Vox Hunt: So Far, So Good
Audio: Show us the best album (new or old) that you've bought this year.
Well, I spent last weekend going to two Jason Gray concerts in two different states, so it's probably not a surprise that his All the Lovely Losers CD is my favorite album of the year. Unfortunately, it's not sold on Amazon, so I'm including "Into the Mystery" from the album for your listening pleasure. You can hear more of Jason's music at his MySpace page and his regular site.
I'm not great at describing music other than to say that I like it or I don't like it, but I'll take a shot at describing this album. Jason is a folksy singer-songwriter, and the songs on the album range from folk-pop to folk-rock. I can easily imagine this CD playing in a coffeehouse if that helps to give you sense of its vibe. I'm in love with his lyrics and how he really speaks to those of us who just don't feel worthy of God's love. Faith can be scary, and he's not afraid to talk about that and to also share how God works through our weaknesses as well as our strengths.
Apart from his wonderful singing and songwriting, Jason is also one of the good guys. He supports World Vision and has a real desire to ease the suffering of children who are being orphaned by AIDS around the world. One of the songs on the album - "You are Mercy" - was written after a trip to Africa with his family to see the work World Vision is doing. The song encourages us to pray for the world while also being a part of the answer to those prayers by taking action.
If you're interested in buying the CD, it's available on iTunes, and you can also order from echotunes to get a bonus acoustic CD from Jason with your purchase.
Also at the concerts where we saw Jason Gray were downhere and Sevenglory. Downhere was actually the main band at both concerts and is great, but I was fixated on Jason Gray. :D I have all of their albums, but the only one I bought this year was Wide-Eyed and Simplified, which is an acoustic version of their Wide-Eyed and Mystified. It's a great album with the band telling the stories behind the songs, which is always something I enjoy from musicians I like. The main reason I'm mentioning them here though is simply because I've been listening to so much of them lately. I didn't want to leave them out!
I heard Sevenglory for the first time this weekend, bought their CD, and then went to the next day's concert and completely enjoyed them again. They have a great rock sound, and their lead singer Fred Butson has a really unique sound.
Then I have another recent CD purchase with Decemberadio, a more Southern rock or classic rock sound. They're playing a few hours away from us this weekend, and Matt is dropping some heavy hints that he'd like to go to that concert. I'd be more interested if it wasn't part of a big outdoor festival. I don't know if I'm up for another one of those yet when I'm only interested in one band that's playing. We'll see how the weekend goes, I guess.
