Chef Don’t Judge? Go Ahead…

I typically avoid social/theological issues on the blog, for the primary reason that I don’t really have the time to monitor/police the comments that typically ensue from those type of posts, but Chris Allman’s blog post from yesterday is well worth the read.  Check it out here.  I love this part:

Here’s a funny truth… Only those who have chosen to take part in suspect lifestyles ever take issue with being judged.  I say, “Go ahead and judge me.”  It’s a wonderful place to be in life when you are walking in the light and seeking to remain on the right road.  Am I perfect?  OH NO!  Not for a second would I claim perfection but I can say that I have nothing to hide.  That’s a wonderful feeling.  I challenge everyone to give it a shot!

All I can say is, Amen brother!

Merry Christmas!

From my family to yours, I wish you a Merry Christmas!  Here’s a little something from our Candlelight service last night for you to enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

As we all gather around the Thanksgiving table later this afternoon, take some time to reflect on the blessings that God has given to us over the past year. I wish each of you a Happy Thanksgiving. Here is a little treat for you…my daughter Erica last Sunday morning.

Let’s Pause 10 Seconds For Station Identification

In all seriousness, I’m still here, and have a lot I want to talk about and some additional reviews to write, but it may be a few more days, as I’ve got some major projects going on at work in real life and two sick kids at home.  So stay tuned, we’ll be right back!

10 Years Already??

I wanted to take this opportunity to publicly wish my darling wife, Christy, a Happy Anniversary!  This Friday, Aug. 3, will be our 10 year anniversary, and since we’ll be boarding a cruise ship headed for the Bahamas then, I had to post this now.

She is an absolute jewel, and I could have never imagined that God would have such a wonderful girl picked out for me to share the joys of life.  I love you Christy, I can’t wait to see what God has in store for our next 10!

Hammer Down, Florida Bound!

I’m going to be headed off on vacation this afternoon, so I will be away from the blog catching some rays and chasing my kids on the beach for the next week.  Hopefully I can keep my 16 month old from ingesting too much sand.  Anyways, if something major develops, I should have net access to blog about it, otherwise, I will see all you dear readers in a week!  Consider this an open thread.

Review: The Beach Boys – That’s Why God Made The Radio

Up to this point, all my in depth reviews have been on Southern Gospel albums, though I’ve occasionally mentioned other music, and even did a mini-review of a Brian Wilson album.  That streak ends here, though this is likely to be an aberration instead of the start of a trend.  My love for the Beach Boys is no secret on this blog, so if I were ever to make an exception to my SG only reviews, it should come as no surprise that it would be for the new album from the surviving Beach Boys, including Brian Wilson, on their 50th anniversary.  On this album are Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, and David Marks, though Marks is credited solely with guitar work and no vocals, with long time Beach Boys and Brian Wilson sideman Jeffrey Foskett providing falsetto vocals.  Wilson produced the album, while Mike Love served as executive producer.

Tracks:

1. Think About The Days – This is a wordless opening to the track composed by Brian Wilson and Joe Thomas featuring acappella vocals from The Beach Boys (plus Foskett) with some light piano and french horn added.  Hearkening back to the “Our Prayer” that was to open the Smile album before resurfacing on 20/20, it sets a touch of a melancholy mood for the album with its minor key, but the vocal harmonies are stunningly beautiful.  Even after 50 years, the group can still create effortless harmonies that shimmer. 9.5/10
2. That’s Why God Made The Radio – The first new single from the Beach Boys in roughly 20 years also serves as the title track to the album.  Written by Brian Wilson, Jim Peterik, Larry Millas, and Joe Thomas, it is a midtempo tune with a bit of a doo-wop feel.  Wilson has the lead on the verses, with Al Jardine taking the last two lines of each verse with full on group harmonies on the chorus.  There’s a bridge that has a bit of a harder edge to start out with some incredible harmony on the phrase “a whole new generation” that is repeated leading to a tag that has the round like vocals that you find on classics like “California Girls” or “God Only Knows.”  It’s better than anyone realistically could have expected from the group, but the best is yet to come… 9/10
3. Isn’t It Time – This is an infectious midtempo number that my 5 year old daughter has immediately latched on to as her favorite song.  Written by Wilson, Love, Peterik, Millas, and Thomas, it’s got a bouncy rhythm that is driven by a ukulele of all instruments, and features Brian Wilson on the first verse with some duet lines by either Al Jardine or Bruce Johnston, it’s a little hard to tell.  The chorus features Foskett, Johnston, and Jardine to my ears. There’s a nice little vocal lead in to the second verse, performed by Mike Love.  The bridge features Foskett and Love with some gorgeous background harmonies.  The chorus is repeated with Love taking the first two lines an octave down from where it had previously been sung.  I think this is probably the most radio friendly song on the disc.  It’s incredibly catchy and will have you singing along.  9.5/10
4. Spring Vacation – This is a mid to uptempo pop tune written by Mike Love, Brian Wilson, and Joe Thomas.  Love takes the lead on the verse with Bruce Johnston taking a line or two from him.  Brian Wilson takes the melody on the chorus.  This song is a quintessential Beach Boys “fun in the sun” type song, and would be right behind “Isn’t It Time” as a radio ready song.  There’s a really nice chord progression in the verses.  The harmony on the bridge is outstanding.  When you think of The Beach Boys, this is the sound that comes to mind.  9/10
5. The Private Life Of Bill And Sue – Written by Brian Wilson and Joe Thomas, this is a tropical flavored song that is a commentary on the reality TV phenomenon.  There’s more than a slight resemblance to “South American” from Wilson’s Imagination solo album.  Wilson has the melody through the entire song with some great harmony behind him on the chorus and some nice falsetto work from Jeffrey Foskett.  The radio narration at the end of the song is hilarious if you can catch it.  It’s a fun little song, but easily the weakest song on the disc.  6.5/10
6. Shelter – Again from the pen of Wilson and Thomas, this is a midtempo ballad style song that again features Wilson’s vocals on the verses.  Jeffrey Foskett and Mike Love share the melody on the choruses.  This song is quite reminiscent of what you heard on Brian’s eponymous 1988 solo album, minus the 80s production.  Again, there are gorgeous backing harmonies throughout the song.  It’s a pretty solid song.  7.5/10
7. Daybreak Over The Ocean – This Mike Love composition, according to what I’ve seen online, is an outtake from a never released Mike Love solo album.  The credits bear this out, as the primary vocalists are Mike, Christian, and Hayleigh Love along with Adrian Baker.  The other Beach Boys are credited with “Additional Vocals.”  This is a slower tropical flavored tune that seems to hearken back to the best elements of Love’s “Sumahama” from The Beach Boys’ L.A. (Light Album).  There are simply thrilling harmonies behind Love’s lead vocal, and this is one of Love’s best vocal performances in recent memory.  The “bring back” section has been compared elsewhere to the end section of the late 60s single “Breakaway”, and it’s a valid comparison.  I happen to like this song a lot, it has beautiful harmony.  8.5/10
8. Beaches In Mind – The “fun in the sun” style returns on this song penned by Love, Wilson, and Thomas.  Brian Wilson takes the melody on the chorus, with Love taking the melody on the verses.  There are some really nice lead guitar licks that I’m guessing are provided by David Marks.  This is another solid Beach Boys-esque tune.  7.5/10
9. Strange World – Written by Brian Wilson and Joe Thomas, this is another ballad style tune.  Wilson takes the lead on this song and turns in a really nice performance.  The “bum-bum” from the tympani adds a dramatic flair to the chorus.  This song is very hard to describe, but there are some really nice vocals and neat chords.  It’s a song that seems to build in intensity throughout.  That said, it is a really nice tune.  8.5/10
10. From There To Back Again – From this point the forward, the album really shines.  The next three songs may be the best the Beach Boys have put to record since Pet Sounds.  Wilson and Thomas penned this tune, and for the first half or so of the song, Al Jardine performs what may be his best ever vocal as a Beach Boy.  His voice sounds just as strong and clear as it did in 1965.  The harmony behind Jardine’s vocals is absolutely glistening.  About halfway through, some of the Wilson composing magic rears it’s head, as there are pauses, tempo and rhythm changes that are on par with the experimentation he did in the Pet Sounds days.  Simply amazing.  10/10
11. Pacific Coast Highway – Again from Wilson and Love, this is a short tune that starts with some beautiful acappella oohs from the group.  Brian takes the lead on the song, it’s a message of goodbye that is 1 minute 47 seconds of sheer beauty.  The full harmony on the final word “goodbye” is beautiful and poignant.  10/10
12. Summer’s Gone – This song was written to be the last Beach Boys song ever recorded.  Composed by Brian Wilson, Joe Thomas, and Jon Bon Jovi (!), this is a beautiful, wistful ballad.  Wilson has the melody surounded by lush, thick harmonies from the rest of the group.  It’s a lyric of farewell with shimmering vibes and percussion.  It’s as gorgeous as anything Wilson has ever composed.  It concludes the album with a very melancholy feel, not totally unlike the way “Caroline, No” ended Pet Sounds.  It’s a fitting end to what very well may be the final Beach Boys album.  As you hear the sound of waves receding with light chimes as the song concludes, you can’t help but think that this is how The Beach Boys should bid farewell.  Wow.  10/10

