Customer Reviews

Lose This Life

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What can I say about a band that has helped transform my families' lives since we first heard them a year ago. My family has constantly played their first CD "Empty" ever since we bought it. We first discovered the group when I, my two sons, and my wife saw them play at the Billy Graham revival in Oklahoma City in front of about 25,000 people. Everywhere we go in our car we now listen to it. I didn't think it was possible, but we now have played their new CD "Lose This Life" even more. I feel that, God willing, the group could launch Christian Rock into the mainstream music scene. With all of the crazy influences
attacking our society from programs like "Jerry Springer" and "MTV", it is very refreshing to see positive mainstream influences coming from a group like Tait and a movie such as "The Passion of the Christ." I highly recommend purchasing this CD. You will be hooked by the second to third time you play it and you won't be able to stop listening to it after that.

Michael Tait brings a sound togther all his own ! From the opening and title cut of "Lose This Life" to the bonus "Christmas Song" he puts out a CD that leaves no doubt that "Tait" rocks musically and more important spiritually. You have a very clear picture that Michael Tait is influenced by Jesus Christ. The "Rock" songs really do that - they shake the tree musically and hit just about every style of "rock" that I enjoy. And the "slower" songs showcase his heart for God. And to say his vocals are "outstanding" is a severe understatement.
His cover of "Electric Avenue" blows the original away. Yes you can probably hear elements of other artists here (U2, Joshua Tree, Lenny Kravitz, etc). But "Tait" builds upon the success of their first project "Empty" with a style all their own. A five star CD !

This CD is like most of the solo efforts of the DC Talk members. It is good, but not anything outstanding. Michael Tait along with Kevin Max and Toby Mac had an amazing thing going with DC Talk. It was a rarely equalled group that was head and shoulders above virtually any other group out there past or present. In contrast, as solo artists, the three are pretty good.

Tait has some solid Christian lyrics. One of his songs, 'Lose This Life', is very good. The others range from ok to pretty good.

Hello Again,
I felt that I needed to say more about this CD and didn't with the last review. As I stated the first saw "Lose Your Life" has a U2 "ish" sound to it. After listening to this CD over and over and over I noticed it has a feel of Joshua Tree/Achtung Baby from U2. Then I realized the muisc has an 80's sound to it yet a 2003 feel to it. My favoite tracks are #1,5, 10, and 11. Track 5 called "God Can You Hear Me" ranks up there with the title track and track 11 is the best ballad type song on the CD. As I mentioned before, he has various styles of rock on this album but forgot to mention his cover of Eddy Grant's "ELECTRIC AVENUE". The intro to the song is great and I feel a much better version than the original. Maybe I'm biased but check it out for yourself. This CD is G R E A T !!!!! Once again Enjoy!

To all those Micahel Tait Fans and dc Talk Fans, LOSE YOUR LIFE is AWESOME! The title track is one of the best songs and has a feel of U2's "beautiful day" and "streets with no name". Tait mixes various styles of rock through out the album. When you hear "wait", the beat and groove of the drums makes you want to hear this one live! With such a great voice you know you will get a few ballad type songs and you won't be dissapointed. His voice can't do wrong. The album will grow on you very quickly and be prepared to want to listen to it over and over. The bonus Christmas Song is great also. Sure wish Tait or dc Talk would put out a full Christmas or worship cd too! ENJOY!!!!

I can't say enough good things about Michael Tait; this is a man that gives 110% everytime he walks on stage or into a recording studio. He has a great since of how to create the perfect ROCK & ROll song. The second song on this CD is proof of that; "NUMB" kicks out all that one could ever want in a rock song.

The first four songs on the CD are outstanding. "Lose This Life" starts off the musical journey - and grabs you right off the get go. After "NUMB", which I've already praised, the remake of "Electric Avenue" will stick in your head the rest of the day! Tait's version of this song is ten-times better than the original. The fourth song, Fallen, takes the tempo down a bit, but it is a very cool song.

The rest of the CD does not hold up with the first four songs. But the first four songs are worth the cost of the CD, so who cares!

