#1 Christian Album Sales

Yes, you guessed correctly!  The number one selling Christian band is .... U2.  Some may want to debate the Christian faith of U2 or their political leanings, but  the Christian world-view of the band members does permeate their work.



U2 - Achtung Baby (album) - over 8 million
    - The Joshua Tree (album) - over 6 million
    - Rattle and Hum (album) - over 5 million
    - The Unforgettable Fire - over 3 million
    - All You Can't Leave Behind (album) - over 3 million
    - Under A Blood Red Sky (album) - over 3 million

Total U2 record sales approximately 160 million

Top Selling Christian Records

The list below charts a number of well known, and not so well known, bands and how their singles and albums have charted.  I've started with the number two, tomorrow I'll submit the number one Christian band of all time.  Any guesses???

At the top of today's list is a single from 1967.  "Oh Happy Day" is a traditional hymn recorded with a black gospel/soul slant.  Recorded on a simple two-track stereo, only five hundred copies were produced as a church fund raiser.  After receiving airplay on a local San Francisco, the choir was signed for national distribution.  The rest, as they say, is history. The single went on to be the most popular of all Christian releases.

Edwin Hawkins Singers	"Oh Happy Day" (single)	over 7 million
Jars Of Clay	self-titled album (includes "Flood")	over 4 million
Owl City	"Fireflies" single	over 4 million
P.O.D.	Satellite (album)	over 3 million
	The Fundamental Elements Of Southtown (album)	over 1 million
MercyMe	Spoken (album)	over 3 million
dc Talk	Jesus Freak (album)	over 2 million
	Supernatural (album)	over 1 million
The Fray	How to Save a Life(album)	over 2 million
Switchfoot	The Beautiful Letdown (album)	over 2 million
	five additional albums	over 500,000
Third Day	Live Wire (album)	over 1 million
	Offerings (album)	over 1 million
	numerous albums	over 500,00
Flyleaf	self-titled (album)	over 1 million
	All Around Me (Single)	over 1 million
Bruce Cockburn	Dancing In The Dragons Jaws (album)	over 1 million
	Stealing Fire (album)	over 1 million
	Waiting For A Miracle (album)	over 1 million
Stryper	To Hell With The Devil (album)	over 1 million
	Live in Japan (video)	over 1 million
	three additional albums	over 500,000
Paramore	The Only Exception (single)	over 1 million
	Misery Business (single)	over 1 million
Sixpence None the Richer	self-titled (album)	over 1 million
Skillet	two gold albums	over 500,000
MxPx	Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo (album)	over 500,000
newsboys	five gold albums	over 500,000
Underoath	Define the Great Line (album)	over 500,000
Petra	Petra Praise and Beyond Belief (albums)	both over 500,000
Delirious?	The Cutting Edge (album)	over 500,000
As I Lay Dying	This Is Who We Are (album)	over 500,000
Plus One	The Promise (album)	over 500,000
Keith Green	The Ministry Years (album)	over 500,000
Relient K	five albums	over 500,000
tobyMac	three albums	over 500,000

Southern Gospel?

No, I'm not going to abuse you by discussing southern gospel quartet singing.  Ravenhill uses a combination of southern (read "black") gospel music of the '40's and '50's with soul and indie rock.  Please don't take offense with the term "black' gospel, this term is still in common usage by the artists themselves.

Ravenhill began in southern Illinois in November 2009. Originator of the band, Joshua Clifton, has described the roots of Ravenhill music as growing from the influences of punk, gospel, jazz, blues, grunge, indie, hard-core, soul, and classic rock.  This eclectic mix of genres has created a rich and diverse musical style.

Hearing the single "Blood On The Church Floor" drew me into Ravenhill's music.  Both a soulful, heartfelt and dramatic song. "BOTHCF" epitomizes the band's sound. The song describes martyrdom of a Christ follower.  Martyrdom is when people are being persecuted for their beliefs and are usually put to death because they won’t renounce their beliefs. A rare topic for a modern Christian song, but one that should be discussed. Several versions, both full and acoustic have been released by the band.  The greatest version being the full band version with Josh Clifton's great vocals. Don't be frightened of the 7:09 length, it is well worth a listen.


Ravenhill has to be heard to be appreciated.  Click for a free download of the EP "Ladies and Gentlemen, I Present to You...". 

