Customer Reviews

Ancient Skies

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

 

 

I first heard The Michael Gungor Band at the "Beyond Music Conference" in Anchorage this year (2008). These guys were one of the worship bands, and, despite the fact that I was not feeling terribly good the night they played, they absolutely blew me away. I bought "Ancient Skies" from the booth they had at the conference, and highly recommend it.

Blending some of the best guitar work ("Fly" and "Say So" in particular) I have ever heard in Christian music -- or any other genre, for that matter -- with passionate vocals, strong arrangements and truly creative music, "Ancient Skies" is an awesome CD, and has rarely been out of the CD player in my truck since I bought it. While, in my opinion, a lot of Christian bands often sacrifice the music for the sake of the lyrics, I never felt like the songs on "Ancient Skies" were compromised to get a point across. The lyrics are meaningful, but always fit the music, and the music itself...well, it's a crime that I've never heard this band on Christian radio.

I don't know for sure what musicians influenced The Michael Gungor Band, but to my ears, the music at times reminds me of everyone from The Beatles, to Yngwie Malmsteen, to The Cars, to ColdPlay. That's a diverse mix, but these guys (and lady ;) pull it off, and it *works*.

Highlights? "Say So", "Be Praised", and my favorite, "Glory is Here". As I mentioned above, the guitar work at the end of "Fly" is nothing short of amazing. I've played guitar...well, probably since around the time Michael was born...and I still can't play like that. "Say So" is a raw, straight-ahead rocker, and is easily my 2nd favorite track on the CD. It's got so much energy, you can't help but be pulled along by the music. "Glory is Here" is an intense, deeply moving song. It's a lot slower than most of the other songs on the album, but twice as passionate. Every time I hear the song, I find myself choking back tears, and when they played it live...well...hearing a huge auditorium full of worship leaders singing along with the wordless cry at the climax of the song was a tiny glimpse of heaven.

In short, if you even think you might possibly be interested in this CD, just buy it. You will be glad you did.

Michael Gungor is apparently primarily a songwriter but this album is great. I love the lyrics. I purchased the cd based on the album art, which is very good. Front and back of the packaging are nice. I didn't know anything about the band before I got it. The over all sound of the album is rock, but there are some praise ballads if that is even a category. I like the opener. It starts with a distorted guitar line, the middle of the song is consistent and then there is a nice jam session at the end of the song. I noticed they added extra jam time to a lot of their songs where a lot of bands would just end the song. This is nice. I feel like I got my $10 worth. I feel this is very generous of the band. I don't like to pay for a cd and feel like I am only getting the shortest versions of the songs, like they save the extended versions for concerts or practice sessions or something. With this cd I feel like the band gave me everything they came up with in practice. It is a very thorough album. Glory is Here is probably my favorite of the cd. Starts out as a good praise song, in the middle it sounds like Enya, then at the end it picks back up with yet another extended ending.

There is one song on the disc where the girl in the band gets lead vocals. Its a nice song. The primary lead singer has a good voice though and it blends with the music well. It is unique enough but not too unique.

If the band reads these amazon reviews I would like to express appreciation for not being the typical worship band that just feels like they need a cd. This is a quality product and it is appreciated.

We had The Michael Gungor Band at our church this summer! It was really neat to be able to have such a prominent band come to our small town in the middle of nowhere, and we are really grateful for their ministry!

This CD combines all the little quirky and musically excellent things about Michael, Lisa and the band. The songs are big and their heart and passion brings that out!

After a release as fantastic and successful as Gungor`s Beautiful Things a year ago, one might think it would be hard to go back and listen to the music they made before, because there's just no way it could compare. Ancient Skies is Gungor's release that immediately preceded Beautiful Things (the band was still under the name The Michael Gungor Band at the time), and while it features many songs pulled from their previous record and is easily outdone by the album that followed it, it's still a fantastic album full of worshipful, creative, and skillfully performed music.

For those who bought Gungor's debut album All I Need Is Here, there isn't much new content on Ancient Skies. All I Need Is Here isn't really available anywhere anymore, though, so this rerelease is a great way for newer fans like myself to get their hands on most of the music from that record, and it's all more-than-worthwhile music. The new tracks include "Say So," "You Are the Light," and "White Man," and all three are great in their own ways. "Say So" is more of an edgy rocker that serves as an excellent opener and tells God's people to declare the truth of God and what it means to be saved. It's refreshing to hear a band make it a point to declare what it really means to be one of God's people, making "Say So" a fantastic rocker. "You Are the Light" is also upbeat and features some heavier guitar work, and this time Lisa Gungor takes over the vocals and delivers a powerful song that sings, "Shine, Jesus, shine/ let your love bring life into our lives/ won't You shine?/ You are the light." "White Man" is an interesting cut and it's catchy as can be, though the lyrics are a little trite with a chorus that simply sings "God is love/ and He loves everyone."

The rest of the album is a repeat of All I Need Is Here, but since I haven't actually heard that album it makes no difference to me, and I think that would be the same for most people. Most of the album consists of worship songs, some of which could potentially be sung in church services, while others are musically just not fit for that bill. However, that musical creativity and diversity is one of the album's greatest strengths. Some of the songs seem to have been written with a congregation in mind, such as the fun, upbeat tracks "Be Praised" and "Never Stop" and the humble "Giving It All." The album's strongest tracks are definitely those that are musically out of the congregational realm, though, especially the soft and beautiful "Grace For Me," the powerful and tear-worthy "Prodigal," and the loud, catchy rocker "You Are the Light." Ancient Skies definitely has its high points, but what is also impressive is that it really lacks any dull moments. Every track is so well done and, for the most part, different from the rest that the album never grows stale over its 58 minute running time.

Ancient Skies is a true gem when it comes to modern worship music. You might not be singing many (if any) of these songs in church, but the worshipful attitude and musical quality comes through in each and every song. Whether you've listened to Gungor's stellar 2010 release Beautiful Things yet or not, I highly recommend you put Ancient Skies on your to-get list, because while it isn't as strong as their most recent effort, it's still an excellent collection of worshipful songs that earns a rightful place in anyone's music library.

Honesty in lyrics is something that is hard too find.

Even in Christian music we tend to use the same phrases and terms over and over.

Michael Gunger has 'evolved' through the years from a solo worship artist with Aquire the Fire, to the Michael Gungor Band, to Gungor Band to now just Gungor.

His music always shows a drive for honesty and openness...

A song on here entitled "Song for my Family" shows the depth of that honest reflection as he tries to give voice to the world for the depravity that you can find even among so called christian's...

The album is worth purchasing just for that single song but you will find multiple others that you will love at first listen.

Did anyone else notice Michael Gungor Band's tune White Man is a knock-off of Derek Webb's (far-superior) tune A King And A Kingdom?