional Gospel: Promises - Richard Smallwood (C) Due to the fractured Gospel listings in the Doves I didn't have any of the albums in this category nominated for a PVA.

By no way a full list of winners, I am only going with the categories which closely resemble my own. They had a country and bluegrass category. I don't. Nor do I have Southern Gospel, so I left a bunch out. They did a much better job here than last year. Things may be improving.

I will try to get both the General Field and Song of the Year done in a single post. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The Frozen Chosen: Gospel and Dance

Continuing our announcements, by genre, of the albums which qualified for the 2012 Platinum Vinyl Awards during the winter months. Moving on from Modern Worship we go to Gospel.

Gospel/R&B

• Vanessa Bell Armstrong - Timeless
• Myron Butler - Worship
• Anthony Evans - Home
• Kirk Franklin - The Essential Kirk Franklin
• Fred Hammond - God, Love and Romance
• Isaac Simpson and Divine Providence - The Process
• Various Artists - WoW Gospel 2012
• Youthful Praise - After This

Yes, this is short compared to Modern Worship, but that is normal. Still, my cutoff for a solo post is five and this makes it. As I was going over the genre's I saw that the Dance genre was a little short of entries to make a post of its own, so I decided to tack it on here. So without further ado.

Dance/Electronica

• Gateway Next - Look Up
• Rhema Soul - Red
• Tidewater - This Beautiful Life EP
• TobyMac - Dubbed & Freq'd: A Remix Project

That concludes this post of the best Gospel and Dance entries for this past quarter. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

The Frozen Chosen: Inspired Folk Children

We have reached the half-way mark for the 2012 Platinum Vinyl Awards. When you start in October, this is six months in. This was a good quarter for Modern Worship, Alternative and Rock, not so good for Children's Music or Dance.

Children's Music

• Yancy - Little Praise Party: Happy Day Every Day

Folk/Folk Rock Music

• All Sons and Daughters - Season One

This one needs a brief explanation. If you know anything about the duo, you are already saying "what about Reason to Sing, Vol 2". Yes, I know. I dropped it from contention. Before you go about whining, let me explain. Since Brokenness Aside, Volume 1 and Reason to Sing Volume 2 are part of Season One (a Combined New Release), it makes little sense to have them both. The Full Release is therefore the only one being considered.

Inspirational Music

• Calvin Jones and Teresa Scanlon - Dueling Pianos: White Water Chopped Sticks - City of Peace
• Parachute Band: Matins Vespers
• Phillips, Craig and Dean - Breathe In
• Michael W. Smith - Decades of Worship
• Various Artists - Seasons of Hope
• Various Artists - Seasons of Joy
• Various Artists - Seasons of Reflection

That gets things started. Please feel free to comment. Good choices, you think I missed one, or someone was snubbed. All comments are welcome. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

A Rose by any other name

The time for the 2nd Annual Platinum Vinyl Awards is almost here. The Album of the Year Nominations are complete. I am currently working on Song of the Year Nominations as well as the General Field. A Fourth part, The Platinum Video Awards, is being assembled as well.


All I really need is a nickname. Everybody Has one. Grammys, Emmys, Doves, etc. What should mine be? I would really like the help of my friends on Triberr for this one too, considering the negative keywords. I was thinking of a few.

• The Elpy's (as in LP, the original album). I like the sound of it and it's cute, but it has certain drawbacks, as in a certain Juvenile Pronunciation.
• The PVA's - Its simply taking the first letters to make an acronym, but I always think of PVC Pipe from time to time.
• The Gems - After all, I use an Emerald Rating instead of Stars.

That's all I have right now. Any thoughts? Use the comments below or contact me at Twitter. Use the hashmark #PVA2011. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

February New Release Preview

Due to the miracle of scheduling, i.e. that music releases happen on a Tuesday, February gives everyone a free week, since the first Tuesday of the month is the 7th. That being said I am going to take the opportunity to give a mention to releases that will be occuring this month that I am anticipating will make a mark in the PVA judging.

