No comments about All Star Gospel Hits, Vol. 1: Praise and Worship.

2 comments about Sonic Praise: Here I Am to Worship.

1. If you love praise and worship music and would like something to "move" to, you will love this CD! Music is a powerful thing. Most "high-energy" music I have is non-Christian, and I won't play it with my kids in the room because the lyrics typically glorify the wrong behaviors. I was so glad to find praise and worship music that was done at a rhythm that I can play/exercise with! The songs are all well done ("radio-worthy"), and I enjoy them as much as the original recordings. I was looking for more like this one when I saw the negative feedback about not being true to "techno". That review ignores the fact that they did a *great job* with this CD, and are providing Christ-honoring songs in a genre that few others (it seems) are contributing to.



2. Being a Christian techno/dance enthusiest, I was very interested in this album. However, once I listened to all the samples, I remembered this: if a CD says something about "today's most popular worship songs with a techno twist", stay away. Why? Well, unfortunately, the people who usually try to put these things together know nothing about how techno music is really done, and, I know this sounds weird because I am american myself, but it's usually americans who are doing these projects and failing. In America, there are very few people who do techno and do it right, but those few people happen to be very unknown. Techno was born in Europe/the UK, and all the best stuff comes from there. If you want worship songs with a REAL techno twist, I suggest you check out Jumping In The House Of God by the World Wide Message Tribe (they're from the UK). You're much better off with them.

4 comments about Hymns in the Vineyard.

1. exactly what i was looking for ! beloved hymns to the same old tunes, but with a more contemporary feel. wish there were more out there like this one!



2. Vineyard Music worships with faith and passion. Listening to this CD has really helped my walk with the Lord. I recommend this CD for anyone who loves hymns or contemporary Christian music. Very glorifying.



3. I was looking for old-time hymns to enjoy now and be played at my funeral later this year. They have taken the wonderful old songs I loved in church and changed the tunes, and sometimes even the beat. This may be the modern Christian music, but they should leave the old songs alone. They were beautiful as they were. If you are looking for old songs, this is truly a let-down.



4. This is the best CD I've bought in a long time. It consists of classic hymns sung by either a male or female singer with minimal accompaniment. They inspire a deep sense of worship and praise. I highly recommend it.

1 comments about Every Young Woman's Battle.

1. This was one of the best CD's I have ever listened to! I suggest if you don't have it, buy it. Got it from Provident's book store. It is a wonderful CD, mainly talking about being pure. Personly my fav. song is Barlow girls by: Superchic. This is a wonderful CD if you are looking for pure music!!!!

2 comments about Songs 4 Worship: Devotion.

1. If you are feeling lost and alone this album is for you. The songs in this album reach into your heart and soul and lift you up from your despair. I recommend this album as well as the other albums in this series. GOD is LOVE and love is what this CD is all about. Praise HIS NAME. THANK YOU JESUS!!!



2. This is one of the best albums I've ever heard. I'm listening to it over and over again.
   Beautiful , intimate music, fantastic sound, very well-chosen songs.
   Immediatelly your troubles fade away and you are filled with His presence...
   Let this music penetrate your heart...and your spirit will be longing for YOUR LOVER.
   Listen to this CD before falling asleep. Forget about everything,let nothing steal this precious moments- just YOU and the Lord.

5 comments about Smash-Ups.

1. This has to be the most original album ever to come out of the circles of Christian music. Take two or three songs, and blend, that's the concept of this album. And surprisingly, it actually works to great effect in most cases.
   
   The first song is the best, it is the only song that combines three songs, and it's mixed by the great Tedd T. The song is a great blend, and while SCC's verses are messed up, the problem is easily over looked when looked at a whole with the rest of the song. It's a great blend of rap, and rock. Tracks 2,5,8,9 are also great, expeccially 9.
   
   Tracks 3,4,6,7 are tracks that might sound great to another person, but it didn't float my boat. They were OK, but in my mind nothing to write home about. Track 10 is the only track which I can't comment on because of my bias toward Carman, I personally hate the guy. The reasons are personal. So don't ask.
   
