The Tunes They Are a-Changin’
When news broke that Bob Dylan would release his first-ever Christmas album, music lovers – and critics – went into a tizzy, concerned that it wouldn’t be a good fit. And rightfully so, for it seems that the legendary singer-songwriter spiked his eggnog en route to recording Christmas in the Heart (Sony).

Historically, Christmas albums include some of the world’s most melodic masterpieces. But in Dylan’s hands, the holiday tunes they are a-changin’ with ho-ho-horrible takes on “Silver Bells” and “Here Comes Santa Claus.” Such choices are too kitschy for a musician whose stellar discography earned him a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation last year for works “marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power.”

Dylan’s inclusion of faith-based hymns and carols like “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” will certainly stir buzz about the 68-year-old singer’s spiritual state. And though this is just one more way the revered rebel keeps fans guessing, the growling grandpa just doesn’t sound festive enough for Christmas luster.

If anyone could pen a set of sad strains for the season, Dylan could. Call me a Scrooge, but Christmas in the Heart makes me blue for all the wrong reasons.

Fortunately, these new holiday albums are filled with good cheer:

*Ayiesha Woods’s soulful Christmas Like This (Gotee) should do your heart some good. Inserting blatty horns, loose tambourines, and Jelly Roll-like tremolos throughout, the fervid songstress compiles a glorious holiday recording worthy of Motown and beyond.

*Laced with glittering arrangements and creative pizzazz, Downhere’s How Many Kings (Centricity) is brimming with enigmatic cheer. The Canadian quartet includes jaunty renditions of less-used Renaissance tunes like “Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella” to great effect. But the haunting allure of “Silent Night” is the true standout.

*Backed by a full orchestra, Grammy winner Sandi Patty’s Christmas Live (Stylos) guides an enthusiastic crowd through over an hour of stellar seasonal tunes on her fourth holiday album, and her first with a live audience. Having sold millions of yuletide records, the Christmas Queen Bee can croon with the best. But her full impact lies in hair-raising treatments of anthems like “O HOly Night.”

*Evenly divided between standards and originals, Bob Bennett’s Christmastide (independent) is infused with classic folk flair, especially endearing on the clever “Christmas for Cynics.” The always astute singer-songwriter’s warm vocals dance in perfect time with each guitar pick and strum, drawing attention to the life-altering lyrics and beautifully highlighting the real reason we celebrate Christmas.

Christianity Today, December 2009

Christmas Music Wrap-Up 2009
No matter your musical style, there’s certainly a new Christmas album just for you in 2009. This year’s new holiday choices include everything from vintage soul to modern worship, from light rock to indie pop, from bluegrass to contemplative folk—it’s all here. CT music writer Andrew Greer sorted through piles of records to review this season’s great, the not-so-great, and the, well, let’s just say some might deserve a humbug.

Starting with the cream of the crop …

Downhere
How Many Kings?

Style: Pop-sensitive rock ‘n’ roll; compare to Ben Folds Five and U2

Top tracks: “Silent Night,” “What Child Is This?”

Taking a hint from radio’s hefty support of last year’s Christmas-themed single, Downhere decided to back up the buzz with a full-fledged holiday album. Known for their high-energy live show and tight production, the Canadian rockers take it one step further, using the “most wonderful time of the year” to pull out all the stops, i.e., a jiving honky-tonk piano, some jolly tubas and festive funk-rock arrangements. But it is the quiet haunt of “Silent Night” and the hallowed, Simon & Garfunkel-ish treatment of “What Child Is This?”, partially sung in French, that make this album a holiday shining star.

Ayiesha Woods
Christmas Like This

Style: Vintage R&B/soul; compare to Lou Rawls, Indie.Arie, Alicia Keys

Top tracks: “Merry Christmas Baby,” “O Come All Ye Faithful”

With a bluesy rasp that could warm even Scrooge’s cold heart, soul singer/songwriter Ayiesha Woods’ first Christmas record is full of fun and faith. Roasting the season with both sacred and secular tunes, Christmas Like This seamlessly interweaves pop standards and classic hymns. Listen especially for her perfect blend of gospel and symphonic in the clanging chimes, string pizzicatos, and deep vibrato of a black gospel choir in “O Come All Ye Faithful.”