While most of the industry will be looking at Diamonds by Jaci Velasquez on the 7th, I will be following Horace Greeley's advice to "Go West Young Man" and casting the night beats attention to California. Modesto, California to be precise, where Worth Dying For, the youth group worship band of Ammunition Ministry. Love Riot, which came out last February. This is the "live version" of that album, and based on my initial listen, is just as good as the studio version.

Kiros, a Canadian Rock-Alternative Act, at least in my opinion, follows up its debut EP with Lay Your Weapons Down. I was impressed by these guys when they came to Massachusetts as part of the Music With a Mission tour. AOL Music says they sound like Chevelle. Since I gave Chevelle's latest Five Emeralds, I am anticipating listening to this.

A runner up in The Inaugural Platinum Vinyl Awards for Best New Artist, Audrey Assad returns with Heart on Valentine's Day, which this year falls on a Tuesday. If her sophomore release is as good as her debut, then we may be looking at the Winner in Pop in 2012.

The month closes with a bang, provided by Portland, Oregon rockers Kutless. Jon Micah Sumrall and company return with Believer, the band's first release in three years (2009 Worship Project It is Well) and the first non-worship project since To Know that You're Alive in 2008. Though delays can be announced at any time prior to the official release, for the time being this is a great way to end a month.

There are a lot more releases this month, I've just picked a few highlights. Rest assured your intrepid blogger will be tracking them all. Until next time I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Night Beat Rewind: January 2012

This has got to be some kind of record. Here it is only the first week of February and the January tunes are done. Plus I have just finished the First Quarter Platinum Vinyl Awards announcements. Now that that is done, it is time for the January 2012 edition of Night Beat Rewind.

For the newcomer, let me explain. Having only limited resources at present for obtaining full album streams of new releases, the great majority of the new releases are quick-hits from Amazon samples. At the end of each month I compile all the releases, both those I have been able to fully review and those I have not, and put them into a "Rewind" column where I give a rating to each. Without further ado, the January Rewind.

Off Target

• Andrew Greer - Angel Band: The Hymn Sessions 2.25 Emeralds
• Theory Hazit - Thr3e 3.75 Emeralds
• Various Artists - Anchors of Faith, 100 Hymns 3.5 Emeralds

My opinion on these releases? For the most part they are OK. For the most part. Note the first one on the list. My advice - Avoid it. I take no responsibility if you buy it and then say "my ears, my ears". You have been warned.

Purest Platinum

• Blessed By A Broken Heart - Feel The Power 5 Emeralds
• David Crowder Band - Give Us Rest (A Requiem Mass in C) [The Happiest of All Keys] 5 Emeralds

The Polar Opposite. These are the Perfect albums, at least as defined by The Night Beat. Anytime we can get over one in a month is a very good month. Most of the releases, however, fall short of perfection.

Semi-Precious Metal

• All Sons and Daughters - Reason To Sing EP 4.5 Emeralds
• Anthem Lights - The Acoustic Sessions 4.5 Emeralds
• Jon Bauer - Forevermore 4.5 Emeralds
• Bethel Music - The Loft Sessions 4 Emeralds
• Myron Butler - Worship 4.5 Emeralds
• Rachel Chan - Go 4 Emeralds
• Kirk Franklin - The Essential Kirk Franklin 4.75 Emeralds
• Scotty G - Real Life 4.5 Emeralds
• Group 1 Crew - Outta Space Love: Bigger Love Edition 4.75 Emeralds
• Fred Hammond - God, Love and Romance 4.75 Emeralds
• High Society Collective - Circa MMXI: The Collective 4.25 Emeralds
• Kari Jobe - Where I Found You  4.5 Emeralds
• Calvin Jones & Teresa Scanlon - Dueling Pianos: White Water Chopped Sticks - City of Peace 4.75 Emeralds
• Lindsay McCaul - If it Leads Me Back 4.5 Emeralds
• One Sonic Society - Forever Reign 4.5 Emeralds
• Parachute Band - Matins: Vespers 4.5 Emeralds
• Pioneer - Pioneer 4.5 Emeralds
• Rapzilla - King Kulture 4.5 Emeralds
• Rend Collective Experiment - Homemade Worship by Handmade People 4.75 Emeralds
• Sanctuary - Reveal 4.75 Emeralds
• Michael W. Smith - Decades of Worship 4.5 Emeralds
• Starfield - The Kingdom 4.75 Emeralds
• Tidewater - This Beautiful Life EP 4.25 Emeralds
• Various Artists - Seasons of Hope 4.5 Emeralds
• Various Artists - Seasons of Joy 4.5 Emeralds
• Various Artists - Seasons of Reflection 4.5 Emeralds
• Various Artists - WoW Gospel 2012 4.5 Emeralds
• Worship Central - Spirit Break Out 4.5 Emeralds
• Yancy - Little Praise Party: Happy Day Everyday 4.75 Emeralds

