Fervent Records recording artist and 13-time Dove Award nominated band BarlowGirl is sharing the never-before-told side of their first 10-years with fans through their new album Our Journey…So Far due out September 14. This album candidly tells the story of these three rockin’ sisters (Alyssa, Lauren and Rebecca) musically and visually in chronological order.
“It feels like yesterday that we packed in the van and drove to Nashville to make our first album,” said Lauren. Rebecca continued, “Time flies! It has been such a blessing to be able to make music, travel the world and meet all of our amazing fans.” Alyssa then chimed in, “We thought it would be fun to take a look back on our first 10 years and show you what our journey has looked and sounded like!”
Produced by Otto Price (BarlowGirl, GRITS, dcTalk), the new album is a unique collection of the band’s 15 all time favorite songs, including their chart-topping smashes “Never Alone,” “I Need You To Love Me,” “Let Go” as well as the Top 5 hits “Mirror” and “Beautiful Ending.” As an added bonus, the package also features a 16-page booklet that dips into the Barlow family archives and reveals the history of the band through never-before-seen images. Capturing the raw essence of the band’s journey from day one until the present, Our Journey…So Far is ultimate collection of BarlowGirl songs all in one place. And if you want to be one of the first fans to catch a glimpse of their scrapbook unveiled by the girls themselves, visit www.BarlowGirl.com today!
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Solid Greatest Hits Record| Posted September 23, 2010
Back in February of 2004, three sisters made jumped into the Christian pop/rock circuit with their first self-titled album, going under the name ?BarlowGirl.? Listeners, thinking this was a direct rip-off from the hit Superchick song with the same name, soon learned, it was the farthest thing from a rip off. As a matter of fact, Rebecca, Alyssa, and Lauren Barlow WERE the Barlow girls --and they had something to say.
Skip ahead to 2010? the girls have released four successful studio albums, one Christmas project, been nominated for 19 Dove Awards, achieved multiple #1 radio hits, written a book, and toured like mad all over the globe. And while most bands don?t release greatest hits records only seven years into their carrier, BarlowGirl, once again, chose to break the mold. ?Our Journey? So Far? is not only a completion of BarlowGirl?s greatest hits to date, but also, a sincere thank you to the fans for all their support over the last few years.
The track list, going in chronological order (which I appriciate) starts off with what is notably the bands most well known song, ?Never Alone?, which was named one of the most played songs on Christian radio back in 2004. The girls other hit from their first album, ?Mirror?, also makes the album. The next few songs categorize singles from their follow up albums ?Another Journal Entry?, and my favorite of all their work to date, ?How Can We Be Silent?. ?I Need You To Love Me?, ?Let Go?, ?Million Voices?, and ?Here?s My Life?, just to name a few. While self-penned ?Hallelujah (Light Has Come)? from their Christmas album makes an appearance, the last half of the album boasts songs off BarlowGirl?s latest album, 2009?s ?Love And War?, including one of last year's biggest radio songs, the stirring ?Beautiful Ending?, the album concluding with a up-tempo dance remix of ?I Need You To Love Me?.
?Best Of? albums are always tricky. Because inevitably, fans are always going to wish something was or wasn?t on the album, ?Our Journey? being no exception. ?Average Girl?, BarlowGirl?s wildly popular song which speaks of their choice to not casually date around, didn?t make the cut. Surprising to me, since it is one of their most well known songs. Other suprising choices are ?One More Round? and ?Our Worlds Collide?, both are amazing songs, but neither were ever singles, while ?Harder Than The First Time? (the bands first song released to radio) also didn?t make the cut. The track list, while suprising at times, also showcases a few hidden gems, such as ?Grey? off ?Another Journal Entry?, as well the blunt ?Come Alive?. It?s tracks like these getting highlighted that mean the world to fans.
This is a pretty solid greatest hits album. It is a fun look back to see how these girls have grown, spiritually and musically as well. Without any new songs added or more bonus remixes tacked to the end, this may not be for fans like myself who already own the entire catalog of BarlowGirl albums (unless your interested in collecting the artwork), but for people who are just discovering the group, this is a GREAT representation of who they are and what they stand for. I?d recommend it.
