2007 in Music: Cities, Straightjackets, Shepherd’s Dogs and Trumpet Children Jan 05 '08    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Music Revelation [Digipak] by Journey From $12 Machine Gun Etiquette by The Damned From $40 The Bottom Line In 2007, my musical tastes shifted toward indies, small-label artists, and Mainstream Christian crossovers. Here is a review of the music I liked the most. It's time for my annual look back at the previous year in music, and 2007 turned out to be a fascinating year musically for me. This past year my tastes continued to shift away from mainline Contemporary Christian Music (CCM), as it has for the last few years, while my attention to independent artists, small-label artists and "fringe" Christian artists increased to its highest level in recent memory this year. Another interesting note from this past year was that anticipated albums for me did not come as frequently as previous years. However, what I liked, I liked a lot, so I have no shortage of good music to discuss in this year's wrap-up column. So without any further ado, here are my favorite (and an occasional least-favorite or two) albums, songs and concerts from this past year. MY TOP ALBUMS OF THE YEAR - HONORABLE MENTION These albums fell short of my top 10 albums of the year, but I felt they were of sufficient quality to earn a mention here. Chris Rice - What a Heart is Beating For After showing a few hints of jazz on his 2005 album Amusing, Chris brought out the jazz influence even more on What a Heart is Beating For, resulting in arguably his most memorable album to date. Favorite Tracks: "Pardon My Dust", "Here Come Those Eyes", "You Don't Have to Yell" Ryan Ferguson - Only Trying to Help After gaining some attention opening for Switchfoot in the Fall of 2006, Ryan put together a solid full-length debut, highlighted by diverse instrumentation throughout the CD. Favorite Tracks: "Introduction", "X's and O's", "The Imposter" Lost Ocean - self-titled Credential Recordings continues to put together an impressive roster of (mostly) creative rock bands, as one of their newest signees, Lost Ocean, added rich instrumentation to a piano-rock sound that led to one of this year's best debut CDs. Favorite Tracks: "Everything Is", "Mute", "Still Life" Sara Groves - Tell Me What You Know Initially this seemed like the standard, well-written piano-pop CD that Groves always gives us. However, upon closer listen, I noticed the subtle tweaks in the instrumentation that helped make this one of Groves' most musically compelling CDs, and the stories from Groves' recent trip to Africa also helped to give this CD a more personal touch. Favorite Tracks: "I Saw What I Saw", "Say a Prayer", "When The Saints" Future of Forestry - Twilight Another creative rock band inked to Credential Recordings is actually the remnants of Something Like Silas. On their full-length debut CD as Future of Forestry, they made their sound more guitar-heavy compared to Something Like Silas, yet still inserted the keyboard throughout their songs, which allowed for the instrumentation to really stand out on this CD. Favorite Tracks: "All I Want", "Open Wide", "Sacred Place" Relient K - Five Score and Seven Years Ago This CD continued Relient K's musical growth, as they worked the piano into their sound even more while continuing to have a fair share of catchy pop-punk songs. Some of Relient K's best work to date is on this album, although a few too many sub-par songs kept this one out of the top 10 for the year. Favorite Tracks: "Forgiven", "Deathbed", "Give Until There's Nothing Left" John Reuben - Word of Mouth John continued his biting social commentary that has become a feature of his recent albums (most notably The Boy vs. The Cynic). On top of that, John stepped it up in the musical department, resulting in arguably his most musically compelling CD since 2000's Are We There Yet?, as John just barely misses making the top 10 for the year. Favorite Tracks: "Trying Too Hard", "Miserable Exaggeration", "Sing It Like You Mean It" MY TOP 10 ALBUMS OF THE YEAR 10. Eisley - Combinations After greatly impressing me on 2005's Room Noises CD (which was my #7 CD for that year), Eisley continued to show musical growth on Combinations. Diversity was the key for them on this album as they now displayed influences ranging from Coldplay and 10,000 Manics, in addition to the Sixpence None the Richer influence that was so prominent on Room Noises. Eisley also experimented a little with electronic effects, which helped keep