When I was in England last week, I picked up a copy of this year’s Soul Survivor live CD. Unfortunately I didn’t have the opportunity to go there myself this year, it’s an event I very much enjoyed last year, but the timing this year just didn’t work out. Anyway, “Love Came Down” is the traditional music CD recorded at this event and this time it leaves me with a rather mixed feeling.
There are a number of new songs on it that I’m sure I will enjoy not just listening to, but also singing and playing with the band I happen to lead. But as an album, this year it feels a bit too polished and seems to have lost some of the “live” feel that the previous Soul Survivor recordings had. The fact that for the first time, they saw the need to record overdubs in a studio, may well be part of the reason for that.
Worship leaders this time are Tim Hughes (well known from previous recordings and a lot of songs he wrote), Lex Buckley and Ben Cantelon - it’s nice to hear a few fresh voices. I really like the new songs - “Celebrate” and “Join With The Angels” really stand out for me. When I saw that “Saviour” was a version of Tim Hughes’s “When Silence Falls” together with 29th Chapter, I thought it was an accident just waiting to happen, but it is in fact a lot nicer than I thought it would be. And of course, a lot of what’s special about Soul Survivor is in the spontaneous songs, one of which is also the last track on the CD - too bad I had to wait this long for a glimpse at the live atmosphere.
Can I recommend it? Sure I can, otherwise I think I wouldn’t be writing about it. Just don’t expect too much live atmosphere and you will get a great CD with a number of new songs and some good recordings of old ones. And a good laugh when you listen closely to Ben Cantelon’s version of “From The Inside Out” and realize that every time, he sings “you glory goes beyond all phase” instead of “all fame”… if you can make sense of it, let me know. I wonder why they didn’t fix that when they did the overdubs…
Technorati : Ben Cantelon, Lex Buckley, Love Came Down, Soul Survivor, Tim Hughes, christian, live, music, worship
Since I classify a lot of CDs as “the best I’ve bought in the last 10 years”, you should probably take this review with a grain of salt. But seriously, “Good Monsters”, the new Jars of Clay album, is the best CD I’ve bought in the last 10 years. Or maybe I’ve just forgotten about all the other great CDs I bought in the last 10 years. Anyway, I guess you can tell that I’m excited about this one. First of all because it’s a “real” Jars of Clay CD again, with all (well, except one) original songs - and second of all because it’s not like any other Jars of Clay CD I’ve heard before.
Listening to the first track, I was stunned. Where was the typical Jars of Clay sound, the percussions, the banjo…? If it wasn’t for Dan Haseltine’s characteristic voice, I might have thought I’d put the wrong CD in the player. But the surprise wasn’t at all negative - “Work” is just a much rockier song than what I would have expected. In fact, the first three songs don’t sound much like the typical Jars of Clay material of previous releases… which is great because it shows the band isn’t so set in its ways that they can’t develop their style anymore. But don’t worry; if you liked their trademark sounds, there’s enough of them on the CD as well - 12 tracks and more than 50 minutes is more than you get on most recordings nowadays.
The rockier tracks at the beginning of the CD are not the only surprise, though. The lyrics are the other big surprise. The lyrical depth is remarkable and these are probably the most honest lyrics in the whole CCM scene, matched only by Casting Crowns in their critical view of church and christian exclusivism. You can be sure to see some of those lyrics featured in one of the “think about…” articles here later this year. “Good Monsters”, “Oh my God” and “Surprise” seem to be good candidates for that.
It’s hard to try and name my favorite tracks, but I’ll try anyway. “Oh my God” stands out, kind of in a league of its own. “Surprise” is great, as are “Work” and “Mirrors and Smoke” (the latter featuring former “Sixpence None The Richer” singer Leigh Nash). Actually, the rest is great as well… not a single disappointment on the entire album. No wonder CCM Magazine gave it the first A+ rating in years…
Technorati : Good Monsters, Jars of Clay, ccm, christian music, lyrics, music, review, rock