Bifrost Arts
Salvation is Created

Style: Haunting indie pop; compare to Sufjan Stevens, David Crowder, Starflyer 59

Top tracks: “Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem”

Giving sacred music an indie makeover, producers Isaac Wardell and Mason Neely corral a list of like-minded artists (Ben + Vesper, Sarah Fullen, and Derek Webb to name a few) to journey through the eerie nights of Christmas past in an attempt to give it context for Christmas present and hope for Christmas future. Re-imagining liturgical carols with every instrumental vice possible, the setlist plays like a medieval soundtrack, magically capturing the beautiful irony of the gospel story. Think Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas with the life-changing message of peace on earth, goodwill to men.

Sandi Patty
Christmas LIVE

Style: Symphonic pop; compare to Andrea Bocelli, Michael W. Smith, Barbra Streisand

Top tracks: “The Prayer,” “O Holy Night”

Having shared her popular Christmas road show in prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall and the White House, Sandi Patty is a holiday performance pro. So it is only fitting she’d follow her trio of best-selling holiday recordings with a live taping of her touring tradition. Backed by a full symphony and choir, plus her tight-knit band, the decorated singer cheers a sold-out cathedral with her trademark musicianship. And though Patty can charm and croon with the best, it is her ability to gloriously raise the rafters on carols like “I Heard the Bells” and “O Holy Night” that give this CD/DVD special distinction.

Bob Bennett
Christmastide

Style: Heartfelt folk; compare to Keith Green, John Michael Talbot, and Peter, Paul & Mary

Top tracks: “God With Us,” “Christmas for Cynics”

Thoughtfully pursuing Christmas with his delicate acoustic refrains, Bob Bennett combines his lilting vocal and humble insights to create a holiday music delight. Whether musing on the Christ Child’s real birthday on “It May Have not Been December” or citing his “bah-humbug!” jeers on “Christmas for Cynics,” the folk singer/songwriter perfectly captures all the quirks of Westerners’ love/hate relationship with the holidays. “Classic” Christmas recordings make light of the season’s chaos while ever so poignantly reminding us why we bother to celebrate. Achieving both, the timeless effects of Christmastide should become classic in no time.

Charlie Daniels & Friends
Joy to the World: A Bluegrass Christmas

Style: Down-home bluegrass; compare to Patty Loveless, Rhonda Vincent, and The Cox Family

Top tracks: “Christmas Time Down South” (w/ Aaron Tippin), “Silent Night ” (w/ Suzanne Cox)

Country music legend Charlie Daniels hosts a handful of pickin’ and grinnin’ musical friends to help him ring in the holidays. Highlights include Dan Tyminski (of Union Station) crooning over plush fiddles on “The Christmas Song,” and The Cox Family’s leading ladies’ fronting some oh-so-lovely takes on traditional carols. But it is Daniels’ relaxed charm, sweetly exercised during a telling of Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth, and the singer/songwriter/fiddler’s autobiographical “Carolina Christmas Carol” that make this CD so special to listen to and DVD so unique to watch.

Anthony Evans
What Christmas Means

Style: Soul-filled power pop; compare to Mandisa, Anointed, Israel Houghton

Top tracks: “What Christmas Means to Me,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”

Combining his commanding vocal with massive guitars, sweeping strings, and perfect-pitch background vocals, Evans’ debut holiday recording is Christmastime pop at its best. Sampling from a smorgasbord of styles, the versatile vocalist proves he can master just about any genre. But when left space to croon, the singer’s flexible pipes thrill. Simple piano and acoustic guitar accompaniment allow his vocal prowess space to soar, rather than being bogged down by rigid layers of band tracks, an occasional fault here. Still, Evans’ first holiday outing is an easy prescription for getting in the holiday spirit.

Big Daddy Weave
Christ Is Come

Style: Groove-based pop/rock; compare to Dave Matthews Band, MercyMe

Top tracks: “Joy to the World,” “I’ll Be Brave this Christmas”

If ever Dave Matthews Band was to record a Christmas album, it might sound a bit like Christ Is Come—well, maybe minus the gospel-specific title track. But since Matthews hasn’t yet tread holiday ground, Big Daddy Weave is poised to fill the jam band void. Horn hits and funk grooves aside, “I’ll Be Brave for Christmas” would be the perfect tear-jerker single for Tim McGraw or Faith Hill, and the rootsy instrumentations (i.e., banjo) to “Joy to the World” perfectly complement Mike Weaver’s crystal clear vocal. These guys know how to make tight pop records with a little extra treat, and apparently, Christmastime is no exception.