the album interesting, and greatly enhanced a few songs, most notably "Invasion." Not all the experiments worked, which is why I would rank this album below Room Noises overall. Still, this is a fairly impressive CD that shows Eisley is heading in the right direction musically. Favorite Tracks: "Invasion", "Many Funerals", "A Sight to Behold" 9. Wavorly - Conquering The Fear of Flight One of this year's most pleasant surprises for me was the debut CD from a Christian Rock band from Mississippi called Wavorly. Even though I was completely unimpressed with their first single, "Praise and Adore", I still checked out the CD upon recommendation from a few online friends. That's when I discovered Wavorly's effective mix of modern rock and orchestral elements, producing a truckload of memorable songs. Granted, I could have lived without a few songs that seemed to pander to Christian radio, and I was a bit concerned with Trevor McNevan (of Thousand Foot Krutch) co-writing four songs. That notwithstanding, Wavorly still came up with an impressive debut that finds its way into my CD player fairly often. Favorite Tracks: "Madmen", "Endless Day", "Forgive and Forget" 8. Caedmon's Call - Overdressed Much was made in CCM circles of Derek Webb's return to Caedmon's Call for this album, and for the most part, it was a welcome return. Derek was able to fit back into Caedmon's Call lineup quite nicely without taking too much of the spotlight away from the other band members. This contributed to yet another enjoyable album from Caedmon's which primarily harkened back to the sound from 40 Acres. Many of the elements that worked well for previous Caedmon's CDs were also present here: well-placed instrumentation, thoughtful lyrics, memorable melodies and nice harmonies, with it especially refreshing to hear Derek Webb and Danielle Young singing together again. It isn't a perfect album, especially with a few songs that sound too much like typical CCM pop/rock fare, but there'6s still plenty to like about this effort from the "new" Caedmon's Call lineup. Favorite Tracks: "Share In The Blame", "All Across The Western World", "Hold The Light" 7. Derek Webb - The Ringing Bell Derek Webb not only returned to Caedmon's Call's lineup, but he also released a fairly impressive album himself this past year. As usual, the bold message and challenging lyrics that have defined Webb's previous solo efforts are also present here. What was particularly different about this one was the music, which was easily Derek's most rock-influenced to date. Fortunately, the music is also his most compelling since his first solo CD (She Must and Shall Go Free) showing that Derek is back on the right track in that department after the mildly disappointing Mockingbird. It would have been nice if Derek gave us more than 30 minutes of music here, but at least he did a very good job with what he had. Favorite Tracks: "A Love That's Stronger Than Our Fear", "Name", "I Don't Want to Fight" 6. Deas Vail - All The Houses Look The Same The debut CD that impressed me the most came from Deas Vail, a five-piece melodic rock band hailing from Arkansas. Throughout their CD, these guys (and gal) melded their piano-rock sound with many of the musical elements that typically appeal to me: well-thought-out instrumentation, complex time signatures that still make sense within the context of the song, alternating vocals, beautiful melodies and poetic lyrics (even if they were a bit cryptic in this case.) They also threw these together with the ease of industry veterans. All of his led to an album that found its way into my CD player very frequently, and if they continue to grow from here, their subsequent CDs will find their way there too. Favorite Tracks: "Life In These Little Boats", "Shoreline", "For Miles to Come" 5. Monarch - Lowly Monarch probably is not very well known outside of the art-rock scene, although those of you who saw Kevin Max in concert in 2006 have probably heard their lead singer, Brennan Strawn, as he has toured with Kevin and also sang backing vocals in his band. Monarch had also been pretty quiet since releasing The Grandeur That Was Rome in 2003. However, last year Monarch re-formed with Brennan leading a new lineup, and this year they released a "comeback" album that I regard as one of this year's "hidden gems." This album featured Brennan's falsetto singing some of the most thought-provoking lyrics of the year and backed by electronically-tinged modern rock instrumentation. This proved to be an irresistible combination