Group 1 Crew – Ordinary Dreamers

review by Rich Smith Ordinary Dreamers is the second album from Group 1 Crew, their debut self titled album won a Dove award, unusual for a debut album but not surprising as the album was awesome and very original sounding, with their powerful Latin infused R&B hip hop mix, and they do not fail to deliver this on Ordinary Dreamers. The sound has matured but is still original, and still has awesome uplifting beats and lyrics. Every track on the album is fantastic; it is another one of those rare albums as their first was that you like all the tracks. This album will have you singing along, dancing and just taking you high.

Ordinary Dreamers is brilliantly produced and the rap collaboration between the members of Group 1 Crew flow through the songs, rapping from life experiences from the past and present, with tracks like Critical Emergency on the state of society where people are in desperate need, and with tracks that talk about the Kingdom of God in Keys to the Kingdom and proof of God in I see you, this is one awesome album where the focus is definitely on our saviour Jesus, from the first track Movin’ to the last Living the life, they are all laced with spiritual adrenalin.

This album is a must for Group 1 fans, hip hop fans, and just everyone really, even if you do not like hip hop, im sure you will find Group 1 Crew a real refreshing to hear, I know many who don’t like hip hop but love listing to Group 1, so give it a go, you might be surprised.

Rich Smith Rating 5 stars out of 5
Stand out tracks:
Keys to the Kingdom
Critical Emergency
Live Out Loud

High School The Musical

film review by Rich Smith

High School Musical 3: Senior Year is the third instalment of the High School Musical franchise and is the first to be shown on the big screen. Set in the senior year of High School, they decide to put on one final musical. High School Musical 3 is a good clean family film full of dancing and song and with a bigger production budget, it is a sure hit with the fans. But it won’t be everyone’s cup of coffee, especially if you drink it.

To be honest though I was slightly disappointed with the film, I am a fan of music and dance films, and like the previous two high school musical films, however I think I was expecting more, the production of the film was bigger, they had more special effects and bigger sets, however I think that brought the viewer away from the originality of the first two films, they seemed to focus more on the production then on the songs and dancing, which I believe could have been better, and they borrowed songs or bits of songs from the previous films. Though having said that, I feel that the film will probably grow on me, and being kinda like a critic I do focus on different things than a child does, and having spoken to various children and fans of High School Musical, they love the film!

So even though having said what I have said, I do recommend this film to fans of High School Musical, and those that do like films of a similar nature.

Rich Smith Rating 4 out of 5 stars

Charlie Hall - The Bright Sadness

Review by Jono Davies

The Bright Sadness is Charlie Hall’s 4th album and, to be honest, it is the first full album, of his, that I have had. Of course I have had the honour of hearing his great vocals on numerous other albums, including a few tracks on all eight of the live Passion Albums, where he has been leading worship for a while.

The album, according to Charlie Hall, “comes from me understanding my ordinary human condition and my deep love for Jesus.” This issounds like a good theme for an album. The Bright Sadness was recorded in Oklahoma City & LA and deals with a lot of issues and themes that are at the forefront of the church; redemption, compassion and injustice. Lyrically, as an album, it also deals with the issues of brokenness and real life struggles. The best part of the whole album has to be the brilliant Lyrics, each track deals with a different issue.Of course I have a favriote and The lyrics of the track “Hookers & Robbers” are the perfect example of this brilliance. There is something very different, yet uplifinting and interesting about the sounding of this track which I found very appealing. Another beautiful crafted track is album opener “Chainbreaker” with its powerful guitar which leads beautifully into what I thought was the second best track on the album in “New Year”. On a different matter, Some tracks on this album don’t do much musically but, as I said before and ill say it again, the lyrics on this album always keep you listening.

I wasn’t sure how to review this album as each track is different to the last and well worth getting into, overall, a fantastic album with great bass melodies and driving guitar riffs but its sadly not an outstanding album. You probably will not find yourselves singing these songs in your local church on a Sunday morning. However, it is still a CD to inspire you to worship and one which deals with many issues. This is a enjoyable album, just not a great album. It’s certainly well worth a listen to.

