Monday, November 30, 2009

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Relient K - Forgiven (2007)

Forgiven is the first Christian radio single off Relient K's newest album, Five Score and Seven Years Ago and it was released just days before the lead single. The song was officially released to Christian radio somewhere around December 1, 2006, but could be heard on radio as early as November 24. This song can be heard on Gotee Records website as of November 28. The band also made the song available via their MySpace on December 1, 2006. This song is not a mainstream single, and will therefore not be getting a music video like "Must Have Done Something Right", which will be shot December 2006.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

P.O.D. - Greatest hits: the atlantic years (2006)

Artist: P.O.D.
Album: Greatest hits: the atlantic years
Format: Audio CD MP3
Bitrate: ??? kbps

Track Listing:
1. Southtown
2. Boom
3. Going in Blind
4. Roots in Stereo
5. Alive
6. Youth of the Nation
7. Sleeping Awake
8. Rock the Party (Off the Hook)
9. Lights Out
10. Goodbye for Now
11. Execute the Sounds
12. Will You
13. Truly Amazing
14. Satellite
15. Set Your Eyes to Zion
16. Here We Go
17. If It Wasn't for You

Review of P.O.D. - Greatest hits: the atlantic years

When P.O.D. hit it big with the release of 2001's Satellite, the band seemed unstoppable. They dominated MTV, began to tour arenas, and sold over three million copies of that breakthrough album. We thought part of the reason for their success was a post-9/11 world ready for something different, something uplifting, something with a purpose. It turns out the foursome's popularity only decayed after that, with 2003's Payable on Death and 2006's Testify selling merely a fraction of their predecessor.

Now P.O.D. are free agents again—they're reportedly on the verge of announcing a new label partnership—but Atlantic Records was nice enough to compile a sendoff. Greatest Hits: The Atlantic Years recapitulates the band's days at the major label properly, paying attention to each of their four releases in relation to their own relevance and commercial impact.

There are three songs from their striking 1999 debut The Fundamental Elements of Southtown ("Southtown," "Rock the Party," "Set Your Eyes to Zion"), four from the smash Satellite ("Boom," "Alive," "Youth of the Nation," "Satellite"), only two from the embattled Payable on Death ("Will You," "Execute the Sounds"), and three from the return-to-form Testify ("Goodbye for Now," "Roots in Stereo," "Lights Out"). It's a well-rounded set, not exhaustively conclusive, but appropriate nonetheless.

As for exclusives, the only previously unreleased tracks are "Going in Blind" and "Here We Go"—neither is anything much to write home about, but both would've belonged swimmingly in the Testify sessions (the latter is actually a leftover from those sessions). Round that off with "Sleeping Awake" (from the Matrix: Reloaded soundtrack), "Truly Amazing" (from The Passion of The Christ: Songs), and a so-so essay by Mark Joseph (Faith, God & Rock 'n' Roll) in the liner notes, and you have the perfect anthology for the casual fan … not to mention a must-have Warrior keepsake.

Download P.O.D. - Greatest hits: the atlantic years (2006)


Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Phanatik - The Incredible Walk (Cross Movement) (2005)


Artist: Phanatik
Album: The Incredible Walk (Cross Movement)
Format: Audio CD MP3
Bitrate: ??? kbps

Track Listing:
1. B Side
2. Psych Check
3. Call Shabach (Interlude)
4. Me?
5. Shot Clock (Brand New Day)
6. The AmazinGrace
7. Odd Job
8. Press On
9. The Incredible Walk
10. Hip-Hop Music
11. Dirge Defined
12. Dirgy Dancing
13. Flood Waters (Interlude)
14. Grieved Again
15. Come Home
16. In Here
17. R & R
18. Hope in the Streetz

Album Review

Phanatik says The Incredible Walk is a play on words on the The Incredible Hulk. While you won't find any references to Dr. Bruce Banner and his oversized green persona other than in the cover art, the rapper does an admirable job of setting the main premise of Romans 7 — the conflict between the sinful nature of man and the perfect nature of God — against a street-smart backdrop.

While his lyrical style varies from syllabic and easy-to-understand to rapid-fire and metaphorical ("Psych Check" gives you a small sampling of the versatility of his flow), Phanatik for the most part keeps things straightforward and Christ-centered, but never clichd or forceful. The rapper's obvious forte is his sharp-toothed wordplay, a quality that the confident title track or the dizzying "The AmazinGrace" accentuate clearly.

Rhythmically, this Walk is less banger-heavy than your typical CM album, though some tracks will still liven up the dance floor with on-point resonance ("Dirgy Dancing"). But the emcee is equally adept at gliding atop the smoother ("Shot Clock"), more minimalist ("Press On"), or more underground material ("Me?"), getting progressively darker and more conversational as the album draws to a close. It's a trip well worth taking, courtesy of one of the more theological names in Christian hip-hop.





Download Phanatik - The Incredible Walk (Cross Movement) (2005)


Monday, December 04, 2006

Youth Alive - All Of The Above (2006)


Artist: Youth Alive WA
Album: All Of The Above
Format: Audio CD MP3
Bitrate: ??? kbps

Track Listing:

  1. "Can't Live A Day" (words and music by Matt Garner and Chad Blondel)
  2. "Crazy" (words and music by Matt Garner)
  3. "All of the Above" (words and music by Ben Blondel)
  4. "No God Like Mine" (words and music by Chad Blondel)
  5. "God of Miracles" (words and music by Matt Garner)
  6. "Spirit of the Lord" (words and music by Matt Garner)
  7. "Hungry for More" (words and music by Matt Garner)
  8. "It is You" (words and music by Matt Garner)
  9. "All I Am" (words and music by Chad Blondel)
  10. "Shout Your Glory" (words and music by Chad Blondel)
  11. "Sweetness/Can't Live a Day (reprise)" (words and music by Jim Adkins (Sweetness), Matt Garner and Chad Blondel (Can't Live a Day))
  12. "Fall at Your Feet" (words and music by Ryan Armstrong)
  13. "Tell The World (remix)" (words and music by Jone Vasu, Chad Blondel, Jonathan Douglas, Joel Houston and Marty Sampson)
Album Review

Just got it yesterday having picked up their previous record while in Aus last year.
More fresh praise and worship from across the ditch, aimed at teens and twenties and utilised in the popular Youth Alive events over in Aus.

Musically there is obviously an influence from Planetshakers and Hillsong (Henry Seeley and Reuben Morgan have been key figures in youth alive music for a while), bu there is a fesh element that stems from coming from over Perth way... and a warmer embrace of hip hop and r& as well as the rock flavour.

Like last time they used one secular song that then melds into one of their praise tunes... using Sweetness from Jimmy Eat World is cool, although I might be a bit biased. In other areas, the songwriting has developed from the last album meaning there are more winners on here in my opinion anyway...

It has a DVD too, which is cool to see what they're up to over there. Design, both of the packaging and on the DVD is pretty classy so it's nice to see more top of the line products.

11 live tracks, 2 studio tracs, a DVD with live footage, behind the scenes, promo stuff, a CD-Rom music book - there's plenty to check out.