Customer Reviews

The Blood

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If it weren't for getting this album free, I would never have listened to it. This album has caused me to buy his other solo albums.

What this album isn't: Trite, christianese, marketable, fluff. that's exactly why it's an incredible album.

What CCM lacks these days is creativity. Kevin Max has this and more. At times one might think he's trying too hard to showcase his creativity, but you cannot argue with the finished product.

From start to finish we're bombarded with tracks that defy your initial expectations, taking the listener from one end of the musical spectrum to the other. I have no idea what the original songs sound like, but I do enjoy KM's take on them nonetheless.

We need more fearless artists such as this in the Christian music industry. Perhaps then we won't have as much junk as we do.

I don't usually take the time to right a review but because of what some have said here on some Amazon reviews, I just had to defend this disc and this artist.
I was at first very sceptical about the forthcoming title but very willing to give it a true listen. Kevin's "Stereotype B" cd is on my top 10 of all time favorites. A phenomenal art rock disc - definitely my taste in music: well crafted tunes, lyrics, conceptual and a contemporary Christian disc with a sound of it's own not borrowing the sound from the industry. Hang in there for one quick minute, I'll get to my point. The same goes for Kevin's follow up discs, all experimental but remaining artistic, alternative but somewhat pop influenced and still an original contemporary Christian sound.
Okay back to being sceptical about "The Blood". I really wanted another Kevin Max disc! I heard some previews like "Trouble of the World" before the cd was released and I was asking myself: where's the pop, where's the rock where's the alternative???
I was NOT dissapointed but blown away after my second listen of The Blood. In fact at first the KMax/Chris Sligh track "Run On For A Long Time" was my favorite on the disc. But after many listens I find myself drawn more and more to the tracks: "Trouble Of The World", "I Know His Blood Can..." and "They Won't Go When I Go". His voice is exceptional on these tracks. They round out the album as artistic, alternative, heartfelt, and (again) an original contemporary Christian sound that is much needed in praise.
I don't beleive that this is Kevin's sell out album, wishing to "cash in" as eluded to among some of the reviews here at Amazon. I think Kevin captured the right emotion and mood for each tune. If you have to rip on him for his Amy Grant duet, fine but "Up Above My Head..." is one song so full of joyful noise that I can't wait for summer to blast it through the car radio. In fact I can't wait to sit on my front stoop and hang out listening to The Blood disc and wish I was in Nashville. Very fine Gospel, Country and Blues covers but distinctively Kevin Max.
I love this album and I wish he'd do another just like it right away.

Organic and Digital partner up for a sound that is sure to be an instant classic for Kevin Max fans & for lovers of good ole Gospel music.


Kevin sets the tone of this album by the listener hearing what sounds like the stylus of a 70's, 80's turntable, being delicately set on Johnny Cash's 1975 release "SINGS PRECIOUS MEMORIES." Kevin's rendition of "The Old Rugged Cross" would have, in my opinion, made "The Man in Black" very proud.


"The Old Rugged Cross" is like watching early color TV, bringing us into the HDTV age with "The Cross." Friends, Michael Tait & tobyMac reunite with Kevin. . . definitely showing that the sound of DC Talk is here. I thought I was listening to a track from the "Supernatural" album for a moment.


With the exception of Johnny Cash, don't expect these songs to sound like some you have heard in the past, i.e. "Run On for A Long Time." You won't find Moby here. This album is Kevin Max all the way.

I personally love the layering of Kevin's vocals on the haunting "Trouble of the World" or Stevie's "They Won't Go When I Go." These songs take me back to Lana Turner's "Imitation of Life" where her maid, Annie, is talking about going home to "glory," with the white horses escorting her there.


"The Blood Will Never Lose Its' Power" is church!! Y'hear what I'm sayin!!' With the choir, Ashley Cleveland, Judson Spence, Kim Keys & Kevin leadin the way.


Kevin has surrounded himself with the best of the best. As well as the guest artists here, this is a who's who of musicians. . . William Owsley (Amy Grant, Brent Bourgeois), John Fields (Pink, Backstreet Boys, Mandy Moore), Bobby Huff (Tim Finn of the Split Enz, Casting Crowns, Lee Ann Womack), Byron "Wookie" Landham (Lee Ritenour, Joey DeFrancesco), John Painter (Kevin Max, DC Talk), the great Phil Madeira.


