Customer Reviews

The Imposter

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I can't believe I actually wrote that. I have been a fan of DC Talk since the "Heavenbound" days. I loved how these guys could combine the essence of Rock, Rap, and Soul into a nice blend. True, they started a little heavy on the rap side, but as they matured, their music was maturing very nicely.
Now you may ask, what does that have to do with Kevin Max. I'm getting to that. When the guys "took a break" (they didn't break up supposedly), I was very doubtful. Combining the styles was what I loved about the group. I thought, "How can they make music without each other." Boy was I ever wrong. Every album that has come out of these guys has been a show stopper for me. Many thought Kevin's "Stereotype Be" was too experimental but I think it was a fabulous introduction into the crazy world of Kmax.
Now comes "Imposter". On first listen, I was hooked. This album rocks with the best of them. The lyrics are extremely thought provoking. There are some glimpses of 80's music that made me smile. The guitar work is fabulous as well.
Don't let Kevin's uniqueness dissuade you from checking out the album. Check it out. You will like. I like.

First, let me start with the review:

I think this is by far Kevin's best effort to date. I think alot of that is owed to production by and song collaboration with Andrew Prickett, though sometimes I'm surprised how polished his production can sound (ie, "This Is The Moment" by The Violet Burning and "Face Your Fun" by The Lassie Foundation), given the super-noisy-dirty production employed by The Prayer Chain in their final albums. Having said that, I'm actually not complaining. They're obviously going for a certain niche - something like 80s Pop / New Wave. Of course I could've sworn I heard keyboards from Billy Ocean's "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" at some point there.... Ironically, I'm not complaining about that either. I can't believe I just wrote that.

For last, I'll say something to the previous critics:

I, for one, grew up with dc Talk. In fact, the first CD I ever bought was Nu Thang. I loved them, and even now I still think Jesus Freak stands the test of time, even though it clearly has that Nashville/CCM production machine sound as a mark against it. Having said that, I actually had no real desire to seek out any of the solo albums. What I heard right off the bat didn't really impress me. I wouldn't have even given Kevin a second thought if I hadn't seen his stuff pop up on northernrecords.com when I was looking for updates on The Violet Burning and The Lassie Foundation.

I'm rambling on and on to say I think Kevin is the only one who's really put out anything really good since the demise of dc Talk.

As for "lack of spirituality" in the lyrics, I think that's an unfair statement. It may be pretty steeped in metaphor, but I think it's like The Violet Burning's stuff. Christianity is lived out in many many ways, especially in everyday life. It doesn't always have to be an out and out "Christian" album to actually be Christian. God made a beautiful world and life for us to enjoy, marred as it may be, so I don't see anything wrong with songs that focus primarily on that.

Anyway, that was all I had to, except I highly recommend you check out some other Northern Records artists at northernrecords.com.

Kevin Max, a voice beyond proper description. Lyrics slightly on the edge, poetic, meaningful. "Imposter" delivers. Close your eyes, sit back and absorb. Personally, I find his last CD "Stereotype Be" to be even more of a joy, however "Imposter" will not disappoint.
I was slighlty annoyed by the fact the lyrics to "Imposter" are not included with the CD, but instead available only at Kevinmax.com and as of last evening lyrics to the hidden track and "When He Returns" were not yet posted.

There are many dc Talk fans, like myself, that wish that dc Talk would get back together and stop all this solo stuff. I spoke with Tai Anderson of Third Day a few weeks ago about this at church and he said that Toby told him that he gets asked almost hourly when they're going to get back together. While many fan's wishes are important that question is actually hurting the solo careers, in my opinion, of TobyMac, Michael Tait and Kevin Max. Every fan of dc Talk puts in a cd and expects to hear something similar to what they loved in dc Talk. When they don't hear it they 'turn off' their ears relatively quickly. My challenge to everyone is keep your ears open on this cd and give it a chance. This cd is not dc Talk nor is it meant to be. Kevin as a solo artists has the freedom to explore the more 'artsy' side of things which is what he's known for (he's written books of poetry and the poetic beginning to songs such as the 'Welcome To the Freakshow' version of the 'The Hardway'). Kevin explores himself in this release and it truly is worth the time to listen. The album goes really well together. It's difficult to pick out a favorite as the album's tracks flow from one to the other. This can either be a plus or a minus depending on your individual point of view. Overall, this album is definitely 5 stars and deserves a good listen with an open mind.

This is one where the product description has got it right...you can definitely hear some strong influences on this one, and good influences at that.
Jeff Buckley and U2 references aside - the work stands on it's own extremely well.
The only thing I would add to the other reviews is that the more you listen to The Imposter the more it grows on you....and I liked it right away.
Not only is it one of my favorites but musically (lyrics, song writting and execution) it is one of the best pop/rock CDs I own....I would pay $50 bucks for it, easy, if I had to.
My Prediction: for better or worse... someone on Madison Avenue/Hollywood is going to get a hold of this...pay for commercial rights and blow the lid off this (albeit deserving) mans career.

kevin rocked out on this album. He's got a wicked style of music. I love it. It actually took a little bit of time for me to get into this album. At first, I was like, I'm not sure about this. But then I gave it a little time for the music to soak in and my own musical taste to adjust to the sound, and then it was awesome. Good buy.....I was reading a lot of the other reviews about Kevin Max and the other people who made up the band dc talk. As much as I love dc talk, if doing another dc talk album meant no more solo albums, I'd say stick with the solo albums. All three guys are holding their own quite well on their own. I look forward to future releases from all three. Oh, make sure to check out the song when He returns on kevins album. It is breathe takingly(not sure if thats a word) beautiful.Buy this album. Max is a awesome musician,songwriter.

This is one of those albums that you appreciate more and more with every listen. I have grown to love it, especially the incredible "Beautiful Mind." Kevin's previous album, Stereotype Be, is one of my favorite albums, and I was leery that he set himself a standard he wouldn't be able to match again. But The Imposter is a very rich album of music.

Now to begin with I am not a huge fan of DC Talk like most people who listen to Kevin Max are, but I think my review is still valid. I loved Stereotype Be because of Kevin's beautiful voice with his worldly sound. Very excellent album. On this release, he has completely outdone himself. Kevin has one of the most beautiful voices in modern music, period. The shining moment on this album for me is his cover of Bob Dylan's "When He Returns". His rendition is truely amazing, mind you that Bob Dylan is a difficult artist to cover. Many people have tried it, but few have succeeded in making the song their own. Kevin Max really shows you his beautiful voice on this song just sung over piano. The only track that I tend to skip on this album is the second one because of the 80s synth feel to it. If you liked Stereotype Be, this album is heads above it. One of my favorite albums of all time.

I think most people outside of the christian music world have not given Kevin max a shot because before, he was in Dc-Talk, A well known christian band.So they put him in this box.But if people would just listen to his solo music,hear his incredible voice and profound lyrics,I would venture to say He could very well be one of the biggest rock stars around.Check out all of his stuff for your self and see what I mean.The Imposter is an awesome album all around.Trully some timeless music.

I Thank that Kevin did
a awsome job,. This is best work aver !