Classic Punk

The Shiny Darks is a classic style punk band hailing from Houston, Texas. This threesome released their second EP "Stab At Love", this spring. Racy guitars, heavy drums and clear vocals are trademarks of this band.

Their bio describes the trio's music as being "positive and happy', definitley not a typical theme for a punk band.  The band has been compared to My Chemical Romance. My opinion is that they are closer in sound and style to the Christian punk band, The Scurvies, from Anchorage, Alaska.  Paul Mendez handles lead vocals and guitar, his baby sister Gem Mendez on drums and background vocals, guitarist Quenton Rockwell provides the band with a jagged edge, heavier feel. The band was founded in 2005, with their only previous release being the 2007 EP, "At War With The World".

The title track of the new EP, "Stab At Love", keeps in the same vein as their previous release.  The song lyrics describe a heart that was, as the song pines, left “beating on the floor” but with the wounded lover's realization that their love was not to be.

"I Wanna Be A Kennedy" is a flirtation with the American Dream.  How this fallacy of reaching for the golden apple can lead to disappointment when it is not achieved.

I've finally arrived
So roll out the carpets and ring bells
It's been too long now
Since I've felt the kiss of love on my brow
It's been too long since I've felt anything at all!  Oh, No!

Probably the weakest track, musically and lyrically, of the EP is "Photographs".  The tune follows the trials of a changed relationship:

And I knew today would be the last time that we'd speak
You're still the same, but your smile sure has changed
I thought it would be hard to say goodbye
but we just walked out of each other's lives
I threw the photographs away

The final track, "Holiday" contains the only overt Christian lyrical content on the EP. How we may follow a dark path that draws us back to the Lord.  It is a solid re-telling to the return of the prodigal.

I didn't get any sleep last night, getting ready to go
so I grabbed my bags as you kiss me, well out the door
As every step takes me farther from home
I miss you more than before

I'm on a holiday
I'm on a holiday
I'm on a holiday, to Hell

Every day was harder than the last but I held on
Looking back, God never let go of my soul
Every night I would pray
Lord please show me the way

If only I knew all the things I know now
Isn't it funny that's the way life goes,
Somethimes you gotta go throught Hell
To hear the ringing of Heaven's bell

This EP has been on a constant cycle on my iPod.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I am.

A free download of "Stab A Love" can be obtained at the band's website. Click here.

Air Raid 19 Slideshow

Hawk Nelson returns home!

Friday June 3, Air Raid 19, presented by Christian super-station LIFE 100.3. Peterborough's own Hawk Nelson had returned home to play to a huge crowd at Calvary Pentecostal Church.  Supporting the headline band was To Tell, B Reith, and Manafest.

To Tell

To Tell started the evening off and led by the dynamic Zach Havens on keyboards and vocals.  Havens was accompanied by his back up band to create a full sound for his pop/rock music.  To Tell is garnering a lot of attention on Christian radio stations in Canada.  The recent release of his first album So Much More gives Havens a greater breadth of material to draw from.   Havens pleased the crowd with his performance of "Safe To Say" his current single.

B Reith

Gotee recording artist, B Reith. followed To Tell.  B Reith gave the crowd his unusual blend of hip/hop/rap and pop. Reith is similar in style to KJ-52.  Reith struggled through the entire set.  It turned out that his monitor was not functioning, making it a difficult for him to keep on track with his music.  A bit of a disappointment, but his natural ability shone through.  His latest single, "Knockin' On My Door" was a crowd favourite.

Manafest

Chris Greenwood, more commonly knows as Manafest, blasted onto the stage with his band. Manafest powered through many of the rap/rock tracks found on his latest CD, The Chase. A lot of Manafest fans were in attendance at this show and he played to the crowd.  Manafest has a great stage presence and covers the whole stage with his great performance.

The last time that Manafest and Hawk Nelson played together in Peterborough, they were both signed to Tooth & Nail's, BEC records, thus launching their careers.  Both bands have been mentored by Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch/FM Static fame.

It was time for the hometown boys to come out.  Hawk Nelson owned the crowd.  I've often said that everyone from a tween to grandma (and grandma's dog) is a Hawk Nelson fan.  This band never disappoints.  A great stage setup with 8 ft high illuminated letters spelling H A W K lit the back of the stage.  All the band members enjoy their time on stage.  A tough thing to do, considering this band plays hundreds of dates per year.