Jono Rateing 4 out of 5 Stars
Stand Out Tracks
Chainbreaker
New Year
Hookers & Robbers

Chris Tomlin – Hello Love

review by Little Jon

I have had this album for about two weeks now, and have had it on a number of times. But to be honest, I’ve struggled to really forge an opinion of it. That may be a good thing. Jono and I have had several conversations about how dangerous it is to judge or criticise worship songs, because at the end of the day you’re not worshipping the song, or the author, or the author; you’re worshipping God – and let’s face it; He’s perfect!

My initial thoughts when I first put the album on were “I’ve already got this song ... and this one.” I immediately recognised two of the first four songs as being from the latest Passion album, and considered turning it off, as I’m not a fan of the latest Passion album. However, I’m pleased to say that version of ‘Sing, sing, sing’ and ‘God of this City’ are better than I’ve heard anywhere else. In fact the quality of the whole album is very high.

In fact the more I listen to this album, the more I begin to love it. The simplicity of many of these songs lends them very well to be played and sung in church. On the whole, it’s quite a gentle album – lots of strings and choirs. However there are exceptions (‘You lifted me out’ being a very good exception). And really that’s what I would have liked more of - more variety. This is a very good album, and I would thoroughly recommend it as a purchase, but I’m afraid we’re going to have to add it to our growing list of four star Christian albums. Very good – but not quite a classic.

Little Jon rating it 4 out 5 Stars
Stand out Tracks
You Lifted Me Out
Sing Sing Sing
God of This City

David Crowder Band :- Remedy Club Live Tour

review by Jono

Let me start by saying that I am not a big fan of live albums and I honestly doubt that I ever will be. I love seeing a band play live, the atmosphere & sheer volume of a gig, the different people around you, the energy of the band and that overwhelming sense that just about anything could happen. This feeling just can’t, in my opinion, be conveyed by a live album, the screams of a thousand people when the band take to the stage & the applause after each song really doesn’t add to the music and can sometimes detract something from an otherwise good song.

However, I am a big fan of the David Crowder Band, they were our Artist of the Month last month and their last album, “Remedy”, was the best album of the year, as far as I’m concerned. So could this album be the one to change my opinion of live albums? Sadly, no. Each track on the album is amazing, pure brilliance at times, but you are quite likely to have their last few albums so you’re gaining nothing new. After the initial screaming and clapping the mix of fans singing is very low and the recording does sound very polished, you do also get a DVD of the gig, which, I believe, is far better than a live CD. The DVD at least allows you to watch the band on stage and some of the crowd watching, unfortunately there seem to be very few camera options, the editing is a little ‘samey’ and uncreative and the visuals are nothing special or exciting.

I truly hate being negative about any album and try to find the best in everything. David Crowder Band are great at pulling out creative songs for their albums, in this instance it feels as though they are trying to wring out the last few ounces of life from what was, and remains, a classic album in “Remedy”; and I don’t use the term ‘classic’ lightly. I do regret being negative about this album, and obviously it is only my personal opinion, I just feel that it doesn’t add anything to their previous albums. As I said, I’m not a fan of live albums so this album would have had a long way to go to win me over completely, however, in reality I don’t believe it ever came close. I shall have to wait for their next new offering and hope for a return of the creativity that we know and love.

Jono rating 1 out 5 Stars

CompassionART

review by Jono

CompassionART It’s here! However, before starting the review I wanted to share what this album is all about & how it came to be. Finding himself traversing from one extreme to the polar opposite, sitting in plush, 5-star hotel rooms before going to the slums to minister to some of the poorest people in the world, Martin Smith (Delirious? Frontman) was struck by the dichotomy of the situation. He felt called to do something about it. Calling on 11 friends to join him, he decided to give in the way he knew best; through his gift for music.

The group of 12 cleared their schedules and came together for a songwriting retreat. What makes it even more amazing a feat is that all 12 members of the group happen to be amongst the most well-known and gifted Christian songwriters in the world. The 14 songs that we see revealed on this album are the fruit of this retreat. So what makes this album different from other charity albums? The simple answer is that ALL of the proceeds raised by the album and, further still, from each song featured on the album will go directly to the poorest communities in the world. The songwriters will not receive a penny.

