My Top 40 Albums - #25

#25
Audio Adrenaline - "Hits Parade"

Year: 2001
Label: Forefront
Favorite songs: Will Not Fade, Some Kind of Zombie, I'm Not the King, We're A Band, Never Gonna Be As Big As Jesus
Lyric sample: "So I sing / Sing a song / From this mountaintop I'm on / See it clear / See it true / There could never be another One like You"

I kind of broke my own rules here by including a greatest hits record. Generally I wanted to pinpoint particular releases that I felt especially worthy, but with Audio Adrenaline I have to make an exception. The inclusion of Hits Parade began back when I chose it as one of my "desert island discs" and it never really left the list. Perhaps it is ranked a bit too highly, but what I want to make redundantly clear is that this is Audio Adrenaline's best record. "But Dan," you say, "that's not really fair. Shouldn't every artist's greatest hits be their best album? How can these other releases go up against that?" I understand, but it's not exactly the case. I would say that many times a hits album doesn't flow as well as it could, and it often sounds fragmented as it contains sounds from across a changing career. More than that, fan favorites are likely to be left off.

On the other hand, I feel that Audio Adrenaline, while becoming undeniably successful and a fixture of the Christian music scene, never quite rose to the heights of superstars like dc Talk and Newsboys. While this could be attributed to a number of things, what sticks out to me is that they never made one really stellar album. They have good songs ("Big House" is one of the biggest Christian hits of the 90's) and good records (the likes of Underdog and Lift were well reviewed and received), but not one truly great record. They were always a bit hit and miss. So it only makes sense that the hits should be assembled and become that for which the band will be remembered. Enter Hits Parade. Now you can get all the really great or at least really popular songs from the band (more or less) in one convenient location, plus two new songs. Basically the cream of the crop from the era before Mark Stuart's vocal chords called it quits. More than most hits collections, this one really captures the spirit of the group and so if there is only one Audio Adrenaline album to own, this is it. Read the track listing - I think it speaks for itself.

The starting lineup is impressive. The new song "Will Not Fade" is a great riff-heavy anthem-rocker that makes a fine addition and gives the record a fresh start. Within the first few tracks, we have some of the stronger songs from three of the strongest albums - "I'm Not the King" from Bloom, "Mighty Good Leader" from Underdog, and "Some Kind of Zombie" from guess where. Things never slow down for long. "Big House" and "We're A Band" from Don't Censor Me are tucked right in the middle, and "Chevette" and "Underdog" keep it loud in the second half. It's a quality express tour of Audio A's best moments. The only real dud is "Hands and Feet" which I never thought was musically strong, but it's fairly popular at shows so I guess it makes sense to include it. "Rest Easy" is nothing to write home about either, but it makes a good soothing ending to an otherwise boisterous collection. One of the few "best of" outings that legitimately showcases what the group has to offer, Audio Adrenaline's Hits Parade gives a fan everything they need and very little they don't, squeezing it into the top 25 slots on my list.