Customer Reviews

All Star United

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You will love this cd! At first, I thought that All Star United wouldn't be good because not many people unfortunately don't know about them. I heard "Tenderness" at a friends house and was so touched. All Star United can bring you in with catchy choruses, as in "la la land" and "smash hit" and rock away as in "Beautiful thing" and still make you want to cry in "Tenderness" and "Torn." Tenderness is a beautiful song about how even though we sin, God is tender to us because of Christ. Overall, this album totally rocks for Jesus.

If you like hard rocking music that still manages to be melodic,creative,and profound,you will love this record. From the unusual two-part harmonies on "Angels" to the important message and catchy groove of "Bright Red Carpet",to the gentle (for a while) acoustic guitar and poetic lyrics of "Saviour of my Universe",this is,in my opinion,one of the best pop/rock albums ever made.

Quite literally the most fun you'll have rocking out. Snarky humor and smoking guitar riffs abound here. Let's face it, it doesn't get better than that!

Don't shy away from this album because it'll keep you smiling, and don't make that sound like it's some boy band pop crap. An album can still rock out like no other while still being fun and happy. ok... so i guess you'd call this band pop; but pop with an edge. It is pop but it's still heavy. Hard to explain if you haven't heard it, and that's why you need to. It is also creative, making the melodies intriguing so that it keeps your interest. It's 45 minutes of pure joy, so go check out the guitar heavy pop band that's sweeping the nations with their Sma-a-sh hits!

Ian's a great lyricist...and whoever wrote the guitar parts really shines through with some creative stuff. This one is a top notch album that challenges a Christian's comfort zone.

"La La Land" anyone?

All Star United's self-titled debut is just plain F-U-N. The album is a bit of a paradox, providing mature, guitar-centric, bubble-gum pop music that somehow comes off as a serious contender without any pretense of taking itself seriously, like the President giving a speech on world economics in his undroos or fine dining at the Queen's estate eating lobster and Cocoa Puffs.

The use of the term "pop" music should be clarified so as to not be compared to the contrived plastic of boy bands or young girl icons usually associated with the term. In fact, while the album represents the debut of their incarnation as All Star United, the sum of the band members represents decades of experience.

Outside of his two album solo career, Ian Eskelin on lead vocals has had guitar, keyboard, or other collaboration history with no less than 10 previous bands, including the well known Newsboys and Code of Ethics. Patrick, the guitarist, also shared axe duties for the well-known synth act The Echoing Green. Christian Crowe backed Ian up on drums during his solo career, and Gary rounds out the act on bass. While Ian wrote most of the tracks on the tail end of his solo career, their combined efforts has brought a success to a whole new level above anything seen by them individually. In the year of its release, the album produced many rankings in the top 5 and a couple number one hits.

The band does an excellent job of poking fun at the industry it has so much experience with. `Smash Hit' takes a jab directly at the packaging of this whole Jesus thing, shemlessly referencing overpriced merchandise and image exploitation of Christianity. It even gets personal with my personal favorite, `La La Land', setting the stage from the start with reference to those with their Jesus bumper stickers in the hopes that it will somehow save them from that speeding ticket.

The appeal of the album lies in the fact that this style of honest / sarcastic exposure is usually only found in more angst-ridden genres. The songs cover the spectrum of emotions and do touch on a serious side, from relationships with others to a relationship with God. It is kept light-hearted throughout the album, though, right down to Ian's aunt singing into a playschool recorder hidden on the end of the last track.

You will be hard pressed to find a better pop-album on the market. Outstanding vocals, guitars, synth, and the occasional organ backdrop make for fun ride starting in La La Land and ending with a Lullaby.

- Chad
- The Edge On-Line

I first saw ASU on tour in '96 I think, and from the first song I was captivated. Never had I seen a better show from a Christian band. Needless to say, as soon as it came out I bought this album, and now five years later, I still can't get enough of it. I very highly reccommend it to anyone Christian or not who loves tounge-in-cheek pop music.

This is a great CD filled with upbeat music and encouraging lyrics. I especially like "Smash Hit", and "Savior of my Universe".

All Star United's debut album is one of my favorite cd's that I own. The heavy guitar riffs of "Smash Hit" make it one of my favorite songs. The use of heavy guitar juxtaposed with melodic keyboards increase that appeal of this cd to all types of listening. Soft, catchy rhythms found on tracks like "Savior of My Universe" add beautiful touches of finess while the laughably sarcastic lyrics of "Smash Hit" and "LaLaLand" give this cd a great edge! All Star's sophomore album "International Anthems For the Human Race" shows the maturation of this incredibly talented band.

my friend lent me this album.... i have listened to it so many times... i never get tired of it.. and after you listen to it.. it makes you feel good!! :)