MercyMe: Christmas Sessions

Hi everyone,

Well, Christmas is approaching with record breaking speed, so I thought now is the right time to review a Christmas album.

MercyMe's Christmas Sessions, offers a unique contemporary style for playing some of the best Christmas classics. It displays great singing and harmonies, slow classics, and classics played a little harder than normal. The album has been my favorite Christmas collection ever since I found it. MercyMe pulls out all the stops, inviting Christian music forerunner Amy Grant, and many others, including The London Session Orchestra, to play with them on the CD. The album credits add up to that of a small theatrical performance! Keeping the lyrics perfectly untouched, the band makes great harmonies and even changes the melody (in an striking way) in some tunes. MercyMe's vocalist, Bart Millard, has a strong and clear voice that proclaims the songs with great sound. Add Amy Grant's harmonies, The London Session Orchestra, and you have Christmas music bliss. The other members of the band put together guitars, bass, drums, keyboards, trombones, and trumpets, into an amazing medley.

The cover photo for Christmas Sessions

Here's the part where I talk about my favorite tracks from the album. The first track on the CD is It Came Upon a Midnight Clear. It starts with a beautiful duo of background vocals and The London Session Orchestra. The song then slowly builds to soft electric guitar riffs (a personal favorite sound if your talking guitars). By the time you get to "Peace on earth good will to men..." the band is rocking and you can feel the energy.

Gloria is where the musical genius of MercyMe takes place; they completely change the melody for the chorus in an indescribably good way. The first time I heard it my reaction was, "What?" Then I paused, "Whoa, amazing!" With the additions of some "Hallelujahs," Gloria is an awesome hit!

The third song, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, begins with dueling acoustic basses and violins, which nicely flow right into electric guitars and drums (more musical genius!). Millard sings the classic lyrics that mix with the contemporary melody in a beautiful way that you would never expect. This one has a fabulous ending, thanks to the choir of women who sing amazing ascending notes.

The next song, Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, is a secular hit, but it's still a great one. Background trombones around lyrics, and guitar solos, make this a great version of the classic.

Winter Wonderland / White Christmas. The idea to put these two together is just amazing! A trombone solo, accompanied with a driving guitar and keyboard, marks the turning point of the song, where it changes smoothly into "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas..."

Silent Night. I might go as far to say that this is my all-time favorite Christmas song ever, period. Bart Millard and Amy Grant are two perfect voices for this fabulous song. MercyMe plays it in a catchy way too. Drums and guitars give energy, but keep it relatively slow.

The tenth track on the CD is I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day. Again, The London Session Orchestra opens the song with celestial sounding strings, which make for a beautifully deep song. Here are the lyrics:

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on Earth, good will to men

And thought how as the day had come
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on Earth, good will to men
I can hear them

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on Earth” I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on Earth, good will to men

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead nor does He sleep
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on Earth, good will to men

I can hear You
I could still hear You
The world can hear You

The bells are symbolic of God's spirit with you and in you (and thus a feeling of peace and good will). It changes in the ups and downs of life. It's there, it feels hopelessly gone ("And in despair I bowed my head, 'There is no peace on earth' I said), it comes back even stronger ("God is not dead nor does He sleep, The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good will to men.") The cry of "I can hear you" is the rejoicing of God's presence.

A promotional shot of the band

All in all, this is a great album to add to your collection of Christmas music, don't miss it. If you'd like to buy the CD, I've added a link on the right, so you can buy it easily and safely from Amazon.com.

Thanks for reading and may you have a peaceful and happy holiday season! Merry Christmas!

John

Audio Adrenaline

Hello everyone!

Today I'm going to talk about Audio Adrenaline. They have always been one of my top bands because of their great sound and heartfelt lyrics. They play light rock, hard rock, and what I would call gospel rock. They have great lyrics that are fun to sing, but have a deeper meaning as soon as you take a closer look. This is one of my favorite things about Christian music, each song has levels of understanding. Audio Adrenaline is a great example of this. As soon as you pause and think, you'll get a great idea to ponder.