See ya next review!
www.therunninggirl.com

1. I don't know if the 3 -- Tait, tobyMac, and Kmax -- will ever achieve on their own what they could together as dcTalk. With dcTalk, Michael was in a position to take more risk. And more risk does mean more reward with Michael. An outstanding talent -- I wish he would let 'er rip.

2. Alternatively, Michael could go a different route. His rendering of The Christmas Song shows off his considerable vocal talent in a totally different way.

3. The band holds together well here -- for their first as a group. I agree that they are too subdued -- bring 'em out front with Michael and let them rip, too.

4. I'd love to see dcTalk back together. Together, they seemed very creative, as the music pushed out against the edges and the albums held together artistically.

5. Or I'd love to see Michael take more risk on his own musically.

5. In any event, this is worth a listen. I started out rating this as 3 stars, but after a few times listening to it, it's even better than I thought, and I've raised my rating to 4 stars. If you were a dcTalk fan, this will tide you over until . . . .

Tait's latest release "Lose This Life" overall is good but it makes a couple spins for you to get used to it. There are some definite high points and low points to this disc.

Highlights:

Lose This Life - The title song and first song on the disc starts is up tempo as you'd expect after Tait's first release which set the stage that his sound was going to be upbeat. This is a good rock song that will keep your toe tappin'

Numb - Numb is an interesting song where the tempo changes up but is definitely a rock song.

Electric Avenue - If you grew up in the 80's one of the songs that you probably remember is Eddie Grant's Electric Avenue. Tait does a good job covering this song. I couldn't help singing along with the made lyrics making fun of K-Mart like I used to as a kid "We're gonna walk down to K-Mart to get some shoes, they only cost a dollar. We're gonna walk down to K-Mart to get some shoes, they only last an hour..."

Low Points:

There are two main low points to this disc.

1. The Christmas Song. The Christmas song is a good traditional Christmas song but I found it to be totally out of place. This cd was release in November so it's easy to guess that there was some discussion about a Christmas song spurring sales of this cd but if it's not with other Christmas songs it's my opinion that it's out of place. When I put this album on my .mp3 player I left off this track.

2. The other low point is the middle of the cd. The songs aren't bad but they aren't really all that great either.

Overall this is a good cd to be enjoyed. If you're a fan of dc Talk and/or Michael Tait you can feel confident that this is a solid purchase but don't expect to be in awe by the music.

We've all heard DC Talk. We know Michael Tait's got the chops vocally. He's a smooth crooner, and this talent is showcased nicely on this recording (especially on the beautiful "Christmas Song"). The problem is that, with one exception ("Wait"), Mr. Tait chooses to play it safe here. Which may not be a bad thing, if all you want is to hear is his evocative, tender vocals. Just don't expect him to cover any new ground or stretch his vocal boundaries much.

The same could be said for most of the songwriting on this album. I'm struck with the impression that I've heard most of these topics sung about before, just by a different artist, to a different tune.

Another problem is that Tait, the group, is marketed as a rock band. Too bad that "rock" is something they rarely do here, with 3 mediocre exceptions ("Numb", "Reconnecting", "Wait"). Overall, you've got to feel sorry for the musicians in the band, whose playing is all but overshadowed and drowned out by Mike's vocals, which are unfortunately mixed WAY out in front of the rest of the band. The musicians sound more like a backing studio band meant to showcase their pop star's vocals. And stylistically, the songs are decidedly more pop than rock anyway. Compared to most of today's rock bands, Tait (the group) sounds tame, average, and borderline irrelevant.

Tait, the band, is a side project for Michael Tait, the vocalist. And this record sounds like it.

Tait is a group which sounds like it can't decide if it wants to be a pop act or a rock act. Michael has the potential to be a GREAT pop vocalist. The band (Michael included) has the potential to be a GREAT rock band. Unfortunately, this time around they try to play to both arenas and end up doing neither well.

This CD is definitely one of Michael's best. Whether it's the pumping beat of Electric Avenue, or the screaming in Numb, this one will keep you going from beginning to end. I highly recommend it.