Christian music's premiere satirist and commentator returned in 2007 with his boldest and most creative album yet. With razor-sharp wit and considerable spiritual depth, Reuben created a celebration of the "regular guy" and the triumph of substance over style. With his fifth album, John Reuben combined elements of hip hop, modern rock and pop, resulting in his own signature style, showing again why he is beloved by fans and peers alike.
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No "Exaggeration"| Posted June 02, 2008
After a solid album (Boy vs. the Cynic) John Reuben returns with one of his most ambitious efforts. Always known for his creative rap with good cuts of rock and pop and his wit, Reuben takes a different approach to his latest album Word of Mouth changing his style of both the music and the lyrics.
John Reuben has always been original so to avoid lame and repetitive beats of regular rappers so on the opening, “sing it like you mean it”, the western rap/rock should not surprise fans. There is almost a hint of techno in the chorus of the upbeat “trying to hard”, but the chorus is not very distinguished. The banjo makes an entrance in light hearted song “make money, money”, but the momentum dies some with “focus”, which gets a little insipid. The title track is usually reserved for Reuben’s best song, and the tradition continues with “word of mouth” a fun light rap song.
One problem with the album is that John Rueben normally makes the verse of the song very central musically, but on Word of Mouth it almost takes a back seat as the most original tunes are saved for the chorus. getting to the refrain on the relatively bland “miserable exaggeration” is a chore but the unexpected off beat sound is appreciated. Getting a chorus to help with “universal” was more unforeseen than good, but the albums routine does get shaken up some with “curiosity”. The intro and on is a good rock rap, a component which is direly missed on this project, but it falls when the chorus comes around. “Cool te underdog” has a repetitive, but catchy chorus and finally the hip hop, pop act it revealed in its highest dose on “cool the underdog”.
True to form John Rueben takes his humor, and his strong Biblical worldview to work on his newest project, only this time there is a different spin. Among a more vague John Rueben than we are used to it’s clear that “Word of Mouth” isn’t just a cleverly written song without an origin (Ecclesiastes 1:9) and “miserable exaggeration” is a glance at what we are searching for. “Curiosity” and “good evening” both has great lyrics, but listeners may miss out on the message of the song overall and be distracted by the witty and seemingly proverbial lines (‘Rap's a game that mostly amateurs play/and there are very few professionals that are getting paid’ on “make money, money”).
Not so much solid rock as fans are used to, as catchy more original, catchy, light rap is being introduced, while the lyrics focus on the business side of life and how it affects our relationship with others and God. While it’s somewhat odd what was done with Word of Mouth it only furthers John Reuben’s skill as a song writer and his about “amateur” rap music.
Word of Mouth| Posted June 05, 2012
This album displays John Reubens intelligence yet again. The lyrics are thought provoking as always and the music doesn't lack anything either. The best song by far is Focus, but all of the songs are great with the exeption of Good Evening which is just a regular track. Overall a great job by Reuben!
4/5| Posted August 26, 2011
John Reuben takes his music in yet another direction here in Word of Mouth, which takes a gander at many things and mostly succeeds at them. The wit is still there but it feels more fleshed out and mature now, almost like a progression from the past 4 albums that culminates here. John also hanges things up musically by offering us original beats that don't sound like the conventional hip hop beats heard today. They are more thought out and play off the song well. This album's style comes completely out of left field and leaves us thinking about what we just heard. Thinking over the album is only part of the appriciation that comes soon after.
WOOO HOO| Posted December 25, 2009
Burstin out with awesomness is Reuben's album Word of Mouth.Coming off is last album "The Boy vs the Cynic" reuben exploded out with an even better album with beats and sounds more original than any other rapper.The album starts out with a old western duel sounding songin "Sing it Like you Mean it" and then you're on for the ride going through songs like "Make Money Money","Word of Mouth" "Cool the Underdog" a song that's about how some use the underdog card too much or for selfish reasons to further selfish motives and the album culminates and ends with "Good Evening" a terrific party tune.Birthed from the album also were four spectacular music videos.
Best Reu| Posted March 24, 2008
John is a clever song writer that knows how to make tracks that will have you singing along within just a few turns in your CD player. This album is my favorite because Soul Glow Activator from FF5 produced some of the tracks giving them a feel that only he can.
awesome, very original. album| Posted August 13, 2007
Word of Mouth is an awesome album! It mixes hip hop, rap, rock, pop, and indie music all together. Its original, heartfelt, and very catchy. I would recommend this to anyone but especially anyone looking for something unique and fun. My favorite songs are Make Money and Word of Mouth. You will have these songs stuck in your head for months! John Reuben's lyrics are fun but make you think, Reuben's music is definitely fun!!!
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