I have three of Audio Adrenaline's albums, Hit Parade, Worldwide, and Until My Heart Caves In. Hit Parade is a compilation of their greatest hit songs. And what a true statement that is, you can easily tell that Hit Parade slams 17 of their best tracks into one. Your first Audio Adrenaline CD should definitely be Hit Parade. The first song on the album, Will Not Fade, starts the album off with a strong statement:

What I am, and who I am

Is never gonna change
The hits will come
But I will not be swayed
I've always been
What I am
The world can clearly see
I won't fade away

A clear statement about the band's solid faith that will not fade. The "hits will come" - the times our faith is challenged - "but I will not be swayed." It's an awesome song with a great electric guitar riff that continues throughout.

The 7th song on the album, Big House, is possibly Audio Adrenaline's most popular song ever. It talks about our father's "big house," its expanse, and place for all of us.

It's a big big house
with lots and lots a room
A big big table
with lots and lots of food
A big big yard
where we can play football
A big big house 
Its my Fathers house

When I had the incredible chance to go to Soulfest 2005, even the band that played BEFORE
Audio Adrenaline talked about how crazy the crowd would go when Audio Adrenaline played Big House. They were right on, as soon as Audio Adrenaline got on stage, everyone in the crowd was screaming "BIG HOUSE, BIG HOUSE!!!" Basically, my point is that Big House is an outstanding song that you shouldn't miss!

Songs from Hit Parade that earn (at least) an honorable mention follow: Get Down, because of it's great beat and message: "I get down, and he lifts me up." Underdog, for it's display of Audio Adrenaline's unique electric guitar style and declaration that even when you're "In last place, if a place at all" there's hope for the Underdog. And finally, Rest Easy, for its calming voice: "Rest easy, have no fear, I love you perfectly, love drives out fear, I'll take your burden, you take My grace. Rest easy, in My embrace."

Hit Parade's Cover Photo

Worldwide was actually the first Audio Adrenaline album I bought. It also has many great songs with strong points. Go and Be has a great message of living life to the fullest, and learning from your shortcomings along the way, "Go, and be nothing less than you, every single day... run with your life and you will find all of the things that you've left behind." Pierced is a beautiful gospel rock song that asks Jesus to "Make me, take me, break me," and thanks him for forgiving our sins.

Worldwide's Cover Photo

As for the album Until My Heart Caves In, sadly, it's not as good as the earlier two. One of the reasons for this is that Mark Stuart, the band's lead vocalist, is sadly losing his voice. But it has a couple great tunes. Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher is one of them, it's a classic oldies song with the Christian aspects stressed. It's a great tune to sing along to. Until My Heart Caves In is the other one. It declares "I'm a warrior, with a warrior's heart, and it burns for you... I won't give up... I will sing your name until my heart caves in." It's a good beat with strong singing.

Until My Heart Caves In Cover Photo

Thanks for reading! I am planning articles about MercyMe's Christmas Sessions, David Crowder Band, and John Reuben. Please check back soon!

John

Welcome to my Christian Music Blog!

Hello visitors!

Welcome to my Christian Music Blog! I will be writing at least weekly, and hopefully more, about my favorite Christian Music artists, why I like them, and what I think stands out in their style and lyrics. I will also be happy to answer any questions or give recommendations to anyone. Just comment on a post and I'll answer as soon as I see it.

If you're a Christian and love music, there's a perfect band out there for you. I have been raised a Christian and have parents who love music, so naturally I have found Christian music to be a perfect fit for my lifestyle. I enjoy many different genres, and have over 38 albums of Christian music that I listen to daily on my iPod. I'm also a member of a Christian group that uses Contemporary Christian music for Church services. As you can tell I'm nuts about music with a good message that sounds great!

There are many sub-genres of Christian Music; you can find a great artist that is right for you and your lifestyle. Acoustic, rock, rap, hip-hop, hard rock, pop, punk, it's all out there. Some are solely (no pun intended) worshipful, others play harder, more intense songs, and others just sing about their life as Christians. Although there are Christian artists from all genres, they all have two things in common: faith in God and Jesus, and determination to make great songs with powerful lyrics.

Please bookmark this page and check back soon for my next post!

Thanks for reading!

John