Chris Tomlin
Glory in the Highest

Style: Mega-modern worship; compare to Charlie Hall, MercyMe, Matt Redman

Top tracks: “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “Winter Snow”

With numerous Platinum and Gold-certified records and legions of fans of his smash-hit worship songs, Chris Tomlin’s Christmas album will undoubtedly be one of the best-selling holiday releases this year. And for good reason. Glory in the Highest is practically interchangeable with Tomlin’s non-seasonal releases. Gifting listeners with 12 live tracks from his involvement with Atlanta’s Passion City Church, the only problem with the record is it doesn’t sound like Christmas. And as inviting as worship, especially Tomlin-style, may be, unfortunately, as a Christmas record, this offering falls flat.

Yancy
Have a Fancy Yancy Christmas

Style: Pop/rock; compare to BarlowGirl, Superchick, Kelly Clarkson

Top tracks: “Wonderful Christmastime,” “Winter Snow”

Yancy’s name may be new to you, but having written songs for Avalon and Jaci Velasquez, shared stages with Nichole Nordeman, and with endorsements by big names like Mac Powell, she’s not new to Christian music. Making her artist debut with an upfront pop/rock Christmas record, Yancy utilizes her vast experience as a worship leader to focus this energetic set on Christ. With walls of guitars, slamming snares and mighty vocal pipes, Yancy’s Christmas is not quite as fancy as the title suggests, but it is brimming with Christmas fun tailored for young teens and tweens.

Bob Dylan
Christmas in the Heart

Style: Easy listening holiday pop/folk; compare to Simon & Garfunkel, Lyle Lovett and The Andrews Sisters

Top tracks: “Here Comes Santa Claus,” “O Come All Ye Faithful”

Prior to Bob Dylan’s Christmas street date, a lot of fans crossed their fingers, hoping the legendary folk artist would use his famously melancholic drawl to induce Christmas’ sad strains. But rather than dig deep, Dylan’s Christmas in the Heart surfaces at status quo. Groveling (can you call it “singing?”) through 15 mostly-cheery tunes, the notoriously depressed granddaddy gives a major league attempt at festive flair. And it misses. Oddly enough, for holiday haters, Dylan’s failed yuletide salute may give misers something to rejoice over in this generically peppy season.

Christianity Today, December 2009

Christmas Cheer From Downhere!
Known for his quick wit and dry humor, Downhere’s main man, Marc Martel, banters about the holidays, granting fans an inside scoop on the popular band’s first yuletide recording, How Many Kings: Songs for Christmas (Centricity). Dishing behind-the-scenes details on the album’s brightest tracks, the brassy Canadian takes time to school CCM on rock ‘n’ roll and Christmastime in the Great White North.

AG: Now tell me the truth, Marc: Do Canadians celebrate Christmas?

Marc Martel: Sort of. But instead of Saint Nick, it’s Guy Lafleur. Instead of sheep and donkeys, it’s loons and beavers. Instead of turkey—socialized health care.

AG: Christmas records aren’t typical fare for rock bands. What prompted you guys to fire up the yuletide log?

Martel: If there was typical fare for rock bands, what would become of rock ‘n’ roll, I ask you? Eh? Rock bands do what we want. Otherwise we replace “Rock” with “Boy.” It also had to do with the amazing, unexpected success of our single “How Many Kings,” and knowing that we were going out on the “Bethlehem Skyline Tour” again this December.

AG: Are you guys planning some festive stage wardrobes for the tour?

Martel: That’s a great idea! But since it’s not our idea, that wouldn’t be very rock ‘n’ roll of us, would it?

AG: Out of all the great Christmas tunes, how did you decide which carols to include?

