Customer Reviews

Brave (Spec)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Wow, this cd is just so beautiful, I don't know where to start. Maybe you should just listen to the samples and decide for yourself. The musical style is calm but never boring, thoughtful but never depressing. And there are dozens of creative twists. For example, the music for Crimson is actually a classical piece by Chopin.
But it is Nichole's lyrics, as always, which really take center stage. For example, the song Hold On, which is about God's love and how He can redeem and love even the worst of sinners, made me cry the first time I heard it. Other songs, like Live, really challenged me.
I highly recommend this album for anyone who wants music that rises above the predictable, cheesy, "Jesus is my girlfriend" fluff that, sadly, is most Christian music today.

After a couple years off due to birth of her first child, Nichole is back with her fourth CD. Unfortunately, it's not quite up to her last couple.

I should admit that her last CD, Woven and Spun, is one of my favorites of all time by anyone. For me, the standard was high.

This CD starts off with the title song, easily my favorite song here. It's a challenging commitment to step out with God. I need to take the message to heart.

The next track is another winner. "What If" tackles skeptics in a way that might actually be good. "Someday" looks at eternity as the time we will finally get our questions answered. "Real to Me" asks for God to be there in the dark.

It's the next track where things begin to fall apart. "Crimson," while about the Crucifixion, just doesn't seem to connect with me. Same with "Hold On." One problem is that, with only a couple exceptions, I'm not a fan of her ballads, which both of these songs are. This also applies to the final track on the regular album, "We Build." In addition, I don't like the style of her cover of Bob Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody." It just seems weird, but that's my taste.

I did buy the special edition, which includes four acoustic bonus tracks and wonderful thoughts on each song. The first two bonus tracks are new versions of the first two songs. Frankly, I like the official album versions better. "Miles" is a tearjerker some will like but I don't. I do like "The Altar" and it's theme of surrender.

The CD has certainly grown on me in the last few months since it came out. Still, it's not her strongest release. Fans will want it, but it's not the place to start a Nichole Nordeman collection.

Nicole Nordeman's latest album 'Brave' is a solid effort with a couple of really standout songs.

The title track, 'Brave', is a very good one that has gotten a lot of radio play. Although I really like it, I think the best song on the album is 'What If'. It has a good sound, is very catchy, and has powerful lyrics. I would recommend that anyone who is skeptical of Christianity listen to and ponder this song. It poses some questions that anyone who doubts may want to ponder about Jesus.

Here are some of the lyrics:

What if you're right
And He was just another nice guy

What if you're right
What if it's true
They say the cross will only make a fool of you

And what if it's true?
What if he takes his place in history
With all the prophets and the kings
Who taught us love and came in peace

But then the story ends
What then?

But what if you're wrong?
What if there's more?
What if there's hope you never dreamed of hoping for?

What if you jump?
And just close your eyes?
What if the arms that catch you,
catch you by surprise?

What if He's more than enough?
What if it's love

What if you dig
Way down deeper than your simple-minded friends
What if you dig
What if you find
A thousand more unanswered questions down inside
That's all you find

What if you pick apart the logic?
And begin to poke the holes
What if the crown of thorns is no more
than folklore that must be told and retold

You've been running as fast as you can
You've been looking for a place you can land
for so long
But what if you're wrong?

I've never written a review for any cd I've ever bought but I felt compelled to write one for this. As always, Nichole gives us a CD full of songs that so accurately speak to the human experience. I cried just reading the lyrics and stories for some of her songs on this album. She is amazingly talented and truly blessed by God with her gift. Her music is an excellent vehicle for spreading God's message of love and grace to those still searching. I highly recommend buying the special edition if only for the song Miles because it is exquisite.

Nichole Nordeman's music is inspiring beyond words, and her latest effort is no exception to the rule. I love Nichole Nordeman's beautiful poetry and her amazing melodies keep me enthralled each time I listen to her albums. I'll never forget Nichole Nordeman's music and how it has touched my heart.

It's amazing how 2 people can hear the same CD and come to two different conclusions, but I respectfully disagree with the first person to review this CD. Vocally, Nicholle has never sounded better. Her voice is one of the most emotionally nuanced I've ever heard in my life. The production is top-flight and lushly layered but very clean. The lyrics may be personal and straightforward, but I had no problem whatsoever identifying with and being encouraged by them -- which is what lyric writing is about anyway. The music amazes, even mesmerizes and captivates me intellectually, emotionally, and spiritutally. It's so good that I would give it to anyone -- Christian or not. Moreover, Nichole is one of the few artists that can do a cover of a song (Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody") and actually improve on it. I would say this CD is an IMPROVEMENT on everything she's done before. By all means, get this CD!