The album begins with paying tribute to the Great Johnny Cash and ends with him, as Kevin shares his love of the Great man with Johnny's sister Miss Joanne Cash in "One Way-One Blood."


The listener will not be disappointed by the trip Kevin takes us on.


"Blood is intentionally meant to take you on a journey......there is alot of genre skipping to be sure." KM

I'm not going to lie, Kevin Max's voice usually REALLY bugs me, because he has more ornaments than a christmas tree. I'm not even sure why I decided to listen to this CD in the first place, but I was incredibly surprised.

What Kevin Max has managed to create in this album is a rare collection of tastefully arranged old hymns. He really did have quite a few people join him on it, but I don't see that as a problem, as some people seem to think.

Definitely check out "People Get Ready," which was probably my favorite track off the whole CD. "Run on for a Long Time" was also very good.

As for the comparison to Johnny Cash, I will completely agree. But I still don't understand why that's a bad thing. Johnny Cash was amazing, and in my opinion, more people could afford to mimic him.

Very good CD. This is well done and is obviously a tribute of sorts to Johnny Cash right down to the publicity pics of Max in "Black." Now I will disagree with the poster that rips on Vince Gill and Amy Grant. Vince is a Country Music Hall of Famer and one of the most respected musicians in Nashville. He is also up for a few Grammy's this year so somebody "remembers" him. And Grant is Grant. She is legend in the CCM world so..."Up Above My Head..." would have been right at home on Grant's very popular Hymns projects from a few years back.

The music is incredible. Even marginal American Idol Chris Sligh shines on the Blind Boys cover. The duet with Cash's sister is a great country song. Rugged cross reminds me of my grandfather signing it. It is church.

Max made no secrets as to what he was doing and offered samples on his site and his myspace site.

The DC Talk song is probably the most out of place song on the disc. It really just doesn't fit in that being said it is marvelous and probably won't but should be embraced by CCM radio. It is the best of the post break up DC Talk reunion songs ("Let's Roll", "Atmoshpere" and "40" if there are others I don't recall them).

Ijust bought this album today and can't stop listening to it! I have been waiting for something like this from Kevin Max1! A very up lifting album, and thank you Kevin Max for recording it, it is an excellent recording and kevin's voice sounds better than ever! The song the old rugged cross is supposed to sound like it does, and I love it! My favorite song on the album is "The Blood Will never lose Its Power" Also "Run On For A Long Time" and "People Get Ready" but all the songs are great! the Songs Trouble of The World and THey Won't Go When I Go are a little heavier but still the lyrics are good for this Album. People do not listen to any negative reviews on this album, because it is excellent. If you cannot hear how good it is than you do not know great music when you hear it! To God be the Glory! And Kevin Max I hope you get a chance to read this review. Thanks again for taking the time to make album, also your guest vocalists did a great job too!