This album goes to show that it?s been an exciting seven years for this group, and the funny thing is? it?s only the beginning.
BarlowGirl [Our Journey...So Far]| Posted September 14, 2010 [MAIN REVIEW]
For BarlowGirl, Our Journey... So Far is all about their fans. It's a collection of the 15 songs that effectively tell the story of the 13-time Dove Award nominated band BarlowGirl throughout their first 10 years. The album not only tells the story of the band musically including their #1 radio hits “Never Alone,” “I Need You To Love Me” and “Let Go'” but it also tells their story visually. Included in the packaging is a 16-page booklet that dips into the Barlow family archives and reveals the history of the band through never-before-seen images. Unlike the typical 'best of' album, Our Journey... So Far candidly tells the story of these three rockin’ sisters (Alyssa, Lauren and Rebecca) musically and visually in chronological order. It's truly a product that will engage all fans no matter when they first connected with BarlowGirl.
For me, that connection started with #1 hit song "Never Alone," which is one of my top songs of the past decade. I’ve recently seen BarlowGirl live, and Alyssa explained how alone the girls felt while waiting for God to move on their behalf before BarlowGirl was signed to a record label. “Never Alone” is based on the loneliness and silence of waiting for God’s response and it includes one of the best piano and guitar hooks in all of Christian music. Another stand-out song on this collection is "Mirror," from their self-titled debut. At a recent concert, Becca Barlow, who's usually the quietest of the sisters, spoke up and went on to share how "Mirror" represented much of her own struggles with how she used to view herself when she was a teenager. She explained how once she surrendered herself to God's view of her and began seeking to change her mind by dwelling on His Word, that she was eventually freed from self-destructive thoughts about herself. Those songs are accompanied by equally gorgeous songs “She Walked Away” and “Surrender” from the incredible debut album. Hit songs “Let Go,” “I Need You To Love Me” and “Grey” represent their sophomore album Another Journal Entry.
How Can We Be Silent is perfectly represented by “Here’s My Life,” “One More Round” and their call-to-action anthem, "Million Voices." At a recent concert, Lauren quickly got very passionate, to the point of raising her voice, as she talked about making a change in the world as a church body, following God's calling on our lives, and even devoting our lives to changing history. She closed her inspiring talk, and her inspiration for the song "Million Voices" based on 1 Peter 2:9, encouraging the crowd as a “chosen generation” to sing along with their hearts as well as their voices. “Hallelujah (Light Has Come)” is a beautiful Christmas song and leads to "Stay With Me," one of the stand-out songs from Love & War, and the theme of song is love with the encouragement that "all I need is Your love pulling me." "Our Worlds Collide" is also about love and the girls share how God has filled their hearts with love. The personal nature of the songs really draws me in as I have 3 daughters and want nothing more than for them to know the Love of God. Hit song "Beautiful Ending" hits me even harder with the challenging "it scares me to think that I would choose my life over You, My selfish heart divides me from You, It tears us apart." The song is beautiful and encourages me to live for God. “Come Alive" includes the cry to ""wake up, get out there's no time to waste now" which really gets to the heart of the matter including the charge to "be the change we've all been waiting for." A fun surprise at the end is a remix of “I Need You To Love Me.” The song is truly one of the best and most personal songs ever by this great band and musically and lyrically this is literally a perfect album.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Even if you’ve collected the first 4 studio albums and the Christmas album by BarlowGirl, the digitally mastered recordings of these 15 songs and the musical and visual anthology of Our Journey... So Far makes it a “can’t miss” album of 2010. I can only give this album 5 stars and a perfect score for message and music as these are all truly incredible songs with inspiring messages and gorgeous vocals. My only other advice is that you need to also get the rest of the songs from Love & War if you haven’t already.
Rating: 10.0 out of 10 (100%, A+)
Review written by: Kevin Davis | Review can also be found here.
This review has been reprinted on NRT with permission from ChristianMusicReview.org. Click here to visit ChristianMusicReview.org today!
Barlow Fan Must Have| Posted September 17, 2010
If you are a BarlowGirl fan this cd is a must have, although this cd has all of their old songs on it the little picture insert is awesome! if you haven't heard the I Need You To Love Me remix, go on itunes and listen to the 30 second clip and then go buy it ;)
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