Review of Curt Anderson "Every Moment"

Curt Anderson has been making music for years, but has now released his label debut under Dream Records. The songs on Every Moment are radio-ready, but unfortunately they don’t offer anything noteworthy or memorable.

Serving as the first single, “Keep It Beating” is a piano-driven pop track that praises God for help in every instance of life. The song has a common rhyming sequence, and lyrics like “When I’m lost in the storm, You pull me into your arms, You take my broken heart and keep it beating” can already be found in many other songs on the radio. Musically, the song fares about the same with a predictable beat and crescendo.

The other eleven songs on the record are similarly forgettable, with beats that have been done multiple times by other artists, and lyrics like “To flood creation with Your justice and fill the universe with love” from “Holy” don’t cover any new territory or have little depth. While the messages are nice, such as how it is important to live the way God called us to before it’s too late (“Love Like You Love”) or to trust God no matter how bad the circumstances may be (“When It Hurts”), the unoriginality is hard to overlook. The highlight of the album is KJ-52’s contributions to the song “All of Me.” Though the rapping sounds out of place on a soft pop album, the emotion comes across more sincerely than any other place on the record.

Mediocrity can be a curse if too many artists attempt to do the same thing, and the more one listens to the same formula, the more glaringly obvious it becomes. By combining lyrics that have been heard time and time again with predictable melodies, Anderson has created an album that is very recognizable and ultimately unremarkable. Those who are looking for deep meanings and artistic songs should look elsewhere.

 

-Jesusfreakhideout

 

Review of Curt Anderson "Every Moment"

Zak and Amy "I Will Say Yes"

The worship experience is something that many a mainstream church takes very seriously; providing music that is personal, inclusive and above all else relative to the society for which it is ministering to.

Indie duo Zak and Amy, are bringing their translation of worshipful music to the masses with their latest release, I Will Say Yes. Opening the album is the semi-epic “You’re Welcome Here,” inviting the Holy Spirit to let His glory fall. Musically, the track has all of the elements for a climactic moment but by the time it hits, it feels like a lackluster hyped moment. “I Will Say Yes,” “How I Love You,” “All Power” and “Can You See Him Now?” continue with the same tone but with a stronger flow and performance. “You’re the Only One” shows a softer acoustic side to the duo, which is a welcomed sound; Zak’s vocals fit this style very well.

However, the song, at first listen, gave a message that wasn’t discernible if the track is a love song to a spouse or an affectionate ballad to the Lord. The only line that truly makes the message crystal clear is the line, “All my hope is in you, oh Lord.” If that one line was removed, it would be a solid love song for a coffee shop performance. The album concludes with two remixed tracks, “The Light” and “Everything I Have,” that may have been considered to not cohesively flow with the rest of the album.

On the contrary, in my opinion, they seem to continue in the same thread and don’t truly seem like remixes. The former track has elegantly layered synths that complement Amy’s vocals very well and match the lyrics well as she sings of glorifying the Lord while going through “the fire.” The latter, and final, song has a more ethereal sound that plays off theme of surrender very well. Musically it may seem melancholy but the introspective reflectiveness in the lyrics makes it a strong ending for the album. Overall the production quality of I Will Say Yes is extremely high; Zak and Amy have the musical fortitude to create a solid release.

Unfortunately, the album doesn’t truly grasp the listener by the shoulders and make them want more. It’s lyrically steady but not solid; they feel more like simple overly-personal prayers that are set to music. Some critics of that opinion may reference the book of Psalms in comparison but while the psalms may reference the emotional response of the writer, they even more so reflect on the character of God. There is a time and place for those moments, but it felt like this album somewhat drowned in them.

Nevertheless, Zak and Amy are solid artists that we’ll more than likely hear from again in the future. This may not be the best introduction to the group but the future is bright for these two.

-Jesusfreakhideout

Zak and Amy "I Will Say Yes"

Kirk Franklin Gearing Up for "The 20 Years in One Night Tour"

After two decades in the music industry, Kirk Franklin is gearing up to get on the road and journey through his hefty catalog for fans.

Franklin’s show will kick off in March and travel to 24 cities in what will be known as “The 20 Years In One Night Tour.”

“The 20 Years in One Night Tour will be a retrospective of Kirk Franklin’s impressive, 20-plus year body of work, which has garnered him honors including nine GRAMMY Awards, 40 Stellar Awards and 16 GMA Dove Awards.” “Beloved for his distinct brand of inspirational music and lively stage performances, Franklin is extremely excited about the upcoming tour.”

The announcement comes after the November release of Franklin’s 11th studio album “Losing My Religion,” which has garnered a Grammy nomination and shot to the top of Billboard Gospel, Christian and R&B charts.

“It’s always exciting when your body of work kind of takes you for a surprise and that’s really what happened to me. It threw me for a loop and a surprise.” “I really, really love that that can happen.”

Still, he admitted that the album almost never happened because of his fears that he could not top his previous projects.

“To be transparent, that’s what took me so long to do the album. A lot of it was fear, and then I really began to learn that spiritually fear is a form of pride,” Franklin revealed. “It was pride that I would never be able to live up to ‘I Smile.’ I would tend to just kind of stay away, because I was scared of not being accepted like I was with ‘I Smile."”

Despite previous fears centered around creating new music, it seems Franklin still knows how to strike a chord with people. His first single off of the new record titled, “Wanna Be Happy,” made gospel music history last September when it became the best first-week digital single in the history of gospel sales.

Still, Franklin is doing his best not to place too much importance on these type of victories.

“I’m very cautious to not be too observant, or too consumed with what works and what doesn’t work, because I think that’s when you fail,” he said.

Regardless of how his album is received, Franklin is willing to go through trial and error in order to keep people focused on God.

“I just keep trying and failing and I will continue to keep trying to see what I can do to try to keep people engaged in the conversation about our Lord and Savior, man,” he said. “Really that’s all I’m trying to do. Really, at the end of the day, if I want to keep God part of the conversation then I will do everything I can to make that happen.”

“Losing My Religion” from RCA Records and Franklin’s own Fo Yo Soul Recordings, is officially in stores and features Kim Burell, Tamela Mann, and Tasha Page Lockhart.

-christianpost

Kirk Franklin Gearing Up for "The 20 Years in One Night Tour"