for me, and well-worth the effort to seek out. (As far as I know, you can only get this CD from Northern Records' store or digitally on iTunes.) Favorite Tracks: "Perform", "Lose It All", "Not Sure" 4. Anberlin - Cities Anberlin seems to have mastered the art of keeping the same basic sound while making subtle changes to it with each successive album, thus showing they can grow artistically without losing their identity. Once again, Anberlin has released an album with plenty of fast-paced modern rock songs. However, as was the case with Never Take Friendship Personal, there were also plenty of subtle tweaks to their sound that helped to enhance the music. This time, Anberlin included a few more slow songs, except now they made them acoustic-based, which we hadn't seen from them in the past. There were also a few more instrumental tweaks throughout the album which included the use of different types of special effects, and we even got to hear a children's choir to close out "(*Fin)." All of this produced a strong album from front-to-back, and I have found this to be Anberlin's most satisfying CD to date. Favorite Tracks: "(*Fin)", "Dismantle. Repair.", "Godspeed" 3. Steven Delopoulos - Straightjacket Steven Delopoulos seems to have a knack for placing in my year-end top 3, as he had the #3 album of 1998 with Anybody Out There? as a member of Burlap to Cashmere, and then his first solo album, Me Died Blue was the #2 CD of 2003. This year, Delopoulos hit another home run with an album that built on many of the strengths of his previous efforts: a unique sound mixing folk music and Greek influences, and excellent lyrics. Additionally, Delopoulos diversified his style even more by throwing in a Gospel-tinged track, and he even made room for a simple piano-based ballad, yet he managed to pull off these changes while keeping the quality of the songs high. This may also be Delopoulos's finest lyrical work to date, as the CD is filled with one thought-provoking lyric after another that seems to be centered on the theme of resurrection. If it wasn't for one song that was way too unusual for my tastes ("Halt"), this could easily have been my #1 CD for the year. Even as it stands right now, it is a very well-crafted and highly enjoyable album that marks yet another strong point in Delopoulos's resume. It's just too bad this CD is currently not going for physical release and is only available online because of lack of funds. Hopefully though, Delopoulos will get enough support to put together a physical release so more casual listeners will have a chance to hear this CD. Favorite Tracks: "Wallfly", "Ruin of the Beast", "Open Your Eyes" 2. Iron and Wine - The Shepherd's Dog This CD gets my award for the "Best Thought-out Instrumentation of the Year." It indeed was the instrumentation that drew me to Sam Beam's breakthrough CD and never let me go. Beam not only included such exotic instruments as the sitar and African drums, but also textured the instruments so well that just about all of them enhanced their respective songs. Additionally, thought-provoking lyrics abounded throughout the CD, which also helped to keep my interest. In fact, the only significant complaint I have about the CD is that I'm not the biggest fan of Beam's hushed vocals, and in some instances, the words can get a bit lost in the music if I'm not paying attention. Still, that is a relatively minor nitpick of a CD that in my opinion is among the strongest CDs artistically of the year. Favorite Tracks: "The Devil Never Sleeps", "White Tooth Man", "House By The Sea" 1. Over The Rhine - The Trumpet Child Honestly, I could have made a legitimate case for any of these top 3 CDs to be my #1 CD of the year. In the end, though, the husband and wife duo of Karin and Linford Bergquist win that distinction this year. On this album, Over The Rhine expanded on the jazz influence that they started to show on the Drunkard's Prayer album. On top of that, this album was a throwback of sorts as many of the songs were performed cabaret-style. If most artists tried to attempt this nowadays it would come off extremely cheesy, yet Karin and Linford managed to make it work. The lyrics were also quite well-written as usual. Many of the songs centered around Karin and Linford's newly rekindled love for each other, but they go deeper than most artists do these days, which helps keeps the songwriting fresh. There's also room for other subjects on this album, ranging from a look at the end times to musings about what would happen if music