Martel: I used the magnificent interweb to make a list of about 50 Christmas tunes I love or remotely enjoy and immediately noticed that my top 20 were 100 years old or older. Everyone agreed if we were going to do covers, we needed to do the deep classics and not waste our time with the fluff. To whittle it down, we chose our faves and cross-referenced those with the ones we felt had the most Downhere-esque arrangement possibilities. To lighten the mood, we recorded a couple loose and live off-the-floor tunes (i.e., “Good King Wenceslas,” “We Wish You A Merry Christmas”) because all of our favorite Christmas albums have those fun levity moments.

AG: “Silent Night” is beautifully haunting. Does this hymn have special meaning for you?

Martel: Jason really had the vision for that one. Of course, that hymn is his all-time fave, my mom’s all-time fave, etc. We originally had an ambitious idea to put this crazy cacophony of random chaotic sounds behind Jason’s voice, starting and stopping with every word he sang, contrasting the noise of the world to the peace of God. But that turned out to be a pipe dream. Jason says the carol reminds him of a dirge. Like, in the music and lyrics, you can hear Christ’s journey from the manger to Golgotha. I think that’s beautiful.

AG: You record in your native French for the first time on “What Child is This?” What’s the scoop?

Martel: I love when artists give homage to their upbringing. I’ve never had the opportunity to do any French with Downhere (partly because it’s just unfair for the ladies!), so this was the time to do it. My mom leads the choir in the church I grew up in and this was one of our favorites to sing at the annual Christmas service. The people at my dad’s old church in Hawkesbury, Ontario, will be pleased.

AG: You guys self-produced this record for the first time. Were there any unexpected challenges?

Martel: We’ve been around the block on the self-producing thing, just not on such a large scale. We knew it would be tons more work and Jason and I were nearing our wits’ end by the time we finished cutting vocals. Jason’s been doing some producing on the side for a few years now, so he’s got the logistical side down pretty well, which is typically a headache. The biggest challenge is all the hours of editing and lining up rhythm tracks, which drains creative inspiration.

AG: What holiday traditions really get you revved up with Christmas cheer?

Martel: SHOPPING. No. My family was never huge on traditions. Other than having family time, which is all I need to make it feel like Christmas. And that starts when I book my flight to Montreal. I guess that means I like my family. Oh, and eggnog.

CCM Magazine, December 2009
Downhere.com

Scriptures Unplugged
Using Holy Scripture to frame songs of praise for more than a decade, Shane Barnard and Shane Everett, better known as Christian music’s best-selling acoustic duo, Shane & Shane, are leaning more than ever on their personal Bible study and experience leading worship at their home church in Texas to inspire their trademark memory-verse music. Using the pop-producing sensibilities of Pete Kipley (MercyMe) and Jason Hoard (Fee), as well as veteran audio engineer Steve Churchyard (The Eagles, Kelly Clarkson), to get the heart of the songs on tape, Barnard shares with CCM what makes their new studio recording, Everything Is Different, so, well … different.

AG: How did the recording process for Everything Is Different differ from sessions for past records?

Shane Barnard: We went “old school”and tracked together. This record was super unique in that a friend named Jason Hoard, from Atlanta, Ga., came down, and we sat in a room, along with our drummer Joey, and played a song until we got it. We would start with drums, then bass, then guitars, and so on, one track at a time. It was a blast! This made our music sound less polished and more “live” feeling.

AG: Was translating the feel of a live performance difficult?

Barnard: We wanted the record to sound a little more like our live show in this season. Some of these songs we had already been playing live, so there wasn’t a whole lot to change going into the studio.

AG: What inspired this new batch of songs?

Barnard: Scripture. More than ever, Scripture. We are falling more and more in love with the Lord through His living Word, and there is nothing we would rather sing.

AG: Scriptures have always made up the bulk of your lyrics. Do you consider Shane & Shane more of a ministry, a career path or both?

Barnard: Gratefully, I can say both. We are incredibly blessed to be able to minister around the country without the burden of having to have another revenue stream—blessed. We get to brag on the Lord Jesus, and provide for our families at the same time!

AG: You often lead worship at your home church in Red Oaks. Is it difficult to differentiate performing artist-mode from worship-leader mode?

Barnard: We live on that line, I guess—the line between artistry, in a performance sense, and corporate worship. It seems to work; both seem to edify.

AG: The two of you participated in a World Vision trip to Africa earlier this summer. How did that experience affect you?