Jason Dunn - Hawk Nelson

Lead vocalist, Jason Dunn kept the crowd on it's feet as he went through song after song. H N gave a full slate of 16 songs and 2 encores, playing tracks from all five Tooth & Nail record releases. Jonathan Steingard gave his all on lead guitar and backing vocals.  Steingard is one of the premier members of the band, who has offered much to his personal fans with the release of Fox Run and solo CD's.  Daniel Biro carries the duties of bass player and background vocals.  Since 2008, effervescent drummer Justin Benner has shared his talents.  Prior to Benner, Skwid Tosti was drummer (Tosti was well known for signing to play with PAX 217 at 13 years of age).  

Jonathan Steingard - Hawk Nelson

Jason Dunn spoke of his love for the city of Peterborough and it's people.  How he misses not being able to spend as much time here as he would like.  Dunn shared his experience of working as a parking attendant at Civic hospital prior to the start of SWISH, the previous name of Hawk Nelson.  After 11 years as a band they continue to thrive in the marketplace and have progressed both lyrically and musically.  Hopefully we will be able to enjoy many more concerts with this band again.

Children 18:3 - Rain's a Comin' review

Children 18:3's punk music originates from the confines of Morris, Minnesota. The band's name gives reference to Matthew 18:3 ' And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven".' Comprised of siblings David, Lee Marie and Seth Hostetter, Children 18:3 had it's origins as a ska band during the late '90's.  Seth handles the drum kit, David does double duty as lead vocalist and guitarist, bass player Lee Marie adds her amazing lead and background vocals.

The second of two independant EP's drew the attention of Brandon Ebel who signed the band to his Tooth & Nail label. Their self-titled debut with T&N in 2008, was a hit with listeners who enjoyed the distinctive sound of the band. Genre defying influences such as punk, pop, ska, rock, and even '70's new wave, make up the band's signature sound.

The second release by Children 18:3, Rain's a Comin', continues in the same tradition. With a total length of 33 min for 12 songs the listener knows they are in for a fast ride. The title track starts the ride with a very short song that builds the momentum for the album. "Cover Your Eyes" speaks of the ‫impotence of self-reliance. Track three, "The Cruel One" provides a musical journey through the 1966 film, 101 Dalmatians, featuring Lee Marie's soaring, Blondie-like, “oh-oh-ohs” vocals. "Whispering" is one of two instrumental tracks, the almost stoner rock flavour makes this song easy to skip over. "Hey Driftwood (Tides)" brings the album down to a fun pop sound.

A fathers commitment and love for his childhood daughter and her experience at a talent show shines through on "Bravo".  It features Lee Marie at the wheel for this song:

"Running off the stage with bitter tears of shame
Close my eyes and tried so hard to make it go away
I just want to go home and tell my teddy bear "I failed, I failed!"
I turned around the corner just to hear my daddy say
Oh bravo, you're the best, you're my only one
Oh bravo, that will always be enough
Look at me, your song was beautiful, beautiful
Even if nobody ever knows
Bravo"

The lightest track on the CD is the acoustic ballad "Oh, Honestly" providing lyrics describing our failure to reach out and move forward when trials appear. "Wonder I" leads the listener into a vocal duel between David and Lee Marie as the lyrics speak of faith:

"Wonder, wonder IIf I stood on your shoulders, could I touch the sky?When will you die?Where will you go?Wonder, wonder I"

A hard rock intro leads in to the aptly titled "Stronger" with angst ridden lyrics and a raw vocal delivery.  Children 18:3's lyrics have progressed and matured since their first, self-titled, release.  This transition is evidenced in "Jack 'O' Lantern Dreams":

"Only if you can remember the endingCan we then work back toward the start". 

"Lost So Long" includes every Christ followers wish:

"Close your eyes, baby sleepFloat across the gentle seaEvery cloud turning greyHolds the promises of rain coming".

The oddest inclusion on this album has to be the final track, the instrumental "The Last Laugh" which sounds like a player piano ditty from a silent movie with the band members laughter in the background.

Children 18:3 has no contemporaries in the Christian music realm, this band stands out with it's own unique style.  While not for everyone, this band's delivery of music is earnest and heartfelt.  Remember, if you don't like the sound, punk music songs are short, so bear with it.

Click here for songs by Children 18:3