Kevin Max returns with his latest recording, The Blood, a very personal project that allowed him to step back from his usual rock stylings in favor of a musical exploration of Gospel. This deliberate departure features high profile collaborations with an extraordinary cast, including Vince Gill, Amy Grant, American Idol finalist Chris Sligh, Joanne Cash, Ashley Cleveland and others, including the long-anticipated reunion of dc talk (featuring Max, Michael Tait and TobyMac)!
"This album was something I have been wanting to accomplish as a singer for many years," says Max. "It is literally going back to my roots in search of the music that resonated with me as a young man, when I was searching for something bigger than myself."
Max is quick to point out that The Blood is not a worship record or classic hymns cover project, but rather "a sensitive and stylized adaption of the music that was at the root of rock and roll, blues and popular culture."
"I remember listening to Elvis, Mahalia Jackson, The Imperials, Andrae Crouch, but it took me years to understand the impact it had on me as a singer and an artist," explains Max. "These songs that I picked specifically related to me that the singer was in need of The Gospel more than The Gospel needing to be sung."
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01.
The Old Rugged Cross
02.
The Cross (featuring dc talk)
03.
Run On For A Long Time (featuring Chris Sligh)
04.
Trouble Of The World
05.
I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole
06.
Up Above My Head I Hear Music In The Air (featuring Vince Gill and Amy Grant)
07.
They Won't Go When I Go
08.
The Blood Will Never Lose It's Power (featuring Ashley Cleveland, Judson Spence and Kim Keys)
09.
People Get Ready (featuring Vince Gill and Erica Campbell of Mary Mary)
BACKED BY STAR-STUDDED CAST| Posted September 29, 2008
Christian music’s chameleon-like combination of David Bowie, Bono and Morrissey throws fans for yet another loop with a highly stylized batch of rollicking roots music that unconventionally flashes back to old school gospel. As a result, Kevin Max’s latest solo CD is truly an ambitious return to form in both spiritual and creative contexts, backed by a little help from several famous friends.
The disc opens with Max crooning like Johnny Cash throughout the vintage vinyl scratches of “The Old Rugged Cross.” He continues channeling those influences on a poignant duet with The Man In Black’s sister Joanne Cash during “One Way-One Blood,” and revisits the late great’s recent interpretation of “God’s Gonna Cut You Down” under the tweaked title “Run On For a Long Time” (featuring soulful duet accompaniment from “American Idol” alum Chris Sligh). “People Get Ready” (with Mary Mary’s Erica Campbell) leans even further in the R&B direction, though “Up Above My Head I Hear Music In the Air” switches gears entirely to showcase the bluegrass triple team of Max, an earthy Amy Grant and her furiously finger-picking husband Vince Gill. Yet the disc’s ultimate home run is a somewhat unexpected (albeit inevitable) reunion of dcTalk, who pick up right where they left off on “The Cross,” the perfect end cap for a wildly enriching and adventurous album. -ANDY ARGYRAKIS
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from CCMMagazine.com. Click here to visit CCMMagazine.com today!
The Blood will never lose its power...| Posted January 07, 2008
Most of the time when artists put out an album that is meant for another decade it ends up sounding very poorly timed and cheap to say the least especially when the album is almost entirely covers. Kevin Max 1/3 of the world famous trio dc talk's last offering the Blood is by far an exception to that rule. Its feels like a powerful 70's very original Gospel Johnny Cash record with a touch of Bono. First of all, the theme the blood (of Christ) runs very powerfully through every song which hammers home the message and makes you really think about what Christ's blood did for us. Musically, the Blood is a great mix of classic rock and roll and gospel. It makes you really feel that Kevin and Johnny Cash were close friends though the only real Cash touch is vocals from Johnny's sister Joanne on the closing song One Way, One Blood. This album features an all-star line up for guests including the first dc talk reunion song in 10+ years, a cover of Prince's The Cross letting listeners know that a dc talk reunion would definitely be as good or better than we can imagine it would or will be. Other guests including Chris Sligh of American Idol fame, Vince Gill and Amy Grant, Ashley Cleveland, and Erica Campbell of Mary Mary. All that guests fit very well on each of their respective songs making you want more of The Blood. One of my favorite tracks on the album is a cover of Andre Crouch's The Blood Will Never Loose Its Power, its powerful and haunting. This album brings out Kevin Max's beautiful voice to be even more diverse than any of his previous projects all the while making Kevin Max sound very at home in the mix of rock and roll, gospel, southern flavored, featured on the Blood. If you are looking for something original but classic, gospel but rock and roll, dare I say secular but very sacred The Blood is the album for you. To me the album The Blood is a great reminder that "The blood that gives me strength form day to day, it will never lose its power." A message as old as time but still very fresh.
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