Barnard: It messed us up. I got to see the boy who has lived on my fridge for a decade. Little Emanuel wasn’t little anymore, and he is healthy and amazing! It was incredible to see what happens on the front lines of World Vision. We were speechless! This organization is pushing out darkness in a very dark world, and providing care in every way to people groups who would otherwise be helpless. [World Vision] is transforming lives.

AG: How did the song “Turn Down the Music” transpire?

Barnard: We heard a Holocaust story about a boy who was a part of a small Christian church on the route to a Nazi concentration camp in Germany. Train cars full of wailing Jewish people screaming for relief would stop right outside the church every Sunday. “Spray some water on us! Take my child! Mercy!” they would yell.

The church derived a plan to solve this “annoying” problem. When the train would arrive, the windows would be shut, and the worship leader would get up and start leading “worship.” “Louder! Sing louder!” he would declare from stage. And the congregation would drown out the cries of the dying people outside with their beautiful singing.

Maybe we aren’t too different from this church. Maybe we have drowned out the cries of our neighbors by singing and gathering, by belonging to a social club [rather than] the radiant body of Christ, shining light in the dark places and bringing relief to dying people. Maybe we should turn down the music so we can hear their voices, and more importantly, the Lord’s voice asking us to go and tell and care and love.

CCM Magazine, December 2009
ShaneAndShane.com

Sophomore Concert CD Focuses On Hits
It’s been four years since Jeremy Camp released his first “live” recording, Unplugged, featuring a list of No.1 singles and fan favorites from his trio of gold-certified records (Restored, Carried Me and Stay), including the companion concert DVD, which has been certified multi-platinum since. Suffice it to say, Camp has not only a loyal record-buying base, but also legions of live fans. And he further captures the in-person experience on his latest CD, Live.

Half filled by popular tunes like “There Will Be a Day” and “Let It Fade” from his last two best-selling discs, the other 50 percent of the set list dabbles in Camp’s greatest No.1’s from the first portion of his celebrated career, fan favorites, a brief worship intermission with the praise combo “Hallelujah/You Never Let Go,” and an evangelical share time.

Containing all the stadium-sized arrangements listeners have come to expect from the driving vocalist, Camp dresses each song with his inspirational rock flair. But even though he offers more than an hour of epic music, there’s nothing new to gravitate toward—unlike Unplugged, which featured his power-pop anthems in an acoustically altered format. Live certainly serves as a good faux-greatest hits and a nice filler between studio recordings, but it is an album mainly for fans, of which, for Camp, there are plenty.

CCM Magazine, December 2009
JeremyCamp.com

More Melodic Rock From Rising Indie Outfit
For a band quoted as perfectly content “being the underdog” for their entire career if “that meant surprising the critics and naysayers every time we scored a touchdown,” EMI’s indie/alternative collective Seabird must have ignored their recent mainstream achievements. With accessible melodic piano-based rock, the band has found a home on popular television programming like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Pushing Daisies,” giving the young band a freshman upper hand.

But if they aren’t careful, their primetime credentials will associate the musical bunch with a slew of other delay-heavy rockers who achieve 30-second greatness before being swallowed by the current of trends pervading today’s fickle entertainment field. Rocks Into Rivers attempts to quell the tide by working to further distinguish the band’s hooky catalog.

Record opener “Don’t You Know You’re Beautiful” perfectly pulses a love letter from God to his creations, affirming, “Forever your heart is my home.” “The Good King” swaps the hammering piano for a pounding electric guitar with a similar message of comfort from Father God to his children.

“This Ain’t Home” and “The Sound of You and I” feature rootsy upright pianos, delicate glockenspiels, an affective accordion backdrop and generic relationship themes that will likely continue the band’s love affair with primetime TV. And each track is carried by Aaron Morgan’s eloquent vocal that hints at Rufus Wainwright and The Killers’ Brandon Flowers.

Considering production was split between Paul Moak (Mat Kearney) and Aqualung’s Matt Hales, Rocks Into Rivers‘ melodic rock makes sense (“Believe Me” could have easily been a bonus track on Hales’ Memory Man). But I’m surprised the two talents didn’t achieve a more diverse set list.

