Big Star Logistics| Posted August 27, 2008
This is one of the most unique and creative worship albums I've ever heard. So much so that I honestly think people who aren't Christians can dig some of the tunes and artistry the Rock N' Roll Worship Circus bring here in their debut. Sure, they sing about the blood of Jesus and other biblical themes but it sure has a ton of passion and isn't in-your-face offensive. Oh yeah, there's a ton of variety to where you never hear the same song twice either. That's saying a LOT for worship music in general.
Now, I'm kind of all backwards on this band since I fell in love with The Listening and decided to hear what they sounded like before that phenominal debut was released in '05. They were more of a worship band with a mixture of soft ballads, 70's style pop rockers, and even some shoegaze ('Space Angel'). One of my favorite tracks, 'The Undiscovered', originally appeared on here in 2001 and it's still amazing. I do like the 2005 version found on the bonus disc with The Listening better though. It's just more atmospheric and the guitars stand out. I was actually surprised to hear the vocalist, Gabriel Wilson, has a good variety in his singing. In 'Ride and 'Party Song', both upbeat and addictive songs, he sounded like the guy from Jet at points. There is also another vocalist, Blurr, who compliments Gabriel's brooding in all the best ways. She even performs strongly on her own in 'I Will Wait', a funky song that sounds influenced by the 80's.
Big Star Logistics is what every worship album should be but very few actually are. It touches on many different sounds and styles to keep from becoming plastic and predictable. It holds very few 'worship cliches' and instead strives to cover new areas that aren't guaranteed instant radio success. But most importantly, it bleeds red from the heart instead of green from impending commercial success. 'Sweet Jesus' is an example of that with catchy guitar chords and bare bone vocals, yet it's beautiful. I can't say this doesn't happen anymore, just that it happens so rarely that those gems are hard to spot among the trash. I guess, as music fans, we just have to be willing to get a little dirty to find the gold. The current state of radio is the dump truck.
Gems of this album are: 'The Undiscovered', 'Party Song', 'Sweet Jesus', 'Ride'
to add lyrics if not listed.
