Things are proceeding well at Night Beat HQ. Here it is just after Christmas and we are all caught up with the December Rewind and The First Quarter Wrap is ready as well. If I didn't know better I would think I could proceed forever without help. No, the baby is getting a bit to big to handle. Let's get on with it.
Christmas Music (Non-Eligible)
- David Dunn - Overwhelming (Single) 4.75 Emeralds
- Annie Moses Band - O Holy Night/Carol of The Bells 5 Emeralds
- Matty Mullins - O Holy Night (Single) 5 Emeralds
- Planetshakers - Christmas, Volume 1 EP 4.75 Emeralds
Considering that it is December, perhaps it is fitting that the Christmas releases are thin. You want maximum play-time after all.
The Singles Scene
- Antoine (fka ABIV) Bradford - Be My Everything 4.75 Emeralds
- Ty Brasel - Praying Hands 4.25 Emeralds
- Riley Clemmons - Broken Prayers 4.75 Emeralds
- Hawk Nelson - He Still Does (Miracles) 4.75 Emeralds
- Jay Sanon - I Know U Know ft CUBO - 4.00 Emeralds
Now, on to the albums. We begin with those with that will not make the #PlatVnyl9 Pool.
Missing The Mark
- J-Phish - New Kings 4.25 Emeralds
- Keyes - Animal House EP 4.00 Emeralds
- Surf Gvng - Gvng Gang 3.75 Emeralds
Must be the Christmas Season, or the fact that you can't fail what isn't released. On to the perfect and flawless.
Pure Platinum Perfection
- Anabeth Morgan - A Place Your Glory Dwells 5 Emeralds
- Project 86 - Sheep among Wolves 5 Emeralds
Yup, it's the slow release schedule. On to those in the middle.
Semi-Precious Metals
- For All Eternity - The Will To Rebuild 4.75 Emeralds
- GAWVI - 954 EP 4.75 Emeralds
- Eric Heron - Afterglow: A Somewhat Complicated Story 4.50 Emeralds
- Byron Juane - Life In The Evening EP 4.50 Emeralds
- Sam and Samantha McCabe - Through The Night 4.75 Emeralds
- Narrow Skies - In Hibernation 4.75 Emeralds
- Aaron Powell - My Heart Belongs EP 4.75 Emeralds
- Tommy and Me - What Every Child Should Know About God, Volume 1- Joyful 4.75 Emeralds
- Tommy and Me - What Every Child Should Know About God, Volume 2 - Peaceful 4.75 Emeralds
- U2 - Songs of Experience (Deluxe Edition) 4.75 Emeralds
- War of Ages - Alpha 4.75 Emeralds
That does it. 2017 is in the Bag. Stay safe and we'll see you again in 2018. Until next time (there is still more housekeeping to do), I am Awaiting Your Reply.
2016 (aka #PlatVnyl7) is underway. As is customary things take a little while to get up to speed after the Christmas Music Rush. Fine with us, as it gives us time to get our end of year posts and 1rst Quarter wrap finished. For those of you who are new here who are asking "First Quarter 2016 Wrap? But This is The First Quarter of 2016." Maybe on your calendar, but we are operating here on the Platinum Vinyl Award Calendar. That calendar began on October 1 of 2015 and will continue until September 30 of this year.
Back in College in the Mid 1980's I was a Disc Jockey or DJ. We played Vinyl Records on Turntables. The 45 (a vinyl disc about the size of a CD that had 2 songs on it, one on each side) was slowly disappearing and the 33 or Album would soon be replaced by the CD. An uninformed person once said that the 8 Track Tape Replaced the Vinyl Album. No. I was there. The 8 track was a blip on the Musical Timeline. While the Cassette Tape and the 8-Track Were Prone to the same malady ("eating of the tapes"), the cassette could simply, in most cases, be rewound into the casing and played without effort many more times. The 8-Track, however, no. Probably because of the "eating malady" the Cassette never replaced the 33RPM Vinyl but coexisted alongside it. It did have the benefit of portability however,especially after the introduction of the Sony Walkman in 1980. By the end of the Decade the CD was on its way to prominence. It had portability with the size of a 45, and Durability, and could not be eaten. It still has not been overtaken. What about the mp3, you ask. Yes it has portability, but it can be accidentally or otherwise deleted. The CD is permanent.
