Go by Newsboys
Reviewed by Tracy Darlington
"Upbeat
and uplifting."
I first saw the Newsboys
at the Creation Music Festival in the early ‘90's when they still
had their spinning drum machine. With two decades under their belt the
Newsboys have had several of their albums
reach the gold mark. It was after touring Europe, Morocco, and Tiberius,
Israel recently that they were especially moved to record an album reflecting
the Great Commission. Go is their first pop cd in four years, and Steve Taylor
is back helping with the lyrics and style. Ted T. and Paul Colman (now the
official guitar player for the band) had their hands in the song writing
as well this time.
Some of
the tracks on this album bring me back to their Take Me To Your Leader days,
especially “Secret Kingdom” for its similar instrumentation
to “Breakfast”. But fans of their previous worship albums will
be pleased to hear “In Wonder” and “I Am Free,” which
has a very U2esque sound to it. Frontman Peter Furler’s trademark vocals
are showcased as usual. But the Newsboys have matured musically since their
first release Read All About It in 1988. They now bring us enough
variety to keep us going onto the next track. The guitars and the drums are
tighter
and more sophisticated, and there’s an occasional mellow keyboard,
as in the classic “Let it Be” sound-alike “Let it All Come
Out”.
“Wherever We Go” starts things off and makes a great concert
opener, showcasing Steve Taylor’s quirky lyrical contributions: Wherever
we go, the bees behave. In the treetops, squirrels smile and wave. It’s
a curious thing. And it’s humbling. It’s also their first radio
single. There’s a catchy rhythm and a dominant bass drum you can feel
in your belly in “Your Love is Better Than Life.” But my favorite
song on this album has to be the title track “Go”. It’s
got an unforgettable great beat and positive words with an early Audio Adrenaline
feel to it.
The cd finale “Gonna Be Alright” is unique to the rest of the
album and is probably the most interesting, with lead vocals akin to Supertramp
and muted female voices in the background. I’d love to have heard more
cuts like this one.
The Newsboys have definitely scored another hit cd to add to your collection.
Upbeat and uplifting, Go could even be their best to date.
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