You can see that the pressure when reviewing this album was high, I surely couldn’t slate an album such as this regardless of the quality of the actual content. Thankfully any worries I may have had were short lived. The songwriters, who together account for at least 42 millions album sales, 82 No.1 songs, 10 Grammy Awards, 118 Dove Awards, 2 Stellar Awards, 2 American Music Awards and 98 current CCLI Top 500 songs, were joined by 7 genre defining vocalists during the recording of this album and those talents are clearly on display throughout the album.
Each track on the CompassionART album is different from the last displaying the range of styles and sounds of both the songwriters and vocalists. The amalgamation of talent on this album is truly astounding, opening with the rocking “Come to the Water” containing the passion filled and sincere vocals of Chris Tomlin followed by the funky gospel sound of “Shout of Praise”, sung by Israel Houghton, Toby Mac & Darlene Zschech. Immediately following these powerful & passionate songs is my personal favourite, “King of Wonders”, sung by Matt Redman, Tim Hughes & Joel Houston. You can easily imagine this song on the next Matt Redman album, simple chords with a beautiful chorus (sung by Hughes) that will surely be sung in churches everywhere for the next few years.

For an album that was recorded so quickly, (3 days in Abbey Road), the quality and purity of the sound is amazing. There is some great guitar work on “Fill My Cup”, which had me singing all the way to work. Overall it is a great album, I don’t want to spoil it for you aas it is truly an album which you have to listen to, I have nothing but positive comments to make about this album. The fact that every single time this album is bought/played in church you know it is helping improve & save lives in the poorest communities in the world makes it worth buying in itself, it’s an added bonus that the music is great too. A definate must-have album.

Jono rating 5 stars out of 5
To Buy the album from survivor.co.uk click here

Krystal Myers :- Make Some Noise

review by Jono

I first had the opportunity to hear the self titled debut album from Krystal Myers 2-3 years ago. The style of the album was very much from the same mould as a certain Avril Lavigne. I very much enjoyed her debut, especially the track “My Saviour” and The Jono Show gave it 9 out of 10 at the time. Krystal Myers is back with her third album ‘Make Some Noise’ and having moved away from the sound of the angry American guitar girl which has somewhat died in recent years, it has a very ‘now’ sound. The first track, “Make Some Noise”, sounds much like something penned by Katy Perry (with the exception of the slightly questionable lyrics). The album is filled with track after track of amazing tunes which are verging on dance tracks, in much the same style as so many new & popular songs at this time.

Overall, if you did like the style and sound of Krystal’s first album then you may like this album but probably not. That’s not to say that the great “Reflections of You” wouldn’t have easily fitted onto the debut album, it is just that this album has a different kind of sound. I personally like it and the fresh, up-to-date sound that it possesses. Will it stand the test of time? I’m not so sure, as is the case whenever music takes a new turn, we never know just how long it’ll remain in favour. I find that I like the directions that Krystal has taken with this album & hope she continues pushing the boundaries of Christian music without getting stuck into any one set style for her entire career. Whether you like the new style or not is something you’ll have to decide upon but it’s certainly and album that is worth checking out.

Jono rating :- 4 out of 5 stars

If you would like to purchase the cd from Integrity.com click here

Storylines : - Tracing threads that run through the Bible

By Mike Pilavachi & Andy Croft
review by Jono

Now I don’t read many books, (but please don’t look down on me, I can simply never find the time). However, when I was given this book, ‘Storylines’ by Soul Survivor founder, Mike Pilavachi, I simply had to read it. ‘Storylines’ is a book which addresses the issue that faces many people, young and old alike. So many of us quite simply don’t know how to read the Bible, what’s in it and how it relates to itself & our lives now. This book deals with all of this by exploring the main themes in the Bible: covenant, kingdom, salvation, presence, worship and Jesus.

Personally I didn’t know what to expect from the book, for a start it has no pictures! What this book did manage to do, for someone like me, was take me on a journey through the history of the Bible, through the issues that arise, the reasons that things happen and also the way in which the Old and New Testaments link together. Whether you are old or young in your faith this book will help you take those extra steps into learning more about the amazing Bible. ‘Storylines’ has, if anything, made me want to seek more of God through his word and that is always a good thing.
Fancy reading this book yourself click here to buy the book from Survivor.co.uk

5 stars out of 5