Musically speaking the 80's were the Golden Age of Music, Christian or Otherwise. There was this little group out of Ireland released an album entitled Boy in 1980. You might have heard of them. U2 anyone? Bono and several other members of the band are Born Again Christians so the band was among the first Crossover acts to become popular in the Christian College Radio crowd. And that really began a crossover trend both ways. We gave the mainstream the likes of Amy Grant and Switchfoot, and you gave us U2, Evanescence and Creed. U2 and Creed managed to stay in the good graces of CCM throughout their careers, and Evanescence got kicked out of the kingdom for swearing during an interview. Still, both Creed and Evanescence managed to latch on to the "Hillsong Effect". By that I mean that they have birthed a horde of imitators, much like Hillsong Church created a horde of "Zschechies" with all these blonde female worship leaders adopting the dress and hairstyle of Darlene Zschech. Modern Worship itself as a genre is still trying to break free from a Hillsong Sound where they all sound alike. Creed gave us Jeremy Camp and Kutless, among others, and Evanescence gave us Eowyn to start.
Oh, one final thing. My radio show in college was called The Night Beat. When looking for a nickname for my fans I coined Night Beatniks. Now the stereotypical Beatnik loved Poetry and Jazz. Now I like my poetry classical (Iambic Pentameter and Rhyme) but I would be very happy in a Jazz Club. As we move into the year and the nominations for #PlatVnyl6 are announced you shouldn't be surprised if you see a few artists that most folks wouldn't consider "Christian". We honor a lot of good music that a Christian (and anyone else) should like. Stay tuned. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
Don't ask me. Shocked you with that answer, didn't I. Despite the fact that I have been involved with Christian Music in some fashion for 40 years, I have no problem with admitting that I don't have a clue, and the truth is, neither does anyone else.
As a person who rates and makes criticism on the Christian Music Industry, let me tell you that of the three most useless descriptions on iTunes, two of them belong to Christian Music. They are CCM and Christian/Gospel. They appear so frequently that they give absolutely no clue as to how an artist or band will sound. Unless you're in the know, you wont. The other useless label is that of Singer/Songwriter. You would think that the title would scream folk music, you know the ubiquitous "Girl with Guitar" (Think early Amy Grant), but the title really could be placed on anyone. If Michael Sweet, lead singer of Stryper, writes his own songs, isn't he a singer/songwriter as well? Bands tend to get excluded from the label, however. (Now if we had Girl with Guitar and Glockenspiel, that changes everything).
Seriously though, the name now is applied to everything except Rock, Metal and Rap, and that is a shame. There are so many descriptive terms than CCM. And Christian/Gospel? Is it Urban Gospel?, Southern Gospel?, Just somebody who happens to be Christian and plays music? I think the 40th Anniversary of Christian Contemporary Music is the right time to retire the label. Instead of "Moving Beyond Genre" we should be moving towards them. Embrace labels such as Folk, Folk Rock, Dance, EDM, Industrial, Alternative, Rap, Hip Hop, Heavy Metal and many many more. We can finally ditch silly categories such as Pop/Contemporary at the Dove Awards. Maybe then we can get on to tackling the serious problems that plague the industry, like the recurring purges and witch hunts that happen every time someone gets caught in a "major sin". Newsflash, we all sin. We are to "Restore such a one in a spirit of meekness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted." We are not supposed to remove all trace of them from shelves and pretend they never existed, which is putting it mildly.
And while I'm at it, maybe we can retire the old "We're not a Christian Band, we're a band whose members happen to be Christians" argument. The past 40 years have showed the industry that people are happy enough to have "clean" music. They don't need to have Jesus name uttered every other line. So bands like U2, Evanescence and others could be very happy with their Christian Audiences. We've been blessed by the Music, why can't the industry recognize them properly?
That's my rant for today. I'll try not to have one a day. I've got a lot to do otherwise. Picking winners for my sweepstakes, getting the 4th Quarter Out. Starting Judging, and commenting on the recently completed Dove Awards. But still, it needed to be said. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
Welcome to a special Saturday edition of Flashback Friday, courtesy of Google Blogger, where we bring readers in the present up to speed on the favorite Christian Bands of the Past, though sometimes they are still around. This week we once again have a Crossover from the mainstream.
I was introduced to this band in College. I must confess, I never had heard of them. They come from Ireland. Their first album was called Boy. If you haven't guessed by now, they are Adam Clayton (Bass), Larry Mullen, Jr (Drums), The Edge (Guitar) and Bono, collectively known as U2.
U2's transformation came after their debut release, when Bono, The Edge and Mullen got saved. When there are only four people in the band and three become Christians, the direction is set. Good for us they played rock and roll, because that consigned it to the evening hours, when the administration offices were closed. Therefore fights with the college brass over playing "secular music" at WENC were avoided.