   Overall, a great concept album, and major props to originality. But, the album was released four years ago, so my only question is, where's the sequel? The some of the songs on the album are classics, but most were hits at the time, and never made it to music memory. I fear a sequel will never be made. Although the public reaction was mostly positive, the critical was terrible, and when you have an album like this, you need the critics to promote sales, and they didn't have that. But, the fans of this album hopefully still have a voice, and a sequel will be made. But till then, we must watch the sky, and pray. You don't have to agree, but it's my opinion, and I'm sticking with it.



2. When I first heard this cd 3 years ago, I thought it was a wonderful concept, however since hearing the cd, I didn't feel that some of the tracks were done as well as they could've been.
   
   Especially evident upon listening to Steven Curtis Chapman 'Live Out Loud' Vs. Out Of Eden 'River', they sped up the music to River, but they didn't re-pitch the tune to match the original recording (programs like Adobe Audition can speed the tempo of a song up while keeping the original pitch the same fairly easily). If this track had the music kept at the same pitch while speeding it up, it would've worked well....other tunes that I felt didn't work as well were Relient K 'Pressing On' Vs. Tobymac 'Yours', The Benjamin Gate 'All Over Me' Vs. John Reuben 'Do Not'.
   
   My personal favorites on this cd were Audio Adrenaline 'Get Down' Vs. Steven Curtis Chapman 'Dive' Vs. Grits 'They All Fall Down' (which was a great track to lead the cd off on, however it ended up being my favorite track on the cd), DC Talk 'Colored People' Vs. Newsboys 'Entertaining Angels', and Newsboys 'Shine' Vs. PAX217 'Tonight' (i felt this one worked especially well together).
   
   I'll give a special mention to Grits 'Tennessee Bwoys' Vs. Switchfoot 'You Already Take Me There', while i'm not a huge fan of Grits, this song in particular, this new spin on it gives me a new appreciation of the track. The Carman 'Who's In The House' Vs. Zoegirl 'Even If' smash-up is a neat spin on this old Carman track that I can remember listening to years ago with friends of mine in the car of one of our old youth group leaders.
   
   So, all in all, i liked about half of the cd....but i give it 4 stars because of the effort taken to sync these tunes together....the people that worked on this cd know what they're doing. Three years later, i'm still hoping a second volume would come out, because I would just love to hear more Christian music like this, and since then there have been lots of new recordings that could be mashed up together, and i'm only hoping that the record labels are reading this and are planning more volumes of Smash-Ups.



3. I first read about the idea of "mash-ups" a year or so ago in Mojo magazine. Apparently, the concept of computer savy music fans taking the melody from one song and setting it to the backing track of another (completely unrelated) song didn't set well with the original artists when the bootleg versions began turning up on the internet. Nonetheless, it was still great fun, and who hasn't wondered what Glen Campbell would sound like backed by Metallica?
   
   It's somewhat surprising then, that a Christian record label would latch onto the idea and release an "authorized" CD based on this idea. Christian labels aren't exactly known for catching on to trends quickly, if you know what I mean.
   
   Even more surprising is that almost everything here works. The song choices vary from the overly familiar (Newsboys' "Shine" and "Entertaining Angels", DC Talk "Jesus Freak" and "Colored People") to unexpected gems (Grits' "TN Bwoys", John Ruben's "Do Not"), and the actual mash-ups are well thought out.
   
   At first listen, some of the tracks can be quite jarring - the Rebecca St. James -"God"/Earthsuit- "One Time" was startling for me - but the more you hear these tracks, the more you can appreciate the effort which went into putting them together.
   
   The lead track worked the best for me, maybe because it was the only track which mashed-up three songs instead of two. Mixing up Audio Adrenaline's "Get Down", SCC's "Dive", and Grits' "All Fall Down" was inspired.
   
   Even the use of Carman's (ugh!) "Who's In The House" isn't as horrible as it looks on paper when matched with pop queens ZoeGirl's "Even If". Somehow it all works.
   
   I hope this won't be the only time a Christian label tries something like this. There are plenty more great songs out there waiting to mashed-up.



4. This CD is one of the best CDs. The music is great, and it leaves you in high spirits, unlike some CDs. They can leave you feeling dark inside.



5. Good stuff! I was just Christmas shopping and I'm guilty of being a bit selfish. I saw this CD and picked it up on a whim. It looked like fun. And it is.

   I'm not sure if it's what I was expecting, though. When they said they mixed a couple songs together, they did, BUT, they typically take the beat from one and the words from another. Example: River / Live Out Loud has Out of Eden's beat but you never hear them sing. It's just SCC.

