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#38
Geoff Moore and the Distance - "Threads"
Year: 1997
Label: Forefront
Favorite songs: Scattering, The In Betweens, I'm Free, Declaration, Running to You, No Need to Explain, Desperate Men
Lyric sample: "You don't wanna push a desperate man / Ain't not tellin' what he might do / You don't wanna corner a passionate heart / It may run right over top of you / Passionate desperation / Is a volatile combination // We are desperate men / Rebels and fools who've been rescued / We are desperate men / Desperate for the good news "
The final album from Christian music's most under appreciated rock band is easily their best. Putting off the synths and chorus effects that had stayed with their previous efforts far too long past the 80's, Geoff and the boys (including a few new additions) have surfaced with a much more mature sound that was hinted at with the two new tracks on their Greatest Hits project a year earlier. Less pop and more grunge, Threads benefits from gritty guitars and breathy, passionate vocal performances from the always solid Moore. Roscoe Meek's licks are missed a bit, replaced by newcomer Joel McCreight's whines and squeals, but this record's in-your-face blast is appropriately real and down-to-earth. It is surprisingly heavy for a Distance record, easily the loudest they've ever done, and that's definitely a good thing. At times in the past it seemed like GMD dressed like a rock band but sang like a pop group (A Friend Like You, I'm looking at you). Now we've got a real rock sound tearing at the edges of our speakers, and what a beautiful thing it is.
Progression is everywhere. Sure, the lead off track is a cover of "I'm Free," but I guarantee you've never heard it like this before. GMD's "I'm Free" is a searing, grinding guitar attack that pauses just briefly for another fun The Who reference. All the uptempo songs have gone up a notch. "Desperate Men," "Running to You" and "Scattering" all roar with an intensity never before heard from this group, and it draws from Moore some of his best vocals to date. Interestingly, it is the ballads that benefit most from this new sound. The soft rock songs plod with a contemplative beauty. "Only A Fool," "No Need to Explain" and the title track provide some of the album's best moments and messages. The record closes with "The Letter," a tender plea to hold on to life from someone who intends to commit suicide. I almost always like songs like this and "The Letter" is no exception.
It's certainly atypical for Geoff Moore and the Distance, but as I said, I consider it their strongest effort and I would recommend that 90's rock fans specifically take a listen. The rougher edge does nothing to diminish the always clear lyrics. Indeed, his passion for Christ and for today's youth comes through loud and clear amidst the noise. At very least, I've thoroughly enjoyed revisiting Threads as I write this review.
#39
Steven Curtis Chapman - "Heaven in the Real World"
Year: 1994
Label: Sparrow
Favorite songs: Treasure of You, Facts are Facts, Dancing with the Dinosaur, Burn the Ships, The Mountain, Heaven in the Real World
Lyric sample: "As sure as there's a law of gravity / That says what goes up must come down / This is the ultimate reality / That God is, God loves, and God can be found"
It's worthless to lyric-sample Steven Curtis Chapman. Very rarely does one line stand out as being particularly brilliant, but everything he does is grounded. This was perhaps the first album that I really listened to and loved. Up to this point, I just listened to whatever my mom played in the car or around the house. I knew who Steve Green was, and Amy Grant, and then I remember my mom playing The Great Adventure a lot. Then when Heaven in the Real World came out, I actually started remembering and singing the songs. I liked "King of the Jungle" a lot. So nostalgia has a bit to do with the high placement of this record, but I feel it has enough inherent worth to maintain it.
Heaven in the Real World is the follow-up to The Great Adventure. If that record put Steven on the map, Heaven in the Real World established him as a force to be reckoned with, a high-roller in the world of Contemporary Christian Music, if you will. But there's no luck about it. Steven's success isn't in the dice - it's in his fantastic music. Chapman is a class guitarist and songwriter, and on this effort he combines his musical influences seamlessly into a colorful, rousing song list. Lyrically and musically, Heaven is an uplifting album full of positive pop-rock anthems. It would be far too politically correct to call it socially conscious, but in a way it is also accurate. The title track addresses the despair and decay in the world, but doesn't hesitate to celebrate God's remedy. "Dancing with the Dinosaur" calls us to stand on the truth of God's Word that is often deemed outdated (or extinct) in our modern world. "Facts or Facts," probably the finest rock tune on the album, also deals with this theme, though it is more concerned with simply laying out the trues we know about life and God.