"I will follow" from Boy was their first ever hit, Talk about Boy, or boys, they were babies in 1980. Like most early releases, nobody would be able to tell these kids were going to make it big.
October came out the next year, and the change would be marked. Gloria went straight to the top of Christian Radio. Even Latin could be cool. The video shows that they may still be kids, but a new found maturity surrounds them. October made #41 of the CCM Magazine 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music. It is still one of the most covered Rock Worship songs out there. I believe even Delirious may have done one.
Of course it took a War to bring U2 to the top of Christian Charts, and a Sunday, Bloody Sunday, which expertly blended Politics with Easter.
And then on the same album, was 40 (for those not in the know, it's Psalm 40)
Four Years later came the Joshua Tree and super stardom. Island Records was poised to bring the 77's to stardom when that came out. It was kind of a case where one Christian Band kind of upstaged another. U2 rose to the top and the 77's maintained their cult status in Christian alternative. Two bad Island didn't have the wherewithal to push both of them. This is Still Haven't Found What I'm looking For. The Joshua Tree is #6 on the CCM Magazine List.
The most successful bunch of Christian Musicians ever. Probably the most successful Crossover artists ever. Rock on. This has been a special edition of Flashback Friday. I am Awaiting Your Reply..
All Good Things must come to an end, our journey through CCM Magazine's 100 Greatest Christian Albums in Christian Music finally comes to its conclusion, with the Top 10. These are the albums agreed to be THE GREATEST, the "definition" of Christian Music. Are they correct? or more appropriately, still correct? It has been a decade.
The Top 10 Christian Albums, 2001
- 10 - Different Lifestyles
, BeBe & Cece Winans, Sparrow, 1991
- 9 - Free at Last
, DC Talk, ForeFront, 1992
- 8 - The Turning, Leslie Phillips, Myrrh, 1987
- 7 - The World as Best as I Remember It, Volume 1
, Rich Mullins, Reunion, 1991.
- 6 - The Joshua Tree, U2, Island Records, 1987
- 5 - For Him Who Has Ears To Hear, Keith Green, Sparrow, 1977
- 4 - Second Hand, Mark Heard, Fingerprint, 1991
- 3 - A Liturgy, A Legacy, and A Ragamuffin Band, Rich Mullins, Reunion, 1993
- 2 - Only Visiting This Planet, Lary Norman, Verve, 1972
- 1 - Lead Me On, Amy Grant, Myrrh, 1991
Well, for the last time, here I go with my commentary. If I haven't done so already, and from the comments it appears that I haven't, I think that I shall dive into the hornest nest this time, or at least tip over some sacred cows.
If I were a cynic, I would say that one of the requirements for entry on this list is to have a premature death. Of course, even using flawed biblical interpretation one should consider any death short of 80 premature, but especially if illness or an accident is involved. A full 10 of 100 entries fit that Category. (Larry Norman, Gene Eugene(as Adam Again), DeGarmo & Key (Dana Key), Keith Green, Mark Heard, and Rich Mullins). Actually, BOTH Larry Norman and DeGarmo and Key don't fit the list perfectly, since they died after the list was published. Dana Key died unexpectedly Last June, and Norman in 2008. Of course on talent and influence alone there should have been more than one D&K entry on the list. As to Larry Norman, his influence in CCM is immense. I started playing around with a Six Degrees of Larry Norman a few days ago, and believe me he can be connected with virtually everyone in Christian Music today in 6 links or less. He belongs.
A cynic would also point out that a seeming requirement for entry to a list of Christian Albums is to not technically be a Christian Artist. Bruce Cockburn and U2 both contribute a pair of albums to the list. (Now in full disclosure, I think U2 belongs, but based on CCM Mags own description, I am not sure about Cockburn.) When those two items are combined with the usual Sandi Patty, Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith Bias (another 9 off the list), that means the Top 100 is really the top 76. There could be a lot of room in that list for some really deserving albums, and that is our wiggle room.
 |
| Number Nine? |
Most of my complaints on the 10 Greatest deal mostly with position, we'll start with DC Talk. Straight upfront, I love the album. There's no doubt that it belongs on the list. Actually I think they should swap positions with Jesus Freak at Number 14 and I would be fine with that. Personally I never did get the mini skits (Greer, WDCT, Willpower, and the cringeworthy 2 Honks). This may be one of those Chicken and Egg questions though. While Jesus Freak may be superior to Free at Last, would DC Talk have been able to make Jesus Freak if it had not first made Free at Last. For Your Consideration.
