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Print 2005, L/Town Records Reviewed By Bruce Little
This is probably the most unusual CD I ever reviewed that I actually enjoyed. First of all, the band is changing their name and they tell you with their CD cover (see above). The outside cardboard wrap states “The Rock ‘N’ Roll Worship Circus (their previous band name) Becomes….” and the inside CD cover is “The Listening (which is their new band name).” How often does a band change its name and tell you on the CD itself? Never seen that one before! Secondly, the material is probably a first for Christian music as it contains a new direction similar to secular bands like Pink Floyd and the Beatles (e.g. Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band), who created a genre of music totally different from their peers while simultaneously creating a huge following of fans. They remained somewhat separate from, but also influencing, the rest of the musical scene. This new release has influences from these bands as well as U2, but is “new” in its own right. The songs tend to flow from one to the other and combine to be a total complementary concept. “We believe that people come to experience something outside of them when they come to see The Listening. They’re brought to a place of introspection, getting in touch with their souls and the struggle within. Something from outside moves all of us – the band and the audience – inward. We are attracting people that want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, whether they know it or not. It’s enveloping, tragic, ambiguous, and healing, ” guitarist Gabriel Wilson said. Concerning the flow in a The Listening concert Keyboardist Josiah Sherman said, “It’s an experience from beginning to end . . .One song flows into another and hopefully the listener feels something bigger than himself. It’s not just a musical experience but rather a spiritual one.” The Band There are several key points to observe when you listen to this project: · The band members are “vintage geeks to the extreme.” They play on vintage instruments from the past, like hi-hat cymbals made in the 1940s, Ludwig drums made in the 1960s, as well as tube amplifiers and older guitars and keyboards.· They also record on analog tape while most bands are using digital recording techniques now. The analog 2" tape was used before the digital age set in for recording studios in the mid-80s. It is used with a large reel-to-reel recorder that usually stores 24 tracks of recorded instruments or vocals. Many believe, however, that analog gives a warm sound and many studios will use the older analog processors and effects to give that warmth, especially to vocals.· There is no bass player for the band, but the bass sounds you hear are played on keyboards. I could tell the bass part was played differently than a bass guitarist would normally do—it was held out longer and did not contain short segments of silence in the bass part, which most bass players strive to accomplish. There were also long segments of no bass at all.The Music As soon as I started playing track one, “Glory of the Feared,” I knew this CD was going to be different. It had a huge fat sound, yet was still warm—typical of analog recordings of the past. The snare drum (by Eric Lemiere) was huge and deep (my favorite sound from a snare drum), the bass sound was rather atypical of a standard bass and the guitars (both Gabriel Wilson and Chris Greely), although distorted, blended perfectly into the mix. The vocal blended with the mix and was rather subdued instead of being in your face; it lacked the harsher edge many lead vocals have in today’s releases to make them stand out in the mix. I will say it was rather difficult to pick out all the lyrics at first listen, but the overall effect was a massive sound with a vocal that could be heard, but you had to pay attention to get it. (It often takes several listens for me to grab the lyrics from a vocal anyway.) It also was interesting that I could hear the vocal much better in the next room than the one I was playing it in where the music wasn’t right in my face. The first and second songs deal with the glory and awesomeness of God. “Glory of the Feared” deals more with the fact that God is to be feared and His face is too bright to look at and was darker in tone, yet more repetitive than “Triple Fascination,” which brings out God’s nature as fascinating, but beyond our comprehension. “Triple Fascination” has some great aural analog synth “candy” to listen to, yet searing guitars rise from sections of the piece to create a “reverb’ed” intensity portrayed in the lyrics. This was one song I thought would have benefited from some raunchier vocals, yet the vocals stayed fairly smooth, quiet, and contained short repetitive motifs. The music created more intensity than the vocals and transitioned right into the next song “Be In Your Eyes.” A few other highlights on this double CD include: · “Be In Your Eyes” conjures-up a picture of longing and desperation for God as the singer sings “I Wanna be in Your Eyes Again” while the vocal creates intensity through increasing nervousness. (The beat is a 6/4 or 6/8 with the snare hitting on beats 2 and 5, which is quite unnerving to the listener and lends a feeling of disconnection to the pulse of the song and amplifies the same disconnection in the lyrics.)· “Prelude in C Minor” is a short musical intro to “Hosea in C Minor” which tells the story of Hosea in modern day through the eyes of God. “You didn’t know you were drinking with demons / you wouldn’t listen to the angels that cried from the tops of cathedrals and churches / you walked right on by” the song states and then depicts the sad state of fallen man.· “Are You Listening?” gets the listener to start looking up from their fallen condition and reassures them there is a Savior to turn to and look into His eyes.· “The Factory” depicts evangelism as a parable of the breaking into a factory and burning it down complete with gasoline, matches, cops, and guns. This was a pretty strange comparison, but an interesting parallel.· “Lovely Red Lights” tells the story of addicts and prostitutes on dirty brick roads in hopelessness ending in a visual picture painted with lyrics of a red light turning to white. There is hope after all!The last song on the first CD, “Everything is Nothing” states “You know it’s really love when you fall because everything is nothing without love.” God accepts and loves us even when we fall from His grace because He is real love. Two CDs Later… The actual style of music reminded me of Pink Floyd and the Beatles, but was not as influenced by the “pop” genre as they were. (This CD was mastered by one of The Beatles producer-gurus, Chris Blair at Abbey Road Studios in London, where the Beatles recorded their famous “Abbey Road” album along with others.) There was an abundance of analog synth sounds like buzzes and resonances mixed with bouts of white noise and cheesy sounds. The keyboards used were vintage Wurlitzer and Fender Rhodes (not synthesizers) mixed with a variety of the older analog synth sounds. The distorted guitars had a heavy feel, but were not overly bright sounding and mixed well with the heavy drums when they were present. The lead vocals were also quite different from the previous releases by the Rock ‘n Roll Worship Circus. They seemed to be quieter, more serious, and not extreme in vocal range. Previous releases were more extreme, used higher notes, and a lot more forceful in delivery depicting more of the Rock ‘n Roll tradition. Background vocals by the band were smooth and expertly done. If you like works by Pink Floyd and U2, you will probably enjoy this new direction for “The Listening.” You will not find a typical rock, blues, or pop format on this CD, so you may be disappointed if that is what you are seeking. Since the vocal range doesn’t fluctuate to the extremes, it also is not a vocal CD to use to practice to be the next American Idol, either. The vocals do the job of creating a mood the lyrics portray and do this well without obvious flair. The entire project is stating the message there is an answer for an individual’s search for meaning and purpose in their existence, but does it through a portrayal of loneliness and hopelessness looking to the One who has mercy in His eyes.
ninetyandnine.com © 2006, Bruce Little ---------- Bruce Little will always be “Little” no matter how big he gets! I bet you wish you could be that way! C’mon, admit you are jealous! (-:
The band’s new website is at www.thelistening.com.
Glory of the Feared Special Bonus Disc |
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