Dave's Beat of The Week - 12-11-08
Posted by WBFJ | | Posted on 11:03 PM
You know what happens to the best laid plans of mice and men...right? Well, after saying I would try to do better it's been three weeks since my last post. Hope this one makes up for the lost weeks.
I'll sum the last couple of weeks' beats up by saying "ditto" to Deke. Scary but we've both agreed on Red's upcoming "Innocence and Instinct" and Anberlin's "New Surrender."
My current beat is one to get you in the Christmas spirit. I have a review of Sixpence None the Richer's The Dawn of Grace running in tomorrow's edition of The Good News Journal but I'm going to give all you XR devotees a sneak preview from the review. Here's a snippet:
"The Dawn of Grace (Nettwerk) marks the welcome return of Sixpence None the Richer, the band best known for their all-over-the-airwaves mega-hit 'Kiss Me' in the 90’s. Although the casual listener might not be aware, Leigh Nash and Matt Slocum have always had their roots in the Christian market and, kissing songs aside, make music for the thinking believer. I interviewed the band for a magazine cover story when their self-titled album (featuring the ubiquitous single) came out and they were poised for a long hit-filled career. But it wasn’t to be. Record label frustrations, among other factors, eventually led to Nash and Slocum shutting Sixpence down a few years ago with Nash putting out a solo album, Blue On Blue in 2006.
Fortunately for the music loving world, Sixpence decided to make a comeback. They haven’t done it with the conventional method of making a big pop album, however. The Dawn of Grace is a subtle re-entry. The record consists of traditional Christmas carols such as 'Angels We Have Heard on High,' 'O Come, O Come Emmanuel,' and 'Silent Night,' which, along with 'The Last Christmas,' one of two original tracks, contains the line that the title comes from. As many times as you’ve heard 'Silent Night' interpreted it may surprise that there’s anything fresh still left to do with the song. But Nash’s vocal exchange with Jars of Clay’s Dan Haseltine, adds a new twist to this old favorite while keeping the beloved melody intact. A full range of emotions runs through this record from the expectant mother’s musings of 'The Last Christmas' to the playful escape of 'Christmas Island' to the expression of regret over sins in the Joni Mitchell cover 'River,' which will be a classic Sixpence song regardless of the seaon. But the show-stopper is a re-making of the 16th century Spanish carol 'Riu Riu Chiu' which tells the birth of Christ through the song of a nightingale. Nash sings the song in Spanish with a brief English transition near the end and it’s breathtaking. She could sing the phone book and I’d still buy it." (from Dave's review in The Good News Journal).
See you tomorrow night for some Christmas festivities with Elishah!
I'll sum the last couple of weeks' beats up by saying "ditto" to Deke. Scary but we've both agreed on Red's upcoming "Innocence and Instinct" and Anberlin's "New Surrender."
My current beat is one to get you in the Christmas spirit. I have a review of Sixpence None the Richer's The Dawn of Grace running in tomorrow's edition of The Good News Journal but I'm going to give all you XR devotees a sneak preview from the review. Here's a snippet:
"The Dawn of Grace (Nettwerk) marks the welcome return of Sixpence None the Richer, the band best known for their all-over-the-airwaves mega-hit 'Kiss Me' in the 90’s. Although the casual listener might not be aware, Leigh Nash and Matt Slocum have always had their roots in the Christian market and, kissing songs aside, make music for the thinking believer. I interviewed the band for a magazine cover story when their self-titled album (featuring the ubiquitous single) came out and they were poised for a long hit-filled career. But it wasn’t to be. Record label frustrations, among other factors, eventually led to Nash and Slocum shutting Sixpence down a few years ago with Nash putting out a solo album, Blue On Blue in 2006.
Fortunately for the music loving world, Sixpence decided to make a comeback. They haven’t done it with the conventional method of making a big pop album, however. The Dawn of Grace is a subtle re-entry. The record consists of traditional Christmas carols such as 'Angels We Have Heard on High,' 'O Come, O Come Emmanuel,' and 'Silent Night,' which, along with 'The Last Christmas,' one of two original tracks, contains the line that the title comes from. As many times as you’ve heard 'Silent Night' interpreted it may surprise that there’s anything fresh still left to do with the song. But Nash’s vocal exchange with Jars of Clay’s Dan Haseltine, adds a new twist to this old favorite while keeping the beloved melody intact. A full range of emotions runs through this record from the expectant mother’s musings of 'The Last Christmas' to the playful escape of 'Christmas Island' to the expression of regret over sins in the Joni Mitchell cover 'River,' which will be a classic Sixpence song regardless of the seaon. But the show-stopper is a re-making of the 16th century Spanish carol 'Riu Riu Chiu' which tells the birth of Christ through the song of a nightingale. Nash sings the song in Spanish with a brief English transition near the end and it’s breathtaking. She could sing the phone book and I’d still buy it." (from Dave's review in The Good News Journal).
See you tomorrow night for some Christmas festivities with Elishah!
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