That ends the first edition of Rewind for 2012. Check out the new releases, and enjoy. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Siberian Summer: 2012 PVA 1st Qtr - Rock

The Final Six. The Rock Genre is always last, and this time, it is also among the elite, as three Perfect 5's are among those six entries.

First up is Thousand Foot Krutch. Welcome to The Masquerade, in addition to being TFK's best album to date, is probably one of the best marketed franchises in Rock. The "Masquerade" Franchise contains three CD's, The Original Welcome to the Masquerade, the Live CD/DVD combo Live at The Masquerade, and their Deluxe CD which is entitled the Fan Edition.

Trevor and company seem to put out consistently superior product. While any fan edition is essentially a best of product, sometimes a bands idea of best of and a fans are polar opposites. In this case, I don't think anyone can disagree that TFK has put their best amplifier forward. The 16 Songs are a 5 Star Rocking Ride. I can hardly wait for The End is Where We Begin, scheduled to drop in March.

Moving on to our Second Perfect Album. Chevelle has come a long way since its debut on Steve Taylor's Squint Entertainment Label back in 1999. It's hard to imagine they've put out Eight albums. This alt-rock bunch has improved. I have the Debut CD, and it's good, though slightly uneven. Like Switchfoot, though, these crossover artists have consistently put out quality work. Ruse is the song that hearkens back to Point #1, but they rock out the hardest on the title track. Hats off to Chevelle, they managed to sneak in a Perfect Album among the rush of Christmas Releases. Sometimes stealth is the best marketing technique of all. (A heads up. The link goes to a non-music post. Scroll to the bottom of the post for my comments on Hats of to The Bull.)

Last, but certainly not least of all is Amy Lee and Company and their eponymous release Evanescence. Their return this fall from a long self-imposed exile showed nary a trace of rust. The band rocks out with a few wry comments on their absence ("Hello, Hello, Remember me" from What You Want) and Amy's Haunting Voice is at its best on Lost in Paradise. Spawning a host of Imitators in their absence (Eowyn among them. Check out Beautiful Ashes and compare), Amy and company prove that there is no replacing an original. We even have a hit in the rare lighthearted pop song Swimming Home. Evanescence on easy listening radio, now there's something to get your mind around. Click the link to be taken to my original review of the album back in October.

Now on to the second tier. At least those that have fallen short of the glory of a perfect 5. We'll announce these in simple list format.

• Emery - Ten Years 4.5 Emeralds
• Seventh Day Slumber - The Anthem of Angels 4.5 Emeralds
• Various Artists - Christian Workout Playlist, Fast Paced 4.25 Emeralds

Maybe it is a cop-out to put a workout CD on the list, but the selection of songs on this CD worked. The Slow and medium paced not so much (Plus they sounded like the same pace). That finishes the fall rollout. Until Next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

P.S. - The Poll results are in and the '60's are the Decade you like best. It's hard to argue with the decade that gave us The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. Votes were also cast for the '70's, 80's and 90's. New bands take note, there were no votes for favorites after 1999.