No doubt Seabird delivers some mighty fine pop/rock worthy of its exposure thus far—but yet to reach the high “surprise” bar the band has set for its pop/rock meldings.

CCM Magazine, December 2009
Myspace.com/Seabird

Thirty Years Is A Charm
When Newsong signed with Word Records in 1981, Michael W. Smith was still a couple years shy of his first major label deal. Sandi Patty had been awarded none of her three dozen-plus Dove trophies and ccm poster child, Amy Grant, was no big deal.

The point? Younger generations may not even realize Newsong has been around for nearly 30 years. Or that the resilient outfit has continued to evolve during its lauded Christian music tenure, not only into a veteran mainstay but also a relevant asset. As the creators and hosts of the massively successful “Winter Jam Tour” and architects for “The Christmas Shoes” holiday song spin-off phenomena, the adept musicians celebrate their most successful decade to date with their first studio recording in six years.

Co-writes with Matthew West, Sanctus Real’s Matt Hammitt and album producer, Charlie Peacock (Switchfoot, Sara Groves), help propel the veteran group into its’ third decade of ministry. Vocal reenergizing from former front man Russ Lee is also a smart move, considering Lee’s golden throat possesses both the power to drive the pop/rock edge permeating Give Yourself Away and soulful timbre perfect for breaking it down on the title track and the especially poignant ballad, “God Hears,” a song penned about his wife’s battle with cancer.

“Thousand Steps” is a radio-ready affirmation of God’s unconditional love a la Rascal Flatts. And a Jason Mraz-ish shuffle on “Beauty of Our God’s” underlines rootsy three-part harmonies, sweetly hearkening back to the band’s vocal group origins.

Putting their money where their mouth is, Newsong is packaging the record with a free duplicate copy for gifting to someone else. Just another example of the innovative spirit they infuse into their studio projects, live concert tours and Gospel-driven philanthropy—a combination of talent and generosity that the ccm genre would be foolish to retire anytime soon.

ChristianMusicPlanet.com, December 2009
NewsongOnline.com

About to lose my breath / There’s no more fighting left / Sinking to rise no more / Searching for that open door / Every road that I’ve taken / Led to my regret / I don’t know if I’m gonna’ make it / Nothing to do but lift my head / I look to you. (from “I Look to You”)

Whitney Houston has long been affiliated with gospel music. She cut her teeth singing church standards with her local New Jersey congregation’s choir as a teenager. Her ties to the Christian music market became well-known after she collaborated with BeBe & CeCe Winans on their 1988 hit record, Heaven, a close kinship that exposed CeCe to a broader audience thanks to their hit duet, “Count on Me,” from the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack.

The 1998 Dove Awards hosted a live display of the soul singer’s roots with a cut-loose performance of the late Dottie Rambo’s “I Go to the Rock” from The Preacher’s Wife soundtrack, Houston’s only fully faith-based record. The soundtrack, which featured the Georgia Mass Choir and Shirley Caesar, quickly became the greatest selling gospel album of all time, thanks to Houston’s worldwide celebrity and her history-making soundtrack for The Bodyguard (which included a BeBe Winans-produced rendition of “Jesus Loves Me”).

Even Houston’s familial ties lead back to religious music. Cissy Houston, Whitney’s mother, is a famous singer in traditional gospel circles. And her cousin, Dionne Warwick, released a full-fledged gospel record last year, in spite of the fact that many younger fans only know the legendary R&B singer from her strange association with the Psychic Friends Network in the ’90s.

But even with all her “A” list appointments in Christian music, Houston’s six studio recordings have left much to be desired for believers looking to confirm her outspoken Christian convictions. And that’s not to mention Houston’s messy personal details that included cocaine addiction and a tumultuous marriage to rapper/bad boy Bobby Brown.

But after a confrontational visit from her mother, who told Jet mgazine she was “summoned” by God to help save her daughter, Houston got her household in order and got busy recording I Look to You, her seventh studio release.

Calling I Look to You a “come-through,” rather than a “comeback,” Houston cites the Lord as the inspiration behind the vertically driven title track, penned by fellow faith-claiming troublemaker, R. Kelly. Desperate for divine intervention, the first verse contritely pleads: “As I lay me down / Heaven hear me now / I’m lost without a cause / After giving it my all … who on earth can I turn to,” before launching an all-out Whitney inspo-chorus of surrender: “After all my strength is gone / In you I can be strong,” vaguely referencing the “when I am weak, then I am strong” theme from Paul’s “thorn in my flesh” soliloquy in 2 Corinthians 12.

