A Maze of Grace

Avalon

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 13, 1998)
• Original Release Date: January 13, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sparrow
• ASIN: B000000V63
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #142,426 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

At first glimpse, Avalon may seem like one more nice-boy-nice-girl quartet who looks angelic and sings with a similar sanctity. And hey, that's what they are. But what makes A Maze of Grace different is the underlying streetwise pop edge that pervades this 1997 release, which yielded three top contemporary Christian music singles. The opening "Testify to Love" is a great track that features solid harmonies, trademark guitar power chords, and a rock-solid backbeat. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" contains an irresistible urgency, as does "Speed of Light," yet the group can slow it down masterfully, as with the ballad "Adonai." Comparisons to First Call are merited here and much credit should go to producer Charlie Peacock, who makes Avalon's second release something more than the usual fare. --Michael Lyttle

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "All the colors of the rainbow....", July 19, 2002

By	Mark Lee "Peacemaker" - See all my reviews

Hello my fellow Christians! My name is Mark Lee and I am 15 years old. Not so long ago, I had not heard much about Avalon except that they wrote an awesome song called "Testify to Love", and from the moment I learned that song was on this CD, I had to get it. But I didn't expect ALL the other songs on the CD to be just as good! Every single song on this CD is excellent in one way or another.

Avalon's fast songs have fun pop beats and great harmonies that make you want to keep listening to them right from the very beginning, plus inspirational lyrics that make me feel proud to be a Christian. "A Maze of Grace", "Speed of Light" and "The Move" are the three best songs to dance to, "Testify to Love" and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" are the two best fast worship songs, and "A World Away" and "Forgive and Forget" are the two fast songs with the best lyrics. The former talks about how everyone makes mistakes and does stupid things in life, and now when we look back on ourselves, we see how much we have changed since then. The latter reminds us not to forget that God forgives us for the things we do wrong.

However, the slow songs are just as good. "Adonai" and "Reason Enough" are two worshipful ballads with beautiful, passionate lyrics describing God's awesome love for us. And the last track, "Dreams I Dream For You", is the voice of God talking to the listeners, asking them to live a life according to God's hopes for them.

If there is any flaw at all in this CD, it is that its running time is only a little more than 42 minutes long. This, however, is not even close to being "reason enough" to not buy this CD. With every song featuring richly blended vocals, awesome music, and deep, meaningful lyrics, this is a near-perfect CD that should please just about anyone who likes contemporary Christian music. If you have even the slightest interest in contemporary Christian music--and I can't possibly imagine why you could be reading this review if you don't--buy this CD immediately!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Maze of Grace, June 18, 2000

By	"alanaotto" (fort dodge, ia USA) - See all my reviews

This CD from Avalon isn't their best, but it is very good. Their voices all mix incredibly well and the songs all have good lyrics. About each song -

Testify to Love - great song! The best of the fast songs. I love the lyrics and the beat.

A World Away - another awesome song with a fast beat. Has the best lyrics on the CD and should have probably been the title track.

A Maze of Grace - not the greatest. Weird sounds.

Knockin' on Heaven's Door - has a cool funky sound and is another one of their great fast songs. Great message of what we all need to do.

Adonai - definately my favorite song on the CD. One of the few slow songs, it is truly beautiful. The piano sounds great and the harmony on this song is awesome!

Speed of Light - another fast songs, not one of my favorites.

The Move - yet another fast song with a weird urban beat. Good lyrics but not a song you'd want to listen to over and over.

Reason Enough - a slower song (finally) that has some of the best lyrics on the album. This song is beautiful and it is one of the best.

Forgive and Forget - a nice fast song. Really great.

Dreams I Dream For You - a very pretty slower song. Another great track on this CD.

Overall this is an awesome CD for Christians!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An awesome quartet with awesome melody, September 28, 2002

By	M Viljoen "murvil2611" (CAPE Town. Mother city of the Rep. of South Africa.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the first CD that I have bought from this talented group. I had heard diffferent songs of theirs on mixed CDs that I bought and I thought that I would try one of their albums.

I was incredible blessed by all the songs on this album. Their upbeat music and the harmony of their voices are great.

If I must choose a favourite then it would definitely be "Adonai". I have heard this song sung by Michael Card and it has always been a great blessing to me to worship our 'Adonai'.

'Testify to Love' and 'A Maze of Grace' are amazing as well and the beat to these songs are good enough to dance to.

It is difficult to comment on every song because each one has a beauty of it's own and is uplifting to listen to.

This album has convinced me that I need to add more of their albums to my Christian music collection.

This is a must for all collectors of good Christian music!!