governed our lives. So this album holds up well from the critical standpoint, yet at the same time this is one of the most fun CDs I have heard this year, and hence it has found its way into my CD player plenty of times. An album that gets this much right on both the critical front yet remains highly enjoyable at the same time is certainly worthy of to be my #1 Album of the Year. Favorite Tracks: "Don't Wait For Tom", "Trouble", "Who'm I Kiddin' But Me" TOP 2006 HOLDOVER Typically, every year there are a few albums I don't get a chance to check out until the following year. This year there weren't nearly as many albums that fit the bill, as I did not hear any "late comers" that would have made my top 10 for 2006. However, there is one 2006 CD I heard that would have earned an "Honorable Mention" had I heard it in time to include it in last year's report. Alli Rogers - The Day of Small Things Those of you who know me know that I am a sucker for well-written acoustic albums with a female vocalist, and Alli's most recent studio CD is certainly that. I got my first exposure to Alli's music when she opened for Bebo Norman in concert early in the year, and I was intrigued enough to check out her album. Fortunately, it did not disappoint as it contained one well-written song after another, with quite a few thoughtful songs in the mix which tackled a broad array of subjects ranging from a comparison of the struggle of two mothers on opposite sides of the world, to the difficulties of leaving the place you call "home." (I can especially relate to the latter, since I did just that earlier this year when I left Atlanta, the place I grew up, and moved to Baton Rouge, LA.) The album does have a few flaws, most notably subpar production and a few mildly cliched songs. Still, there's a lot to like about this album that I hope can help garner more attention for Alli. Favorite Tracks: "Liar's Dream", "Hope", "Iowa" MOST DISAPPOINTING ALBUMS As I say every year, this section is not really a list of the "worst" CDs of the year, because if something really was that bad, chances are I will not have the internal fortitude to listen to it all the way. Rather, these are CDs where I was expecting more, whether it be from the artist's track record, a few promising early radio singles, or glowing recommendations from others, and in the end the CD failed to impress me. 5. Dustin Kensrue - Please Come Home I was honestly looking forward to this album quite a bit, due to Dustin's track record with Thrice and also given the fact that this was going to be a folk-rock album, which is right down my alley. Unfortunately, cliched lyrics throughout the CD and irritating vocals in some spots greatly scuttled it. This was greatly frustrating too, because I know Dustin can do better than this. 4. Derek Webb - One Zero (acoustic) I actually had somewhat high hopes for this one because I enjoy Derek's music in a live setting very much, and most of the time Derek plays acoustic sets. Unfortunately, this CD turned out to be a relative snoozer. The energy that Derek brings to his live shows was largely absent, and it didn't help that Derek sounded like he was straining on a few songs. Take out the bluesy rendition of "Ballad in Plain Red", and this CD doesn't stand out at all. Thankfully, Derek redeemed himself on The Ringing Bell. 3. This Beautiful Republic - Even Heroes Need a Parachute A few good radio singles and featured downloads ("Going Under", "Right Now", "Casting Off") led me to check this CD out. Unfortunately, those were basically the only good things about it, as the rest of the CD primarily consisted of filler songs that sounded like just about everything else on Christian Rock radio with subpar lyrics to boot. Albums like this are a major reason why I generally don't use the "3 good song rule" to determine whether to purchase a CD anymore. 2. Until June - self-titled This is another album that looked promising on the basis of the first few singles, only to have the rest of it not be up to par. In this case, the catchy piano pop-rockers "What I've Done" and "Sleepless" piqued my interest in the rest of the CD. Unfortunately, nothing else on that CD interested me. All the rest of the songs sounded the same to me, lyrics were overly repetitive, and by the second half of the CD the lead singer's voice really started grating on my nerves. So once again, these guys had a few catchy singles in them, but unfortunately they couldn't back them up with a whole album. 