New Music Wednesday
In case you don’t know, new CDs are released every Tuesday. But it’s very difficult on the day of release to find the time to both listen to the records and then write a blog. I’m sure it’s fine if you don’t have anything else to do, but usually I do. Plus, there is already a very capable Christian music site called newreleasetuesday.com. They work much harder than I do, so I don’t want to steal any of their thunder. So instead, we have new music wednesday here at toddagnew.com.
Before we get to this week’s music, let me quickly mention that our friends the Robbie Seay Band released a wonderful CD last week, Miracle. Also, John Mark McMillan who is quickly becoming a favorite of mine, released an amazing new song, Skeleton Bones. But that was last week, moving on…
This week we finally have the arrival of the new Vicky Beeching CD, Eternity Invades. It is another great worship record from a dear friend. I have been worshipping with the song Deliverer for quite a while now (benefits of knowing the artist), but was really glad to get the whole record. I really enjoyed Inhabit The Praise. I usually move away from songs with churchy lyrics but this song really settles into that concept and fills it out. Great fast song for all you worship leaders. You know, we always need more fast songs. I also liked Emmanuel. It would be a great song for communion, and we don’t have many of those. Anyway, if you’re looking for a good new worship record, here it is.
On a slightly different note, Slash released a new project yesterday as well. It is very creatively entitled, Slash. If you’re not familiar with him, he was the lead guitar player for both Guns N Roses and Velvet Revolver. It’s funny. I assumed I wouldn’t like this. But looking back, I liked GNR and VR very much. I guess it was the hat. Anyway, here Slash stays in his wheelhouse while varying enough to keep it interesting. It’s just a record of great guitar riffs. Very cool. And he has included some great singers as well: Ozzy, Chris Cornell from Soundgarden, Beth Hart, Fergie (yes, you read that right, Fergie, and she does well, who knew?), the guy from Wolfmother, Adam Levine from Maroon5 (oops, almost typed “moron5”), and the guys from Motorhead and the Cult. I also enjoyed the tunes with Miles Kennedy, a lesser known singer from Alter Bridge, but great here. Anyway, you’ll pretty much get what you’re expecting. If you like Slash and cool guitar playing, then you’ll like this. I did.
Another great guitar player in a completely different genre is Martin Sexton. His live records are amazing. His new record Sugarcoating is a really enjoyable record to listen to. I’d start with Boom Sh-Boom, just for sheer fun. He has a great voice and has always been a great writer. Just check it out and see what you think. If you’re like me, you might discover someone you’ve never heard of, but will enjoy for some time to come.
And last but not least, I have to share something else. It has been awhile since I’ve looked forward to a Christian pop CD release as much as I am looking forward to the new MercyMe CD, The Generous Mr. Lovewell. You can’t have it yet, but you can pre-order it. I spent half an hour yesterday listening to the 30 second song previews over and over. I had originally been drawn to the project because of the really creative little video vignettes they’ve been releasing. But actually hearing the music is really exciting. I’m not usually a pop music person, but I admire the MercyMe guys. With all they’ve done, they could just mail it in each time. Just put an album full of fluff together and people would buy it. But they don’t. They keep growing. They keep challenging themselves musically. Move, track 3, is a blast, and pretty funky. Crazy Enough almost reaches into Chris Isaac territory. I’m just hoping the label will have enough faith in Back To You’s reggae-tinged pop to send it to radio. The title track has that Beatles harmony they do so well. And Won’t You Be My Love is really wonderful. It seems out of place to laud praise on a band that is so popular, but I’m just encouraged by where they’re going. They deserve props for that. I can’t wait to hear more than 30 seconds of these songs.
And so there you go. There’s some new music on Wednesday. (Unless you read this tomorrow, in which case, it’s obviously Thursday.)
Todd