Bravo, Prince!

Prince is giving away, yes, giving away his new CD as part of a covermount. Nice. He’s ticking off record retailers by doing so. I say, they need to get over it. It will probably be a catalyst to him selling even more copies than if he had gone the regular distribution route.

Maybe there’s another monster hit like Purple Rain on this new project. I hope so.

UNITED…incredible

In the Christian worship music subculture there are some psalmists/artists that receive rock star treatment. It’s unfortunate, but it happens nontheless. There is a group of folks from down under that, at least on the surface, seem to be the real deal. The student worship ministry of Hillsong from Australia called UNITED exude genuineness. While I haven’t met them personally, it is evident that there is something different about these people.

My wife and I went to see them at 7:22 last Tuesday night. As usual, the production was first class. The UNITED folks were in top musical form and more importantly, led the crowd in some very authentic worship. It was incredible. I know that may seem over the top to some, but that was the perception that I and my wife had of the evening.

I haven’t picked up their new CD/DVD combo United We Stand, but I’m sure I’ll buy it. Even though I’m a huge fan of ITunes, I’ll pick up the good old fashioned hard copy. The DVD’s these guys produce are very well done. It’s worth the extra few bucks.

An evening with Elton John

I’ve been a fan of Elton John since 1973 when I was a kid growing up in Arkansas. We lived in the boonies, so even the closest country station didn’t come in clearly. On top of that, we lived way down in a holler (hollow for any Yanks reading this) and it was almost impossible to get a good radio signal except at night. After the sun went down, I would turn on my radio and listen to WLS in Chicago. I don’t know how, but the signal came in crystal clear, especially after 10:00pm. That’s when I first heard Elton John. It was a year later and I got my first Elton John eight track, his greatest hits.

Tonight at the concert (My sister was in town for an Herbalife convention. Elton John was the entertainment and she bought me a ticket. Thanks, Sis.), I realized just how much I listened to those songs. I sang along with most of them. He was phenomenal. Gee whiz, I just don’t think he could play a bad song at a concert. He and the band are consumate musicians. Bobby Birch (bassist) was the reason I started playing bass (edit…playing bass again. Dee Murray was Elton’s bass player in the 70s). Solid, groovalicious, and lots of pop. Davey Johnstone was right on and did great work. He played two SG doubles (two different colors), a Flying V, Les Paul, Strat, and a couple different acoustics (and Ovation and Larivee I think). Nigel Olsson is a machine.

Michelle got to hear Philadelphia Freedom via my cellphone. Whoever did the sound had it dialed in.

I may try the Peachtree Road project although it has a bit of a country flavor.

Great concert. The ______ is Back was incredible. The guitar on that song always makes me want to learn guitar. I’m sleepy and rambling now………………

A really good project minus the f-bomb

I wasn’t a fan of U2 back in the days of Under a Blood Red Sky or Joshua Tree. In retrospect, it was/is good music but back then I was fighting the whole alternative scene and desperately clinging to my VanHalen and Boston LPs. I knew U2 had a spiritual bent but I honestly was clueless about postmodern thought and methods.

I’m still clueless about a lot of things, but I understand the method and brand of spirituality of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. The lyrics on this project are really good. The music is polished and I must admit the acquired taste is very pleasing. Yahweh is an especially good song. Not one that our Jewish friends will cling to soon. Maybe they should have released an alternate version entitled Adonai. OK, maybe that’s a bit too PC.

Mostly, I like the project because the band doesn’t drop the f-bomb or anything else of the sort. I was disappointed when Bono let it slip a while back. I think if I ever ran into him I would, as a brother in Christ, call his hand on it. I am dying to know how he would respond…In humility or in the arrogance that comes with rock icon status? I’ll probably never know.

Bottom line…if you’re even close to liking U2 I recommend this project. It’s well worth the $9.72 at WalMart.