1. Article One - self-titled I honestly wanted to like these guys. When I heard them hyped as a band with a "fresh new sound", I was curious to hear more. On the plus side, they did have a violin player on just about every song, so I liked how they were different there. Unfortunately, that's the only thing that stood out about them. If you took the violin out, they sounded like everything else you hear on Christian AC/Pop radio. Even then, the violin also was not fleshed out as well as it could have been, so basically if you take the signed version of Big Daddy Weave and replace the saxophone with a violin, you get the idea. Even worse were the lyrics, which were banal at best, and downright embarrassing at worst. It seemed like the lyrics got clumsier as the subject matter got more serious, which is never a good sign. I'm sure these guys had good intentions here. Unfortunately, you also need to execute well, which these guys did not. So what I was hoping to be a promising debut turned out to be one painful listen. NOTABLE NEW ARTISTS OF 2007 This year there weren't that many new artists that caught my ear, although the ones that did impressed me quite a bit. One of the new artists that impressed me actually came from the remnants of Something Like Silas, an innovative worship-rock band whose Divine Invitation CD made my top 10 for 2004. Late in 2006, two of their members put together a new band called Future of Forestry, and they released their full-length CD early in 2007, which featured the creativity and musical diversity that also highlighted Something Like Silas's album. Additionally, this year Luna Halo and Monarch released new CDs with considerably revamped lineups from their last respective go-rounds. The Luna Halo CD turned out to be a bit shallow lyrically, but lots of fun musically, while the Monarch CD was one of this year's hidden gems. Speaking about fun music, I would use that to describe the national debut CD for Half Past Forever, an indie rock band led by Chris Sligh prior to his stint on American Idol. I will concede that the album's production is sub-par and it is not a very ground-breaking CD musically or lyrically. It is, however, a very catchy CD that has entered my "Road Trip rotation", and it is the CD affiliated with American Idol I have enjoyed the most. (Consider that I generally despite American Idol.) Chris is releasing a solo CD next Spring, so I am interested to see how he follows this up. Shifting back to some of the more creative new artists of the year, that's what attracted me to the debut CD from Lost Ocean. Their CD was primarily rooted in piano-rock, but it was their jazz influences and well-thought out instrumentation that caught my attention. The only significant complaint is that I thought some songs didn't really stand out, but otherwise there is a lot to like here. Also highly impressing me was Wavorly, whose unique blend of modern rock and orchestral elements helped their CD to place in my top 10 for the year. However, in the end, the new artist that impressed me the most was Deas Vail. Any artist that combines complex time-signatures, well-thought-out instrumentation, poetic lyrics and alternating vocals and fits all of those elements together smoothly deserves plenty of praise in my book. Hopefully, these guys (and gal) can keep up this level of musical mastery throughout their careers. SONGS OF THE YEAR I will be doing this section differently than I have done in previous years. This year, I have heard so many songs that impressed me that just picking ten singles and ten non-singles and talking about them would not do justice to all the great songs I have heard this year. So this year, I will be making a list of my top 25 favorite singles (both radio and video) and my top 25 non-singles. I make weekly charts for both of these, so my lists will be based from them. Additionally, I have included some songs released toward the end of 2006 that charted significantly in 2007, because in many cases, I truly started to appreciate those songs in 2007. TOP 25 SINGLES (Either Radio or Video) 25. "Control Freak" Copeland (from Eat. Sleep. Repeat) 24. "Kings and Queens" Luna Halo (from Luna Halo) 23. "Get Ready (Hot Machete)" Jonezetta (from Popularity) 22. "Typical" Mute Math (from Mute Math) 21. "Rewind" Deas Vail (from All The Houses Look The Same) 20. "Give Until There's Nothing Left" Relient K (from Five Score and Seven Years Ago) 19. "The Unwinding Cable Car" Anberlin (from Cities) 18. "Isaiah" The Listening (from The Rock 'N' Roll Worship Circus Becomes ... The Listening 17. "Crashing Down" Mat Kearney (from Nothing Left to Lose) 16. "Sometimes I Can't Make It Alone" Mae (from Singularity) 15. "Part One" Wavorly (from Conquering The Fear of Flight) 14. "Awakening" Switchfoot (from Oh! Gravity.) 