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November 8, 2005 was the release date for Jeremy Camp’s latest CD/DVD combination lauding the fact it was a Live Release as well as “Unplugged”—meaning “Acoustic” instruments are played instead of electric. The advance copy materials I received stated that it included some of his biggest No. 1 hits as well as favorites from 3 previous releases: Stay, Carried Me: The Worship Project, and Restored. The DVD was also his second release following “In24” which was released last year. I was excited to review this CD/DVD combination knowing what a great singer, musician, and songwriter he had shown to be in the past. Jeremy is also a great acoustic guitarist and I was looking forward to seeing the DVD to get some guitar playing tips from a master musician! Upon popping the CD in the CD player, I was surprised to hear two things I did not expect to hear and it caused me some concern. First, the initial cut on the CD had an electric guitar and this was supposed to be “Unplugged”! Not that I mind the electric, it just shocked me to hear it. I will say the electric guitar, when played was done very straight without a lot of effects that typify most electric guitars you hear now. The second thing I was surprised to hear was actually a lack of anything spoken to the audience by Jeremy himself. There was an abundance of audience response and chatter as well as some “hoots,” but nothing said by the artist to the audience until the very end when he said 5 words—“Thank you guys so much”! I was flabbergasted a “Live” CD would have nothing spoken by the artist until the very end. It also was even more disappointing in lieu of the artist’s lyrics which are extremely introspective, reflective, and almost require some kind of connection with the audience. After seeing the DVD, however, my surprises at these two abnormalities of a Live, Unplugged CD, were enlightened. The artist did, in fact, have a lot of acoustic instruments (including the Nashville String Machine, for example) and he actually had a fantastic rapport with the audience on the DVD. Evidently, to get all the songs that were done Live all on one CD, it required the removal of any conversations by Jeremy Camp to the audience. This left a hole in the actual “feeling” of a Live performance on the CD as you’d expect some interaction, but either the producers felt it obviously necessary to fit it on the CD in a quality format or since the DVD contained the interaction, they decided to leave it out of the CD. ….and “Quality” it was! I was impressed by the music, the lyrics, the content, and the performance by Jeremy and the band. Since the songs were very “soul-searching,” they plucked my heart-strings many times during the concert. The band was extremely tight, mixed well, and amazingly creative in an acoustic format, which can tend to be limited and monotonous after a stretch. I marveled at the mastery Leif Scartland displayed on the drums using brushes and “rute” drumsticks (birch dowels tied together and attached by a handle) instead of drumsticks during the songs. Randy Williams and Jared Camp (Jeremy’s brother) were excellent compliments to the acoustic performance of Jeremy who reminded me often of Dave Matthews in concert. The Nashville String Machine strings added a moving compliment to the band and took it to a higher level, although at times I would have preferred them to be a little louder in the mix, but that’s my personal opinion. I love real strings, anyway. Lastly, Jeremy’s wife Adrienne Camp, could not have been a more perfect vocal addition to Jeremy’s vocal talent. Their voices blended extremely well and the harmonies she gave were unique, beautiful, and not easy to accomplish. She didn’t sing on every song, but the songs she did contribute to were perfect for her talent. Her voice was kept a little more in the background of the mix behind Jeremy as a background singer would normally be, but if Jeremy and Adrienne did a duet CD, I’d love to hear it as they blend together so well. The rest of the band members also did vocal backups on many of the songs. Visually speaking, the set had candles everywhere (which could be why Jeremy said it was “hot in here” on the DVD) with lavish drapes or curtains behind them which gave it an intimate visual effect. The lighting had a lot of movement which added greatly to the visual appeal of the Live DVD. The CD contains a booklet with a lot of the concert photos in a high gloss, slick format. The songs I liked best on the CD started with “Right Here” which depicts Christ’s love being always near no matter what. The song had a somewhat hidden country feel, but some interesting rhythmic elements and a great piano solo by Justin Glasco. I liked the percussion and guitar finger-picking in “Take You Back” which depicts God’s grace in spite of human error and faults. “My Desire” had a different sound and feel due to the use of piano and strings instead of predominantly-heard acoustic guitar and drums. My favorite song has to be “Beautiful One,” a praise song directed straight to the Lord. Justin plays an interesting Wurlitzer piano sound on it that fits well with the mix. Adrienne adds a superb vocal accompaniment to this track, also. “This Man” asks the question: “Would you take the place of this man, would you take the nails from His hands?” This song depicts the real truth of God’s sacrifice for our sins and how decisively important that sacrifice was to our current salvation. Jeremy’s projects have sold over one million copies to date and he is also the reigning GMA Dove Award winner for Male Vocalist and New Artist of the Year. He has also received praise from publications like Billboard, CCM, CRW, and R&R along with high honors from ChristianMusicToday.com. His tour schedule can be found at www.RestoredTour.com and his website is found at www.JeremyCamp.com. I was able to find this CD/DVD combination for only $13.95 on the web and at Circuit City. That is an awesome price for the pair when CD’s by themselves usually cost more than that. Hooray for bringing the cost of good music down for the masses! You have to buy this set as it contains incredible material with a fantastic message! Songs Included on the CD/DVD:
Understand
ninetyandnine.com © 2006, Bruce Little ---------- Bruce Little has a home studio in his basement, so he loves to critique other projects to get ideas for his projects! “To live is to learn” is Bruce’s motto and he will continue to strive to learn to fill the huge void in his tiny brain. |
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