On to the one of the greatest crossover acts among CCM fans, U2. The Joshua Tree was an awesome album, at least to me. Personally, if it was up to me, they may be a number one or two. Sorry Amy. I have always detected a little too much of "Amy Bias" in CCM. All she has to do is put out any album to be guaranteed it proclaimed the "Best Album Ever". On the other Hand, U2 consistently put out deep spiritual music all under the radar of the Christian Music Industry. Now even late recognition is better than no recognition at all, but I'm just saying. Would be number one on this list if I made it. (Now, would it still be number one? That remains to be seen. Stay Tuned).
That concludes my look back at the 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music, as determined by CCM Magazine in 2001. Now the fun begins. A lot of music came out since 1999, the last release year for an album on the list. I think we could, at a minimum, sweep off about 20 of these. While that is not my intention, facts are facts. I hope you will help me in the undertaking. As always, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
P.S.- A personal Night Beat Shoutout to Alexandra from Sweden, Thanks for following. Don't know if you have heard of them, but I would encourage you to check out Blindside, a rock band from Sweden signed to CCM's Midas, Tooth and Nail Records, I think that With Shivering Hearts We Wait, which has a listening party at Jesus Freak Hideout, is a Solid 4.25 Emeralds, and should make next years Platinum Vinyl Awards. As to Alexandra herself, check out her blog.
Related Posts:
We are on the downside of the list now
The Greatest Christian Albums Ever, 2001
- 50 - Chase The Kangaroo
, The Choir, Myrrh, 1988
- 49 - So You Wanna Go Back to Egypt, Keith Green, Pretty Good Records, 1980
- 48 - Tomorrow, The Winans, Light, 1984
- 47 - Out of the Grey, Out of the Grey, Sparrow, 1991
- 46 - Immigrant's Daughter, Margaret Becker, Sparrow, 1989
- 45 - Change Your World, Michael W. Smith, Reunion, 1992
- 44 - Behind The Eyes, Amy Grant, A&M/Myrrh, 1997
- 43 - Life, Love and other Mysteries, Point of Grace, Word, 1996
- 42 - Dancing in the Dragon's Jaws, Bruce Cockburn, True North/Millennium, 1979
- 41 - October, U2, Island, 1981
There are some truisms in the Music world. There are Record Companies that seem to have the Midas Touch (Tooth and Nail, for ex), and there are also Producers. I am glad to see some people recognized for all of their talents, both in front of and behind the microphone.
Case in point Charlie Peacock. Both Immigrant's Daughter and Out of the Grey are Peacock produced, as well as some more recent faves of the Night Beat Does Barton Hollow by the Civil Wars ring a bell? or how about Contact, by The Benjamin Gate, or Fireflies and Songs by Sara Groves. I think you get my point. The man is a genius.
As to the two Peacock produced albums on this list, let's just say that as to Becker, I was more a fan of her music, when she had, according to CCM Magazine, "her stint in the late-'80's as a pioneering rock chick", then I was of her "multifaceted pop reincarnations in the '90's". Hey, I'm a rocker. I have gotten into the harder stuff as I have aged. I am all in favor of FFR, which is the more politically correct term these days. Servant, Fireflight, Iona, Sixpence NTR, Evolett, Evanescescence. You get the drift.
As to the second album, I didn't pick up Out Of The Grey at the Start. I picked up a cassette of Diamond Days back in the day at a local Christian Bookstore. It was a heavenly pop album, especially with Christine Dente's vocals. And you gotta love that cover. While this was a short lived band, the light burned bright and fast. Any of OOG's releases are worth your effort.
As to the rest of the list. Keith Green was a CCM Pioneer who had a sharp wit as well as great musical skills. So You Wanna Go Back to Egypt was on heavy rotation back at WENC. ("Eating Leeks and Garlic by the Nile, Ooh the Breath but Dining out in style"). I am sure that CCM's Clown Prince Steve Taylor grew up on Keith Green's Music. U2 Was the Crossover Band of the 80's. I had a friend by the name of Lenny Rideout who brought in a bunch of the bands music into the station. It was great spiritual music and sparked a debate as to what was "Christian" enough for Christian Music. Brings to mind some recent debates as to Creed, Evanescence, or The Civil Wars.
This brings up my final point, Bruce Cockburn (pronounced Co-Burn). He has two albums on the list even though as they say "Stark imagery, profanity, leftist political values and a more obscure expression of faith would challenge Christian fans". As they say, "When you open a door, don't complain if I decide to dive a Semi straight through it." For more than that, you'll have to stay tuned when I put out my own list, which will include some releases after 2001. Until then, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
Related Posts