Siberian Summer: 2012 PVA 1st Qtr - Hard Rock

Now it's time for the Hard Stuff. Not hard as in difficult, but hard as in LOUD. This was a well represented category this quarter, with six entries. Hey, a minimum PVA field is Seven. (I say minimum because, due to an abundance of entries in some genres, I have decided to expand the final entry pool. I will explain things when I come to it.)

Since I am not really a hard music aficionado these would mostly be debuts if I didn't know otherwise. I have only really heard of one of them. Because of this fact I am going to forgo the album covers and explanations for this post and do things by a simple list.

• Close Your Eyes - Empty Hands and Heavy Hearts 4.25 Emeralds
• As I Lay Dying - Decas 4.25 Emeralds
• In the Midst of Lions - Shadows 4.25 Emeralds
• A Plea for Purging - The Life and Death of A Plea For Purging 4.25 Emeralds
• Righteous Vendetta - Lawless 4.5 Emeralds
• Wolves at the Gate - We are The Ones 5 Emeralds

I try to do these lists alphabetically, but this time coincidentally it also was organized nicely by rating. Plus the fact that WATG was the only Hard Rock band I had any listening experience with, the rest of these are cold impressions. All go in, but only We are the Ones may make it to the finals next year.

One more genre to go. Rock. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Siberian Summer: 2012 PVA 1st Qtr - Pop

This was the mega-genre this quarter. Pop usually requires a lot of work to narrow down after the eligibility year closes and this year is proving no exception. This is only the first Quarter and already we have ELEVEN entries. Well seven if you count that four are double dippers from another category, but that is just because their music can't be pigeonholed that simply.

First up Sara Groves. The favorite of a lot of Top 10 Lists this year, Invisible Empires just missed both a perfect 5, settling for 4.75 Emeralds as well as a spot in this years Platinum Vinyl Awards. As for a Top 10 album, there were too many Perfect 5's this year. Check out my list of the Best Albums of 2011.

Pop/Worship/Unique sensation The City Harmonic released their sophomore release this past October. Entitled I Have A Dream [It feels like home], the release is a fine successor to Introducing the City Harmonic. While Things are looking up for the band musically, on a personal matter we would like to convey the best wishes and prayers of all at The Night Beat to Bass Player Eric Fusilier as he combats leukemia. Praying for a speedy healing. I gave the album a respectable 4.5 Emeralds.

Once Upon A Time marks the return of Kerrie Roberts to the CCM Market. The EP contains a few acoustic versions of songs on her debut, but she really rocks out on the opening track, entitled Rescue Me (How The Story Ends). This song could be on my list of Dance Song of the Year for 2012. Oh, and it is also the Theme Song for the ABC series Once Upon a Time. It's about time that CCM artists get recognition for their superior talent. We shall see how the EP goes, as I was only able to give it 4.25 Emeralds. That puts it in the initial pool, but it is very short and that is one of its main drawbacks. We shall see how the story ends.

Rather than have an extremely long post, I shall put the other eight entrants on a quick hits list. Without further ado, the remaining Pop entrants for the first quarter.

• Casting Crowns - Come to the Well 4.5 Emeralds
• Keith Elgin - Keith Elgin 4.5 Emeralds
• JJ Heller - Deeper 4.75 Emeralds
• Leigh Nash - Hymns and Sacred Songs 4.25 Emeralds
• Relient K - K is for Karaoke, Vol 2 4.5 Emeralds
• Run Kid Run - Patterns 4.5 Emeralds
• Shane & Shane - The One You Need 4.25 Emeralds
• Phil Wickham - Response 4.5 Emeralds

Due to my combining of a bunch of non producing genres this quarter I have only two more to go. Stay with me. As always I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Siberian Summer: 2012 PVA 1st Qtr - Modern Worship

A little bit of a breather here. There were only four entries here. A nice pace, but while I crowed over four four Gospel, in the Modern Worship Genre it's kind of slow.