13. "Ain't Nothing Wrong With That" Robert Randolph & The Family Band (from Colorblind) 12. "Name" Derek Webb (from The Ringing Bell) 11. "Madmen" Wavorly (from Conquering The Fear of Flight) 10. "Ocean Size Love" Leigh Nash (from Blue on Blue) 09. "Oh! Gravity." Switchfoot (from Oh! Gravity.) 08. "In My Arms" Plumb (from Blink) 07. "Trying Too Hard" John Reuben (from Word of Mouth) 06. "Tears of the Saints" Leeland (from Sound of Melodies) 05. "A Whisper & A Clamor" Anberlin (from Cities) 04. "Godspeed" Anberlin (from Cities) 03. "Invasion" Eisley (from Combinations) 02. "Ruin of the Beast" Steven Delopoulos (from Straightjacket) 01. "Forgiven" Relient K (from Five Score and Seven Years Ago) TOP 25 NON-SINGLES 25. "Bite My Tongue" Relient K (from Five Score and Seven Years Ago) 24. "Many Funerals" Eisley (from Combinations) 23. "Waiting" Half Past Forever (from Take a Chance on Something Beautiful) 22. "White Tooth Man" Iron and Wine (from The Shepherd’s Dog) 21. "Faust, Midas and Myself" Switchfoot (from Oh! Gravity.) 20. "Already Gone" The Violet Burning (from Drop-dead) 19. "Blown Away" The Violet Burning (from Drop-dead) 18. "Washed By The Water" NEEDTOBREATHE (from The Heat) 17. "The Devil Never Sleeps" Iron and Wine (from The Shepherd's Dog) 16. "Liar's Dream" Alli Rogers (from The Day of Small Things) 15. "Fair Weather" Michelle Tumes (from Michelle Tumes) 14. "Everything Is" Lost Ocean (from Lost Ocean) 13. "Endless Day" Wavorly (from Conquering The Fear of Flight) 12. "Trouble" Over The Rhine (from The Trumpet Child) 11. "Share In The Blame" Caedmon's Call (from Overdressed) 10. "Shoreline" Deas Vail (from All The Houses Look The Same) 09. "Don't Wait For Tom" Over The Rhine (from The Trumpet Child) 08. "All I Want" Future of Forestry (from Twilight) 07. "So, In This Hour..." The Rocket Summer (from Do You Feel) 06. "Dismantle. Repair." Anberlin (from Cities) 05. "Dirty Second Hands" Switchfoot (from Oh! Gravity.) 04. "A Love That's Stronger Than Our Fear" Derek Webb (from The Ringing Bell) 03. "(*Fin)" Anberlin (from Cities) 02. "The Balancing Act" Cool Hand Luke (from The Balancing Act) 01. "Life In These Little Boats" Deas Vail (from All The Houses Look The Same) FAVORITE CONCERTS OF 2007 This year I didn't have nearly as many opportunities to go to concerts as I've had in years past. Starting a new job and moving to Louisiana in late June certainly had something to do with that. Despite having not as many opportunities, I still attended quite a few enjoyable concerts when I've had the chance. Here are the highlights: 5. Switchfoot, Relient K and Ruth in Baton Rouge, LA - 10/29 For the second straight year, I've been able to have a belated birthday celebration with a concert. Last year, Mute Math came to Atlanta three days after my birthday. This year, the Appetite for Construction Tour came to Baton Rouge five days after my birthday, and for the second straight year I had a good time at my post-birthday celebration. Both Switchfoot and Relient K showed that they are continuing to improve their live shows. In Switchfoot's case, they have become excellent showmen as of late, and this time they continued to tweak familiar songs a little bit, so even though they did not play too many songs I hadn't heard before, there was enough different about them this time that I did not feel like I was hearing the same set over and over either. As for Relient K, I liked that almost half of their set comprised of songs I had never heard live before. They also had their fair share of amusing antics, this time more subtle but still not hard to pick up. This ranged from Matt Theissen singing on two different microphones on "I Need You" to the fake snow falling on "Sleigh Ride." Granted, I would have preferred Switchfoot to have mixed their set up a little more, and I thought Relient K had some sound issues at the beginning of their set, but overall, the show was a lot of fun. 4. Bebo Norman, Brandon Heath and Alli Rogers in Athens, GA - 2/23 Even though I have been disappointed with Bebo's recent output, I have always been able to count on him to put on a highly-entertaining concert, and once again he delivered. As usual, Bebo and his band, put on a well-executed acoustic set with well-thought-out instrumentation. Gabe Scott was especially a highlight as he smoothly moved from instrument to instrument, and as usual the banter between Bebo and his band mates was a highlight of the set. Both opening acts also put together solid sets as Brandon Heath sounded a lot better than I expected, and this concert served as my introduction to the thoughtful music of Alli Rogers. 