The bells and whistles took me by surprise, but Brave is what you would expect from Nichole Nordeman: above average songwriting and adult contemporary pop/rock. At first I wasn't sure that I liked the loops, programming and the flourishes of electronic wizardry. But on repeated listens, the electronic sounds seem to blend more with the acoustic. The sophisticated production, including some brief, creative guitar solos, enhance rather than detract, making for a more modern, edgier sound. It keeps it interesting, and actually it's not that different from past work. Snippets of retro guitar and high-tech background are all like icing on the cake.

So what is the title all about? Is there someone in your life who inspires you to be brave? In Nichole's case it's her newborn son Charlie. "I say your name / Just your name and I'm ready to jump / Even ready to fall ..." In the extensive song introductions that are a part of the Special Edition booklet, she adds: "Charlie makes me feel brave, makes me want to be brave ... Jesus actually makes it so."

The introduction to "Hold On" tells the story of a woman that drove Nichole "crazy." "She was intensely needy and did a really bad job at hiding her desperation." She was so "exhausting" that Nichole wanted to hide. It reminded me of a similar person in my own life. He was so overpowering that, like Nichole, I withdrew. Nichole later learned that the woman took her life. The song is all that Nichole wished she had said to Meredith.

"Crimson" was inspired by Donald Miller (author of Blue Like Jazz and Searching For God Knows What), "who finally connected the garden and cross for me," Nichole writes.

"Gotta Serve Somebody" is what I would describe as an admirable, techno version of the Bob Dylan classic, which may bring a smile, especially to those who can appreciate an expert and quirky fusion of sounds.

The Special Edition ends with four bonus acoustic songs and includes a booklet that has detailed thoughts on each song. The bonus songs consist of singing to piano accompaniment. The title song and "What If" are redone and two previously unreleased songs are included.

Overall, the lyrics, which are born out of Nichole's experiences the past couple of years, carry the recording. They relate to the difficulties and longings that are part of our lives. Musically, she has kicked it up a notch with a fascinating fusion of old and new. This is a strong effort.

Wow... I don't know how she manages to do it. But she consistently amazes me. Every song moves me, and I continually shift from which is my favorite because they are all so good. One thing that I greatly respect about her is that she is such a phenomenal writer and still on every one of her albums does a cover, that's humilty. Every single one of her cds, I listen to them till I memorize the words, and still years after owning them, I'm still finding things in them that I never saw before. I couldn't recommend more highly.

I'm new to Ms. Nordeman's music and if her previous efforts are as good as "Brave," then count me a fan (I plan on purchasing her previous albums shortly).

I was immediately hooked when I first heard "Brave" on Sirius' Spirit channel (Christian Music on Channel 66). What I most liked was late in the song, Ms. Nordeman sneaks in a line that sounds suspiously like "I don't wanna be brave." What a great testimony! As Christians we often say want to be brave, but do we really, can we really shoulder the kind of long-term bravery she is talking about? I know I couldn't without the power of the Holy Spirit making that kind of bravery is possible. If this is what she meant to write, BRAVO!

But it is "What If" that makes the CD worth owning. Hauntingly beautiful, while at the same time overwhelmingly sad (for those who choose not to believe), "What If" should go down as one of the Top 10 best Christian/worship songs ever written. I have never had my heart tugged at so hard as with this song.

Ms. Nordeman, God bless you for such a wonderful testimony.

I happen to know Nichole, so if this review is a little biased, that is why. I own every Nichole Nordeman CD and "Brave" ranks only behind "Wide Eyed" as the best of her collection. The title track is already a top ten hit in Christian music. There is always one song on each Nichole Nordeman CD that blows me away. On "Wide Eyed," the song "Anyway" made me cry the first time I heard it. On the CD "This Mystery," "Every Season" stood out after finding out the inside story where Nichole wrote the song to sing at a friend's funeral. "Holy" stands head and shoulders above any song on "Woven and Spun." "Brave" offers a song that I bet I have listened to over 200 times in the past week. "Real To Me" not only has a catchy melody, but the words blow me away.

Nichole Nordeman is simply the best Christian artist and writer alive today. She has no equals in her field. Her songs are carefully crafted and make the listener think. Nichole is not afraid to share the struggles of her walk in her songs. Nichole asks great questions in her songs. She doesn't mind talking about her struggles in her marriage or the joys of being a new mother. This CD affirms that over the past two years, we have missed music from the best Christian artist of my lifetime. This is a must buy.