Overall:  9.5  Maybe it’s just the fan in me.  Maybe it’s because of the sheer vastness of the amount of time since The Beach Boys recorded a new studio album, much less one with an engaged and in control Brian Wilson.  Whatever the reason, I really love this album.  Is it perfect?  No.  “Bill and Sue” is pretty much a throwaway, filler track.  “Shelter” is OK, but not great.  I’d have liked to have heard more from Johnston (who is almost invisible outside of the harmony stack on the album), Marks, and Jardine.  The album from the title track to “Strange World” is a bit of a mix of mostly good songs, with a few really good ones mixed in.  However, the final three tracks on this album rate with some of the best music The Beach Boys have ever put to record.

While they may not have a sure-fire radio hit on the album (though I think there are some good contenders, especially with what you hear on secular radio today!), the album already debuted at #3 on the Billboard charts, and is far above what any realistic fan of the group should have expected from them.  The lead vocals are all well done, the instrumental tracks are great, the vocal harmonies are still without par, and it’s a great way for The Beach Boys to celebrate their 50th anniversary and ride off into the Southern California sunset.  If you like harmony, and like pop music, do yourself a favor and pick up a piece of history in this monumental album.  You’ll be glad you did.

The Beach Boys Preview New Single

Most of you who are long time readers know that I am also a big fan of The Beach Boys.  A couple of tidbits have come out in the past couple of days relating to the group and their current 50th anniversary reunion celebration.  First, the new album, reportedly titled That’s Why God Made The Radio, is due to be released June 5.  Second, the group has released a promo video previewing the first single from the album, the title song.  This is the first single from the group as a whole since 1996, and the first of new material in 20 years.  Check it out below, I’m (im)patiently awaiting the release of the album!

I’m Still Here

I apologize for the silence lately.  Unfortunately, I have been completely swamped over the past few weeks, and have had no time for blogging with a couple of MAJOR projects coming down to the wire.  Stick around, things should begin to lighten up soon, and I’ll get that promised, long-awaited EHSS review up, along with some other thoughts as well.  I have recently subscribed to XM radio in my van, so I have some thoughts on enLighten to share as well, after about a month of listening every time we’ve been going somewhere.  Stay tuned, we’ll be right back after these messages!

The Beach Boys Are Reuniting

The past couple of years have seen several reunions we never thought were possible.  In the Southern Gospel world, we’ve seen the 1980s Gold City supergroup reunite, with another reunion coming up in a few weeks, as well as the Downings, the Hinsons, and the Michael English era Singing Americans.  In the secular world, another reunion was just announced that was even more unlikely.

The Beach Boys are reuniting for their 50th anniversary next year.

All 5 surviving members are involved: Mike Love, Bruce Johnston, Al Jardine, David Marks (who replaced Jardine for a couple of the earliest albums), and…..Brian Wilson.  After all of the public bickering, lawsuits, and general bad relations between the band members, they’ve managed to leave all of that behind and reunite focusing on the thing that made them all rich and famous: music.  The group is planning a 50 concert tour next year, starting with a performance on the Grammy Awards telecast in February, there has been mention of a new boxed set of Beach Boys material, and they are also working on a new album, with both Beach Boys classics and new material from Brian.  Brian Wilson is serving as producer for the album, with Mike Love serving as executive producer.  Below is a YouTube video for the group’s new version of their 1968 hit, “Do It Again.”

If you’ve read my blog for very long, you’ll know that I am a huge Beach Boys fan.  To date, SG albums have been all that I’ve reviewed on this blog, with a “mini-review” of Brian Wilson’s That Lucky Old Sun as the lone exception, but I do believe I will be making another exception and doing a full review of the new Beach Boys album.  (I can’t believe I just typed those words….)  To quote J.D. Sumner: “I Can’t Wait!!!”