Customer Reviews

Transformation

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

 

 

When this album was released in 1995, fans of Champion's slightly dancy pop ran to the record store, bought this, threw it in their CD players....and fainted. Apparently, somewhere between the SAVE YOUR WORLD disc and this one, Champion decided he wanted a more modern rock approach. Guitars are much more in evidence and synths don't get to carry the melody anymore. Feedback sifts through the mix along with random noises. Right hand guitar man Dave Clo is a big key to the sound here as he co-writes 5 of the album's 11 tracks though it's obvious Champion himself prefers edgier music now. Even his completely self-written tracks have plenty of guitar and extraneous noise.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Moog is stitched onto a crunchy guitar riff for opener "Dress me Up" as Champion proclaims "I smell like the dirt/I smell like the filth/I smell like myself and it won't come off", a reference to the Bible verse that proclaims our own righteousness to be "filthy rags". (Isaiah 64:6) The title track STILL sounds great...it could have been released this year. It's propelled by a throbbing bass line and Champion's yowling vocal..probably his grittiest of the disc. The obligatory CCM ballad is next but he doesn't play it safe. "Life Form" breaks ranks with standard CCM ballad soccer mom fare thanks to a Prince falsetto on the chorus and Atari 2600 style keyboard blips. "What's in a Name?" contrasts what we may appear to be with what God's Word proclaims. ("You call me a loser/You say I'll never be anything...but inside I'm called the conqueror/My name is ruler of all that I see..") "Sparkle in your Beat" utilizes an unusual duet between a processed Champion vocal and one pitched down to make it sound like a bass voice and another voice that sounds like it's been sent through a vocoder. "Until I Get my Way" is Eric's promise to keep telling a non-believing friend about the God he's come to know. ("But I'm not leaving you/Because I wanna do what He wants me to do") It combines shouted punk-ish verses and a power poppy chorus in an inventive arrangement.

LOWS:
"Every Heartbeat" is a musical joke..the Amy Grant song redone as a punk song. It's just not especially musically imaginative. Other than the central conceit of "let's deconstruct a happy pop song!", there's nothing to hold interest. "Falling Down" also doesn't really stand out as memorable.

BOTTOM LINE:
At times, Champion tries too hard to sound "alternative". The extended keyboard and amplifier hiss at the start of "Temptannie" is a case in point. He also overuses the schtick of the clicking drumstick count-off to make it sound "live". But underneath the straining, the songs are the best ones he'd written to that point and probably would have to be considered one of the better releases in Christian music that year. Recommended.

ADDENDUM: Champion is now with a band called Rook and working on new material. More info:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/9/rookus.htm

Not just awesome because of the fond memories, but because the CD arrived in near-mint condition! Great service and fast as well. Oh, and the price was downright near illegal it was so low! Thank you and I hope others are blessed the same! As for the music...cosidering it was the 90's and things were changing pretty quickly I have to say that what Eric Champion and Charlie Peacock (producer) put out was very fresh for the time and it seems to still hold that flavor from that era, not cheesy one bit to me!

Eric Champion / Transformation
Year: 1996 Track Title
1. Dress Me Up
2. Transformation
3. Life Form
4. What's In A Name
5. Higher
6. Sparkle In Your Beat
7. Droppin' Nova
8. Temptannie
9. Falling
10. Every Heartbeat
11. Until I Get My Way