When Oprah asked Houston to whom the song is addressing in a recent televised conversation, Houston answered the ambiguously spiritual talk show host with, “Somebody bigger than you and I.”

Known for her passionate performances and fiery vocals, Houston often draws comparisons to her Godmother, Aretha Franklin. And in perfect Queen of Soul fashion, Houston is cranking up her recent live performances with lots of God-references.

For instance, in a recent Good Morning America performance, Whitney subtly changed a line of the title track’s chorus to affirm the record’s higher power focus, testifying to the crowd with an uplifted head and hands: “When all your strength is gone / In him you can be strong.” Then again, the meaning was occasionally loosed of its derivative when the singer’s stage movements implied the song could also apply to the fanatic live audience or her mother, who was in attendance.

“I Didn’t Know My Own Strength,” the record’s Diane Warren-penned mandate, offers four minutes of self-help fodder with lines like: “Picked myself back up, held my head up high,” and “I was not built to break / I didn’t know my own strength.”

And though a line in the chorus, “My faith kept me alive,” could be referring to Christian belief, and the bridge could be interpreted as a bit Christian-ese (“Found hope in my heart / I found the light to light my way out of the dark / Found all that I need here inside of me”), neither is explicit and both can be applied to a myriad of post-modern philosophies that incorporate wholeness as a survival of the fittest.

Do just a little research, though, and Houston clarifies the song’s meaning with absolute assurance. “I know from whence my help cometh. And I know that it’s strong within me,” she said, during the recent Oprah interview. “If ever I get low, I get weak, I know where I can turn to. I love the spirit of God so much.”

While Houston’s Christian convictions seem to come out in interviews and performances, such beliefs are far more subtle on her latest album. Despite her gospel music bonds, she has never tried to “cross over” from her secular platform. But that’s not the point.

With more than 140 million records sold worldwide, she could sing the phonebook and sell a slew of units. But that’s not really the point either.

When Oprah asked Houston, “Who do you love?”, she smiled and replied, “The Lord.” And so I Look to You is a coming of age. Though it ain’t gospel, the record is affording the renewed singer a second chance, and an extended platform from which she can candidly share her lessons learned and part of her Christian journey.

Christianity Today, October 2009
WhitneyHouston.com

Style: The alternative rock of The Killers and indie rock of Death Cab for Cutie

Top tracks: “Mess of Me,” “This Is the Sound,” “Sing It Out”

The evolution of Switchfoot has been interesting. Ever since veteran producer Charlie Peacock signed the San Diego-based band to his re:think label thirteen years ago, the resilient rockers have gone from being an emerging West Coast Christian music-oriented outfit to an internationally-known modern rock collective.

When 2003’s The Beautiful Letdown went multi-platinum and elevated them to celebrity status, a whirlwind of media and touring obligations left little time for leisure inspiration. But with a somewhat diminished profile in more recent years, and frontman Jon Foreman’s extracurricular exploits (both solo and as “Fiction Family” with Nickel Creek’s Sean Watkins) sparking new ideas, the seasoned musicians decided to re-introduce, if not reinvent, their smorgasbord of power pop/rock on their first release with Atlantic, Hello Hurricane.

Using their self-built home studio, the prolific collective churned 80-plus songs, relentlessly fine-tuning the final 12 tracks until they felt just right. As a result, this record boasts more than epic melodies or fine song craftsmanship and primo production. Hello Hurricane may be the first record Switchfoot can truly call all its own.

“Needle in a Haystack” kicks off the record’s “hope in the midst of chaos” theme with wall-to-wall guitars and a double-time pace that re-energizes perceptions of Switchfoot from the get-go. “Mess of Me” continues the high-octane guitars and drums, incorporating a searing guitar/vocal duet in the bridge where Foreman acknowledges “There ain’t no drug/The sickness is myself,” before vowing to move forward in a spirit of rebirth.

