Customer Reviews

Behind the Eyes

5 star:		(76)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have been a true fan of Amy from the time she released her first album 20 years ago. What drew me to her in the first place is what draws me again now. The lyrics on this album speak volumes to me. She may have written them out of the experiences that she was going through at the time, but the themes are universal. I miss some of the direct references to God that her older projects contained, but at the same time, I feel like I can see her dependance on Him still, even though it is more subtle now.

To those of you who criticize and condemn her for the divorce, we need to remember that none of us have been in her place. None of us have known the struggles she has faced. Her honesty in this album, especially in "Cry A River", helped me to end a bad relationship before it had gone too far and I was married. God works all things for good and I believe that He can still use Amy to minister for Him.

The music on this album is haunting and beautiful. The songs stay with me and I have thoroughly enjoyed them. Her simple and direct style is refreshing. This is no "Baby, Baby" album. This is the real thing.

Thank you Amy for using what is inside you to minister to so many others.

I appreciate an artist that values truth, painful as it can be. My opinion of the album? Optimistic--maybe not. Real--definitely. Few Christian artists have the capacity to open their lives without seeming like they are trying too hard. Having gone through the pain of separation and divorce, I can't tell you how this recording speaks to me. There are songs, my own heart would sing if I had the ability that Amy has. Many Christians like the cotton-candy Christian entertainment. Sweet and empty. God speaks through our pain and mistakes. I'm glad to have others who are willing to take risks to tell it like it is. Musically, the songs are well-written, tightly produced, remarkably sung, and incredibly effective. This reminds me of a darker Lead Me On--perhaps the counterpart of this masterpiece, farther down the road. Beaten, bruised, but smarter. Thanks Amy.

For years, Amy Grant has seemed like a real "artist" hiding neath too many layers of pop fluff. With Behind the Eyes, she strips away a bit of the gleam, coupling her knack for melody and poetic lyric with raw honesty and an acoustic groove that fits her ever-more-nuanced vocals. The stripped down arrangements and harmonies of Cry a River, Every Road and Missing You ring truer musically than any recent Grant offering. It's as if she's playing for you on her front porch or your living room. Like I Love You and The Feeling I Had sound simultaneously classic and relevant to modern radio. Great flute on the second. Harmonica-wailing Takes a Little Time and Beatles-esque Leave it All Behind are toe-tapping, top-down, driving-on-the-road ear-candy with bluesy shuffles and encouraging lyrics. And the fantastic Somewhere Down the Road is some of the best song-writing she's ever done.

My only gripe is this: the two songs not penned by Grant, (and according to rumor pushed onto the album by her label), Nobody Home and I Will be Your Friend, seem out-of-place. Amy is stronger as a performer when her singer-songwriter sensibilities are allowed to shine. Kudos to Wayne Kirkpatrick of "Change Your World" fame for upstaging old-hat producer Keith Thomas. Here's hoping she continues down this road for her next album!

Despite the ballyhoo surrounding HEART IN MOTION, I have always felt that Amy Grant's best album was LEAD ME ON. It went beyond catchy hooks and fun melodies and dealt with real life in a way that was less lighthearted and more raw than on her other albums. Then I heard BEHIND THE EYES, and all I can say is, "Wow!"

Leaving the slick production, synthesizers, and sometimes-bubble-gum sound of the past behind, Grant has produced an album that surpasses all her previous efforts. No, this is not a fun album. It is introspective, sometimes depressing, sometimes hopeful, but always straight from the gut and as real as it gets. All the songs are wonderful, but "Turn This World Around", "Curious Thing", "Leave It All Behind", and "The Feeling I Had" especially stand out.

Time is the true test of an album. Does it still move you years later? I bought this CD the day it came out, and as I write this review, that was two years ago. Even now, songs from this album will drift into my head from time to time, and I will get it out, play it, and enjoy it all over again. HEART IN MOTION, on the other hand, excited me when it came out, but now I hardly listen to it. Yes, "Baby Baby" and "Good for Me" are fun songs, but most of the other songs on the album just come off flat now.

If Amy Grant's career were to end today, HEART IN MOTION would be the album most people would remember her for, but BEHIND THE EYES would stand as her best work. It is gripping, thought provoking, and musically superb.