Review: The Blood by Kevin Max (released 12/26/07)
The standard Mac dictionary software on my ibook offers multiple definitions of Gospel including the following: (1) the teaching or revelation of Christ; (2) a thing that is absolutely true; (3) a set of principles or beliefs; (4) a fervent style of black American evangelical religious singing, developed from spirituals sung in Southern Baptist and Pentecostal churches.
The third full-length solo release from former dc Talk member Kevin Max epitomizes each of these definitions. My intent for posting my a review this album does as well: The Blood, as an album, is truly good news that I need to share.
I am not one who enjoys vanilla (unless it is Ben & Jerry's which squelches my heartburn) and, as a father of two and a teacher, I don't have a lot of extra time or energy to devote to the homogenized sap that permeates the majority of radio playlists - Christian or not. The latest solo offering form Kevin Max, however, is worth taking in. With The Blood Kevin Max has effectively delivered a high-potency project that is pure in content with no preservatives.
In a nutshell, The Blood showcases Kevin Max's penetratingly unique voice, the core, redemptive message of Jesus Christ, and reverence for the roots of American rock music. Each track has unique characteristics which allow it stand alone amidst a loaded album that contains no fillers.
For people mainly used to the higher end of Max's vocal range, the first track, "The Old Rugged Cross," comes across as a stark, pleasing surprise. It immediately reminded me of Johnny Cash's My Mother's Hymnbook partly because of the surprising Cash-esqe growl and also because of the simple guitar, vinyl-static arrangement.
"The Cross" features a reunion of sorts with former cohorts Toby McKeehan and Michael Tait lending vocals to the Prince cover to create a track that, while featuring a characteristically dc Talk sound, accomplishes a direct and personal delivery of the gospel message that is the common thread of the album and the foundation of the Christian faith.
"Run On For A Long Time," which features former American Idol finalist Chris Sligh, is an uptempo track (complete with horns) that I can't seem to get the song out of my head. The song is virtually impossible not to sing along to when it is playing. While the rest of the tracks are all unique in character, they all exhibit an authentic, often rural gospel flare.
"Trouble of the World," "I Know His Blood Can Make Me Whole," and "They Won't Go When I Go," all exude sincerity-laden, solitary, personal testimony of the redeeming nature of the gospel of Christ. The simplicity of the musical arrangements in each song only amplify the power of the message being communicated.
Of the two most characteristically country tracks on the album "One Way - One Blood" (featuring Joanne Cash) is the most satisfying because of what I perceive to be a more personal, less-produced flavor in comparison to "Up Above My Head," which features Amy Grant and Vince Gill. I admit that this perception may have come as a result of the sing-along-style outro that "One Way - One Blood" closes the album with.
"People Get Ready," (featuring Erica Campbell from Mary Mary) and "The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power" are two tracks that make me just want to close my eyes and sway with the choir while I sing along with my hands raised.
Kevin Max has achieved the mark of a true artist on this album, in my opinion, by so successfully and convincingly displaying his range of style and ability on a selection of songs that are as different in style as they are similar in message. While only one of the tracks on The Blood is an original, I believe that the message of The Blood is what validates the authenticity Kevin Max as a person and an artist and is what, inevitably, carried over to shape an authentic collection of recordings that can be appreciated by the masses and needs to be heard everyone.

I liked this CD a lot. It is very different from the usual christian modern music (contemporary rock mostly). It is old hymns sung in a different and creative way.

I must admit that I expected this CD to sound like his last, which I must say I loved. Once I got beyond my own expectations, I began to really enjoy the CD. I would recommend this CD.

When it comes to gospel, there are many great incantations of it - and it seems like just about every great rock or blues artist at one point or another has recorded his or her own gospel album (or at least song): Elvis, Johnny Cash, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Ben Harper, Amy Grant, B.B. King, U2. . . and now Kevin Max can join those ranks with "The Blood."

Kevin Max is probably still best known for being the rebel in dc Talk, but when you look into his solo career, you find one of the most creative artists in today's music industry, regardless of it being secular or Christian. All his work, with the possible exception of his hastily put-together Christmas project, has been absolutely stellar. And with his 3rd full length album, "The Blood," the tradition continues.

KMax has been blogging about making this album on his MySpace page since the before the release of "The Impostor" in 2005. And in his press statement announcing the actual recording of it he promised that this CD would not be a "classic hymns cover project or a white/homogenized version of black gospel or soul music." And upon listening, one will realize that he succeeded in keeping that promise. What he has done is take some of the best gospel songs from various generations (from George Bennard to Curtis Mayfield to Andrae Crouch to Prince (yes, the androgynous one) to Stevie Wonder) and made them his own. . . with a little help from his friends, that is.

While musically this album is very much Kevin Max's take on those various gospel subgenres, it might as well be called "Kevin Max and Friends" from the number of guest vocalists: Amy Grant, Joanne Cash, Vince Gill, Ashley Cleveland, Erica Campbell of Mary Mary, and more. But this is not like the Santana releases of late where the guest artists dominate the songs with the main artist just flavoring them. This is a Kevin Max album - the other artists add their flavors into the pot, and what they make together is quite simply a new gospel masterpiece.