The energy of jam tunes like "Treasure of You" (is he trying to rap again?) gives way to a number of tender ballads that Steven fans should expect. Among them "Still Listening," "Heartbeat of Heaven," and the especially quiet "Miracle of Mercy." "Remember Your Chains" is a sober admonition to recall the bondage we were once in to sin, and rejoice in our freedom in Christ. To me the standout is "The Mountain," a soothing guitar piece that boils over to a rock bridge before descending again. Affirming and encouraging, Heaven in the Real World is perhaps Steven's most purely fun record. Yet it's not style over substance, it's only that the former carries the latter. One of the milestone records of the 90's, and one that is essential for the CCM aficionado. Facts are facts.
#40
Hokus Pick - "Snappy"
Year: 1997
Label: Freedom
Favorite songs: I'm So Happy, We Are the People, Sliver, True Believer, Naturally
Lyric sample: "Liar, liar, pants on fire / Though I'm flawed, I aspire / To be God, the entire / Thought is odd, but I'm a die hard / And when my selfishness retreats / I like the guy I sometimes meet / He must be shy, he waved goodbye / Before I offered him my seat // It comes so naturally to me / My selfish personality / It must be something in my genes / It comes so naturally to me"
It's a shame so few people know of Hokus Pick. I was introduced by a friend who, though the usual web of kids who find odd and obscure things to show each other, had come into possession of the song "I'm So Happy," which is undoubtedly their most famous title. It's a fun, bouncy, ska-like pop rock number with an undeniable chorus: "I'm so happy / Feeling snappy / My life is rosy / I'm feeling comfy-cozy." The humorous verses explain the singer's best day ever, but there may be more than meets the eye. This seemingly carefree ditty ends with the stinger "Will there be sorrow / When I wake up tomorrow?" Is this an admonition to live in the moment? A celebration of the good things in life? A send-up of Christians who act like everything is perfect in their lives but who really live with hidden struggles? Just because we have a fun-loving band in Hokus Pick doesn't mean we have a totally shallow one, though they have their moments ("Let Go Let God" is a pretty obvious cliche).
The whole CD does not sound like "I'm So Happy." The boys from up north definitely have a strong sense of humor that permeates the record from the lyrics to the horn section (which interestingly enough remains anonymous in liner notes). However, while "We Are the People," and "Our God" move at a quick pace, there are a lot of varying dynamics to be found on Snappy. The anthem "True Believer" starts out so quiet it can be hard to hear at all before bursting into a longing chorus. "God For a Day," and "Nothing More" are plodding, quieter reflections. "Let Go Let God" works its way through some dark, tense verses and then comes welling with distortion on the chorus, as well as in the bridge which contains perhaps the funniest guitar solo I've ever heard. It rides the line between being genuinely funny and genuinely bad, in true awkward "The Office" fashion. "The Comfort Song" is perhaps the closest companion to "I'm So Happy." Overall, it's a very likable, laid back collection of songs infused with both faith and wit.
I didn't love this record right away. It had to grow on me. But now that it has I like absolutely every song, even the slow ones. Hokus Pick finally found their match at Freedom records. Snappy is far and away their best sounding album, much superior to, say, Bookaboom, which was muddy and at times completely incomprehensible. And I haven't even mentioned a major selling point. Of all the records I've ever owned or listened to, this one has the greatest hidden track I've ever heard of. Not content to simply fill space with a remix or some such thing, Hokus Pick has gone in an entirely different direction and recorded a fairly lengthy radio-style audio story documenting their (alleged) rise to international super stardom. The whole thing is completely ludicrous but contains some truly entertaining moments. I would almost go so far as to consider this one of the great 90's Christian albums, commercial success or not. It's certainly unique and is definitely worth hearing. Hokus Pick has said, "Take God seriously and everything else lightly, because life is rather funny." I could hardly agree more.