3. Anberlin, Bayside, Meg & Dia and Jonezetta in Atlanta, GA - 3/31 This is the first time I have seen Anberlin as a headliner, and they delivered with yet another highly energetic set. As always, Anberlin's fast-paced rock sound translated well to a live setting, and it was lots of fun watching all the band members run around all over the stage. Many of the songs from Cities especially turned out fairly well live, including the acoustic-driven "The Unwinding Cable Car" and their encore, "(*Fin)" which sounded as powerful as the studio version would indicate, even sans the children's choir at the end. Also doing a good job entertaining the crowd was Bayside, as their heavy rock sound incited complete chaos throughout the crowd. The other two opening acts also had their moments, as this turned out to be one highly enjoyable, rocking evening. 2. Robert Randolph & The Family Band in Atlanta, GA (Men's NCAA Basketball Final Four Festivities) - 4/2 As fun as their Colorblind CD from last year was, I would argue that Robert Randolph & The Family Band are even more fun in concert. Two areas where Randolph and Co. certainly excel are jamming and playing to the crowd, both of which help to make the atmosphere even more festive. I don't think they played any song less than 6 or 7 minutes, yet the guys played to the crowd so well, I hardly noticed the long length. The band members are also among the most skilled players I've heard, which adds to their effectiveness. Another nice touch was the inclusion of a few guests, most notably an entire middle school step team on "Ain't Nothing Wrong With That", which meant there were over 30 people on stage during that one song. The only significant complaint I had about this show was that I wished Randolph played more originals and less covers. That notwithstanding, this was a very festive show that helped set up the mood for the upcoming National Championship game. 1. Andrew Peterson and Andy Gullahorn in Metarie, LA - 7/27 My first concert since relocating to Louisiana turned out to be a home run as Andrew Peterson, Andy Gullahorn and Ben Shive were in fine form at their concert in Western New Orleans this past July. The chemistry between Peterson and Shive has gotten quite good as of late, and they now play off each other very well. Gullahorn was also a nice addition to the tour, as he filled in appropriate parts on guitar, and also got to play a few of his songs in the middle of the set. Not only was Andrew and Co. spot on musically, but they also had quite a few humorous quips between (and sometimes during) songs. These included Andrew taking a deep, audible breath during "Matthew's Begats", Andrew twanging like crazy at the beginning of "Family Man" (after he said the song was nominated for a Dove Award for Country Song of the Year), and the band doing their rendition of the original music for the Rich Mullins song, "Mary Picked The Roses", which sounded like a rejected Meat Loaf song. Another bonus was Andrew getting close to 2.5 hours to play. All of this made for one highly entertaining night, and a concert very deserving to be my Concert of the Year. Honorable Mention: Luna Halo put together a very entertaining set in Atlanta this past June as part of a Modest Mouse after-concert. Luna Halo previewed a good chunk of their self-titled CD here, and they even threw in a cover of a-ha's "Take On Me." LOOKING AHEAD TO 2008 It's never too early to start getting excited for what's coming out in the future. Here are the upcoming releases (or in some cases rumored releases) that I am anticipating the most. 1. Andrew Peterson: Resurrection Letters 2. Mute Math 3. Switchfoot 4. Sleeping at Last 5. Edison Glass: Time is Fiction 6. The Myriad: With Arrows, With Poise 7. Burlap to Cashmere 8. Shaun Groves 9. U2 10. Sufjan Stevens 11. Anberlin 12. The Real SeanJon: Betrayal 13. Jon Foreman: Fall and Winter EPs 14. Rachael Lampa 15. House of Heroes 16. R.E.M.: Accelerate 17. Smalltown Poets (Greatest Hits with some new songs?) 18. Nichole Nordeman 19. Thrice: The Alchemy Index, Vol. III and IV 20. Santcus Real: We Need Each Other That summarizes my look back at 2007 in music. Best wishes for 2008!

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