   All in all, very good. I always have to give kudos to original Christian music. Too much of it is an effort to sound like somebody else. This is fresh and original. It makes me happy. And a sequel would make me even happier.

No comments about I Could Sing of Your Love Forever: Kids.

3 comments about Shipwrecks & Islands.

1. This is an exceptional CD, both musically and thematically. Some of the music reminds me of Peter Gabriel - excellent use of synthesizers and drum machines, strong melodies, etc. I purchased everything I could find from Gold Records based on how much I enjoyed "City of Gold", and this Cd is my favorite of the bunch.



2. Like City of Gold, Shipwrecks & Islands moves the listener and inspires a renewed and deeper commitment to the Lord.



3. From the same group that produced "City of Gold," Shipwrecks & Islands is an outstanding portrayal of our failure as Christians to step out and love our Brothers and Sisters. With song and poem, like City of Gold, this one will challange your heart to hear and respond to the sufferings of others. A MUST for your collection.

5 comments about Strong Hand of Love: A Tribute to Mark Heard.

1. Five Stars - really. Gosh, I love this album, and this was my first introduction to the music of the man Mark Heard. Although performed by him are not any of these songs, they reflect the wonderful poetry of the man. Yes, he was a poet, and the recordings of his friends and admirers are top notch, even better than the ones he did when he was alive, I strongly believe. The music to which his words are set here are something of a mix of rock and folk music with a dash of country - really very pleasant to the ear. Add the soulful words and the soulful renditions, and the music is delicious. So, I call this soul music, since he penned such beauty into his songs and the music goes past the ear and down into the soul. Remembered he is and will be fondly.



2. This is, without reservation, one of the finest CD's in my collection. I was a long time fan of Mark Heard and this CD is the top of my list for ALL artists... The songs recorded by the talented artists on the CD paint a picture of the soul of Mark. He was an extremely talented musician and producer who is greatly missed in the world of music.



3. Of all the artists that Mark Heard has influenced and worked with Randy Stonehill will miss him the most. It is the Stonehill/Miner performance of look over your shoulder that is the most moving and passionate display of truth and valor ever done by mark yet performed so well by someone that mark worked so hard with and spent so much of his life being close to.Mark Heard will be sorely missed.



4. A rollicking, robust -- and sometimes tender -- tribute to an artist whose anonymity may always overshadow his immense musical talent. From the stunning opening song by Kevin Smith of DC Talk to the stirring finale by a reunited Chagall Guevara, this effort records the map of Mark Heard's musical heart as well as anyone could hope to. Not a substitute for Heard's music, this CD nevertheless is a welcome addition and a sign of his influence on contemporary songwriters. Bruce Cockburn's title tune is lovely, though I'm not sure it's better than an earlier cover by Randy Stonehill, who's heard elsewhere here with Pam Dwinell (Kate) Miner. Phil Keaggy's "I Always Do" may be the CD's most perfect song; Pierce Pettis distills the essence of Mark Heard in "Nod Over Coffee." Missing here -- but not to be missed -- is Pat Terry's extraordinary acoustical version of "Mercy of the Flame," a track that's available on the cassette version of this record! ing. Heard's Strong Hand of Love is the hand of God Himself -- sometimes hidden by our shadows but firmly gripping every note of Mark Heard's music. Enjoy.



5. As near to a perfect album as I can think of. There is the strength of performance from each artist from the lesser knowns to the biggies. All put their heart into it and pay their sincerest respect to a songwriter who tells it like it is. Each singer sings it as if he or she wrote it. Such is the power of Mark's honest lyricism, that it causes one to feel that the nature of existence is not intrepid and remote, that our struggles are universal and our joys may be obscured but worthy of the struggle, and that meanwhile we have the solidarity of each other. From the pulsating opening track 'Lonely Moon' to the passionately yearning 'I Just Wanna Get Warm' to the chilly introspection of 'It's not your fault' to the anthemic 'Orphans Of God', I seriously would be hard pressed to think of a track that I dislike. The singular unity of Mark's visionary poetry is excellently played out with quite a diverse range of style. And that is another reason this album is so enjoyable. Here are songs that reach deep into my loneliness and anger at the world and love for life. For more of the same you could try the double disc 'Orphans Of God' which has everything here and more.

No comments about Say Amen.