Pushing the pedal to the metal, “This Is the Sound” frantically exposes the dark despair of a world in great need before declaring love as louder, so loud Verizon Wireless noticed and tapped it as the edgy soundtrack for its Blackberry Storm 2 ad campaign. And “Your Love Is a Song” alternates between the band’s trademark drama-pop and Foreman’s solo acoustic leanings, haunted by perfectly placed background vocals.

“Always” showcases Foreman’s vocal warmth and Switchfoot’s melodic craftiness in an emotionally charged ballad that tempers the deep-seated pain of life with the hope of salvation’s second chance. And “Sing It Out,” gloriously layered in distorted guitars and symphonic strings, continues the tune of surrender, begging the Creator to overtake our will: “Take what is left of me/Make it a melody/Sing it out loud/Can’t find the words to sing/You be the remedy.”

In all the swells and sways of grungy guitar riffs and drilling drums, there’s something really authentic about Hello Hurricane. Not that it is without influences. Mandatory derivatives of Coldplay and U2 are inserted alongside tinges of The Killers and JET, and even a skosh of Modest Mouse, but the overall record feels original—thanks in part to producer/bassist-pro Mike Elizondo’s (Dr. Dre, Pink, Fiona Apple) varied experience.

More than just picking up where 2006’s Oh Gravity! left off, Hello Hurricane’s broad musical landscape supports a deep lyrical dig into the grief of the human heart and brazenly extends eternal hope for the soul. This recording is bound to be the beginning of a meaningful new chapter for Switchfoot.

Christianity Today, November 2009
Switchfoot.com

Style: emotive acoustic pop; compare to Shawn Colvin, Cindy Morgan and Patty Griffin

Top tracks: “Fireflies & Songs,” “From this One Place,” “It’s Me”

A songwriter in the truest sense, Sara Groves transfers the strains of everyday life to tape better than any artist in Christian music today. And though she has always translated her keen observations of others into four-minute song stories, Fireflies & Songs finds the ex-high school teacher stepping back from the chalkboard for some serious self-examination, making her already personal track record even more intimate.

From the title track’s tender opening line (“Thirty years ago I was a little girl/Riding in the backseat of a car/A woman sang, ‘You don’t bring me flowers anymore’/There fell a little silence in my heart”) to the closing resolve of “Joy is in Our Hearts” (“It is good to come together/In our friendship to remember/All the reasons hope is in our hearts … Christ our joy and strength”), Fireflies & Songs sounds as personal as the messages its lyrics dictate, thanks in part to veteran producer Charlie Peacock. Encouraging Groves to keep the song at the production’s core, Peacock used each song’s demo as the blueprint for the final track’s construction, nestling Groves’ telling vocal inside a soiree of earthy instrumentations.

On “From This One Place,” a steady piano pulse and plaintive pedal steel juxtapose the paralyzing fear of anxiety with faith in a bigger picture God: “From this one place I can’t see very far/This one moment I’m square in the dark/These are the things I will trust in my heart/You can see something else.”

“Love” utilizes syncopated strings and a mellow marimba to outline ill-conceived notions of love, and asks for its prevailing guidance to align our perspectives: “Love not of you, love not of me/Come hold us up, come set us free/Not as we know it, but as it can be.”

“Twice as Good” highlights the fulfillment of friendship, and “Setting Up the Pins” is as close to home-down bluegrass as Groves has ever recorded, with fiddle chucks, a picking mandolin and a bluesy harmonica shuffling the two-beat track along.

And in a stroke of melancholic genius, Groves unveils married life’s darker moments in “It’s Me,” singing over a prowling minor accompaniment: “Cutting me down in small degrees/You know my worst insecurities/Making no effort to understand/No one can hurt you like I can/Deep down inside the girl’s waking up/She’s calling out to the boy she loves/It’s me.”

With a vocal that emotes more feeling in a single line than most artists conjure up in an entire album, Groves willingly dissects the sins of life to shed light on what is temporary and what is eternal, getting to the heart of what really matters. And because of the greater perspective she articulates throughout her treasured discography, she extends hope through each and every heartache line.

I was certain Groves had already uncovered all of life’s hidden layers. But Fireflies & Songs probes yet deeper, and even more beautifully, into the fears, doubts, and joys of the human soul.

Christianity Today, November 2009
SaraGroves.com