Amy Grant has always had an inclusive relationship with her listeners. Her songs are personal and introspective, and have touched on all areas of her life, from her faith ("El Shaddai", "My Father's Eyes") to motherhood ("Baby Baby"). "Behind the Eyes" is an uncharacteristically grim take on things; "Nobody Home", with the lyrics "where we used to belong, there ain't nobody home" suggests a sense of loss and displacement, while the single "Takes a Little Time" addresses change and survival. "Cry a River" is a quiet and somber, though lovely, piece, and "Somewhere Down the Road" reminds us that we will someday find the answers to our questions. These are some of Amy's most powerful and beautiful (and ultimately hopeful) songs yet.

At the time this album was released, Amy's attitude, normally so upbeat and worshipful, might have seemed strange to many. News of her divorce from husband Gary Chapman a few years later gave "Behind the Eyes" a context, and helped to reveal the depth of Amy's artistry as she addressed her pain and loss through music.

Yet, a thread of hope runs throughout the album, and now, with Amy's happy marriage to Vince Gill, and the birth of their daughter, I'm looking forward to her next musical offering. I'm sure, as she's done for nearly twenty-five years, she'll tell us all about it.

This is my favorite Amy Grant CD. I spent a month in the hospital. During that month I listened to this CD everyday. I will always cherish it. "Leave it all behind" is my favorite song. I also love "I will be your friend" and Cry a river". All of the songs are good. Some people take personal attacks against Amy because of her failed marriage. These judgmental people are hypocrites. Thay claim to be Christian, and then judge her. It reminds me of the story in the gospel of John where the Pharasees brought a woman to Jesus who was being accuse of adultry. Jesus said nothing. All Jesus kept doing was scribbling in the sand. He was probably writing out the evidence of guilt of those who were accusing her of sin. One by one they all left, leaving Jesus and the woman. I will not judge Amy Grant. I have always enjoyed her music. This one CD stands alone as her best ever, as far as I am concerned. It moved my heart and helped me through a very difficult time in my life.

I can't say that I'm a dedicated follower of Amy Grant, I've listened to enough of her music in order to know how this album marks along with the rest- and that is "the best." I've been listening to this album straight for 8 months, and that's a lot for me, considering that a week of one album usually means something. In my opinion, the best songs on the album are "Missing You", "I Will Be Your Friend," and "Cry River." Amy really found herself, it seems, while making this album. "Cry River" is Amy's favorite song on the CD, she told me online, and so how could anyone go wrong. This is my ex-girlfriend and I's CD- if anybody means anything to you, you can certainly find a song on this record to be a central theme- it covers all problems in life, without complaining, and the vocals are mostly very good, except the high notes are an occasional problem. Keep on rockin, Amy!

Although it has been several years since I purchased this album, it never strays far from my CD player. In my opinion, this is Amy Grant's finest hour as a musician and as a lyricist. Her words deftly capture the essence of human pain, sorrow, longing, and hope, and her voice conveys these emotions better than almost any other singer. I find it refreshing that Amy took a chance with her audience and released such a emotionally mature album. "Behind the Eyes" shows Amy's tremendous growth as an artist. I anxiously await the follow-up...

All of Amy's past CD's have been good. They have been great to an extent as well. "Heart in Motion" was great and fun, as well as the catchy "House of Love." Yet over time these CD's have grown piles of dust because they don't seem to fit in my life anywhere. They were so great and fun at th etime, but now I don't see anywhere to relate them to. Then Amy put out this CD. I feel that she has taken all of these completely real emotions we all need help with, and she has put them into a song...

"The Feeling I Had" by far seems to be the strongest lyrically and musically here. She blows the album out of the water with this one, while talking about that empty feeling one must get over when starting over..."Takes a Little Time" and "Cry A River" are just among several others that are startling real songs here that grab the listener over and over. I bought this CD the week it came out and I still love it as much as I ever did.

While there are some misses on this CD, as well as some superb hits, Grant has nailed this to the board to stay and be viewed by all...lets hope she stays...

I'll keep it short since I want to go eat my lunch. Out of the hundreds (at least) of CDs I've listened to, this is my favorite of ALL TIME. Which is weird, because I don't have any other Amy Grant albums, and I'm actually not interested in any other albums by her. So you know there has to be something great about it. I heard this album, and promptly went out to buy it. I went on a cross-country train trip by myself last summer, and this CD was a great one to have while I looked out at America flying past my window and thought about life. I don't mean to sound dramatic or over-the-top, but this CD affects me in a way that VERY few other albums do. It trancends the normal music world.