Two Churches and Two Solo artists made contributions. We'll start with the Churches. Pavilion Towers, a church in Metro-Detroit, released Crisis Worship back in October and got a Respectable 4.25 Emeralds. This is an up an coming MW Church and we shall see how things go as they release more material. It is a promising start.

From the newbie to the Veteran. Gateway Church of Southlake, TX, home to Worship Leader Kari Jobe released an EP in November entitled Great Great God. It also received 4.25 Emeralds. Speaking of Kari Jobe, she released a Solo CD entitled Where I Found You this Tuesday. More on that release as I check it out.

As to the solo artists, we have a newbie/veteran mix this quarter as well. The newbie is Keith Elgin. While the EP is his second release, he is barely on the radar among the Modern Worship circle. Fully in the Circle is Phil Wickham and Response. Both artists released their discs in October, and at the time, both received a respectable 4.5 Emeralds. Wickham also had a Christmas Release, but I wasn't impressed with that one. Just by way of note, for you already know Christmas releases aren't considered for a PVA.

That's it for Modern Worship. We will continue with the first Quarter rollout as well as continue the judging for the Second Annual Platinum Vinyl Awards. The Temperature May be Cold, but things are Heating Up at The Night Beat. Until Next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Siberian Summer: 2012 PVA 1st Qtr - Alternative

If the Gospel genre had a good showing this quarter with four entries, then this one was excellent with six. Pop, to nobody's surprise, had the best showing, but I shall hold off the reveal until it's time.

Forget Double Dip, try quadruple dip for the first entry. Alt-Ambient band Future of Forestry thrilled its fans with the Travel EP series. This quarter they combined the three EP's in the series into one CD. So if you loved Traveler's Song, Protection, or Working to Be Loved, it is all here on a single CD (or, of course, mp3). A near perfect combination, TCTS received 4.75 Emeralds.

Sometimes all it takes is the right album. A few years ago everyone was all gaga (not lady) over John Mark McMillan and The Medicine. When I heard the album I wasn't that impressed. Actually, I didn't like it at all. Fast forward two years (one actually, but two PVA eligibility years) and he comes out with Economy. Maybe it was the fact that it was a bit more rock and roll and a little less experimental, maybe he was just growing on me, or maybe I was (gasp!) becoming part of the CCM Elite! (Naaah!). Either way I liked it and gave it a passable score of 4 Emeralds.

We also had a release from a Tooth and Nail artist, which should be no surprise by now. You think you would be able to detect a bunch of Patterns by now. And by that I mean Patterns by Run, Kid, Run, who have been compared to The Rocket Summer, which is quite a compliment. I thought the album deserved a respectable 4.5 Emeralds.

New artist Caleb went To the ends of the World and received 4.25 Emeralds for it. They certainly didn't have to go that far, but such is the life. I would have given it to them without all the Travel. Deas Vail had their self titled release garner the same rating without the additional road miles. Finally, we waved at Wavorly as their EP garnered 4.25 Emeralds as well.

Because of some astute combining of categories, we only have four more to go, but they are all well stocked, with one having almost two years full of possible entries. We drive on. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

P.S. The New Releases are available to stream. Check out Live Riot by Worth Dying For, Feel The Power by Tooth and Nail artist Blessed by a Broken Heart (Classic Metal) and The Essential Kirk Franklin. The Last two are out now, WDF comes out February 7. Check them all out and enjoy the music.

Siberian Summer: 2012 PVA 1st Qtr - Gospel

The Gospel genre is next. Despite the seasonal slowdown, Gospel hit the ground running. There were four entries this quarter. That's half the final total already. This will be a good year.

One of this quarters nominees garnered the coveted 5 Emerald rating. That album was Arise by William McDowell. It's also a 2 CD 23 Track live album (its subtitle is The Live Worship experience) so that's a double bonus. It's extremely rare to have a live album get the 5 full Emeralds. There is always something that seems to distract from the experience. There wasn't here.

Of the final three nominees this quarter we have one Compilation album Gospel's Best Praise. This was also a 2CD set. But instead of one artist, this one had lots, including Vashawn Mitchell, Forever Jones, Ricky Dillard and Kierra Sheard. It received 4.5 Emeralds back in October.

Speaking of Kierra "Kiki" Sheard, she had an album all to herself among the entrants. Free received a 4.25 Emerald Rating. The final album to make it in this category was the new release by Micah Stampley One Voice. Micah's One Voice received 4.25 Emeralds.

That does it for Gospel (for now). January already has releases from Kirk Franklin, Myron Butler and Fred Hammond to look forward to. We at The Night Beat are on the case. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Siberian Summer: 2012 PVA 1st Qtr - Dance

We always come to Dance Music early. Mainly because it ticks off the traditionalists. As is not having a Hymns, Country, Or Southern Gospel Genre. It works for me.

The big winner this quarter in Dance was Satellites and Sirens with Frequency. They are one of the best synth-pop acts today, and they show it here. Anyone who heard their breakout single Anchor from their self-titled debut knows what I am talking about. They earned a near perfect 4.75 Emeralds. Not to be undone by the young ones, veteran Techno master Barry Blaze (aka Code of Ethics) returned to the Studio for the first time in Three Years (2008's long return after a 9 year hiatus with Lost in Egypt). If you've been with C.O.E. from the beginning then you'll love his latest release, because it harks back to the original sound. It is definitely a Beautiful Thing. I gave the album a very good rating of 4.5 Emeralds.

Considering the title of these posts, a happy coincidence is the newest release by the gorgeous Canadian brunette Valerie Anne Poxleitner (aka Lights). Techno isn't exclusive boys club anymore. Lights rocks the synthesizer to a near perfect 4.75 Emeralds.

Shai Linne The Attributes of God also qualifies as a Dance CD in a lot of cases, so I'm listing it here as well. Rounding out the entries in this genre for this quarter are Dance/Krunk/Whatever group Family Force 5 and III which got 4.25 Emeralds and the latest release by pop/dance band Eleventyseven, Sugarfist, which received 4.5 Emeralds for their effort. We shall see how FF5 holds up over the months but I think that the rest of them are safely in to the finals. One thing is sure, Lights and Satellites and Sirens are a near lock to the finals next year. That's why they got the pictures, courtesy of Amazon of course.

The first Quarter Releases Continue. Keep it Locked here. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

Siberian Summer: 2012 PVA 1st Qtr Nominees: Folkinspop

No, that's not the name of a new Monster Movie. Due to the slow first quarter, I have combined a few categories, in this case Folk, Inspirational and Hip Hop. Of course there is always a slow first quarter. Most of the releases in October, November and December are Christmas releases.

There were no entries in Children's Music this quarter. I am sure things will pick up as the year goes on. The Category has grown each year.

The Folk and Inspirational Genres each contributed one entry this time around. JJ Heller came out with Deeper, and I gave the album a near perfect 4.75 Emeralds. Out of the gate it will be the one to beat.

Inspirational is Michael W. Smith's genre to own this time around. Glory an instrumental album of epic proportions. When the album came out my review gave it a split rating of both 4.75 Emeralds AND 3.75 Emeralds. My rationale for the split rating is expectations. Michael is one of those CCM artists that fans expect certain things from. Most fans expect "Friends" like songs, and certain fans expect synth-pop (he almost could be considered the originator of the genre). Not many people expect John Tesh style symphonic genius. But here it is. For those who were expecting the pop, I gave the secondary rating.

Hip Hop had three entries this quarter. Shai Linne had The Attributes of God get 4.25 Emeralds, and newcomer (at least to me) Rel Paul had his Spoiler Alert also garner 4.25 Emeralds. There was also the latest entry in the Compilation Series Holy Hip Hop, Volume 11.

That gets the First Quarter underway. There will be much more to follow. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.

P.S. - To keep things interesting I keep trying to find ways to rename the seasons each year. Since most Americans idea of Siberia is extremely cold, I think a Siberian Summer would be an Autumn for most.