Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Definitive CCM Album, February 11, 2001
Amy Grant had always been considered a good songwriter and had written much of the material on her previous records. But on Lead Me On Amy absolutely bared her soul. Her songs reflected an honesty and transparency that she'd never shown before and some of the tracks were almost embarrassingly stark and real. Catchy hooks were replaced with real life human struggles, heartaches and joy. This was an Amy Grant the world had never seen before. She was still the princess of Christian music but all of a sudden she had all of the human rough edges and angles that her audience had. It was a striking unveiling. Opening the record is "1974," a poetic and beautiful retelling of the story of one's salvation. "Lead Me On," which continues the poetic use of imagery, is another in a long line of Amy's songs which have reached classic status. "Shadows" speaks of the struggle between our humanity and the Christ-life inside of us; a theme that is continued in "Faithless Heart." "What About the Love" stands as a powerful reminder that it is our love by which we should be known, lest we discover what it really means "to be crucified and judged, without love." One of the CD bonus songs was actually one of the album's best tracks: "Wait For the Healing." Containing a unique violin accompaniment, it reflects on the 60's generation that went through so much turbulence. The second bonus track, "If You Have To Go Away," is a sweet mid-tempo love song dealing with both the dreams and realities of a long distance relationship. If you own the Lead Me On cassette you are strongly urged to pick it up in CD format so you don't miss out on these two gems. It would be easy to touch upon every song on this album. "Saved By Love" is a song that is especially appreciated by many wives and mothers. "Say Once More" is a simple yet gorgeous ballad of love and devotion. Suffice to say, there is not a weak moment on the entire project. In fact, every track truly excels in the best of ways. Popular music is at its most powerful when it is the vehicle for a message that is real, honest, and, at its core, human. Music can challenge, music can change, and music can inspire. And on Lead Me On, Amy's songs did all of that in a way that we had never seen before. Time may have changed the way that some of these songs are understood (though musically it still sounds great). But the core theme of Lead Me On remains: the Christian walk is a daily struggle that is best dealt with in an honest and open manner, as opposed to the unrealistic picture of Christian perfection that ccm too often portrays. In the end, Lead Me On is pure and unadulterated Amy Grant; a snapshot from a moment in her life that music fans should be thankful to have been given a glimpse of. It embodies everything that Christian music can and should be and if I had to choose one album to represent contemporary Christian music for the historical record this would be it. Lead Me On is the greatest Christian music project of all time, and a must-own for any serious collection.
|
|
|
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Transcends the Boundaries of Contemporary Christian Music, December 4, 2004
By the time 1988 rolled around, Amy Grant had more than a decade in the music industry. During this decade Amy would establish herself as the premier artist in the history of Christian Contemporary music. This is a career in which Amy would start as a young teenager and grow into as a young adult. Amy was now getting ready for the next phase of her career - which would move her into the mainstream arena. It was at this point that Amy would release her strongest effort to date - "Lead Me On". "Lead Me On" brings some outstanding songwriting, some outstanding supporting musicians and merges it with Amy's development as an artist. The result is a sensational collection.
I can look at Amy Grant's career as encompassing three main phases. The first phase covers 1977 through 1981 (her debut self-title album "Amy Grant" through the "In Concert Volume 2"). In this phase, Amy definitely showed her youthful side (her first album was released while she still was in high school). For the most part, Amy did some nice songs and was able to establish herself as a Contemporary Christian Artist. In Phase 2 (this would cover 1982-1988, starting with "Age to Age" and going to this album "Amy Grant - The Collection"), Amy ascended to legendary status in the Contemporary Christian music-world both commercially and criticially. This is where her husband to be Gary Chapman would begin to have an influence in her music. In this phase, Amy would show the most depth with her Christian music. When Phase 3 (1988 to present, starting with "Lead Me On" to present), Amy went into her full-fledged crossover into the mainstream (pop) music arena. On a side note, a staple throughout Amy's career is that she does some of the songwriting (either solo or collaborative) as well as uses songs by other songwriters. "Lead Me On" stays consistent with this as Amy collaborates with several songwriters (husband Gary Chapman, Michael W. Smith, and Wayne Kirkpatrick are the main ones) as well as uses third party songs.
Some will argue when Amy Grant officially "crossed over" into the mainstream music arena. Some will point to the duet with Peter Cetera. Others will say on her 1985 release "Unguarded" there were signs of this transformation. I personally look at her 1988 effort "Lead Me On" as the official start to Amy Grant becoming mainstream. This point can certainly be argued, as some will say Amy went back toward the Christian Contemporary route with this effort. There is no doubt that Amy does some very strong Christian music, but there other examples of a "cross over". There are other songs that don't have as strong a Christian Contemporary influence. However, even in some of the songs that do have a stronger Christian Contemporary influence from a lyrical standpoint, you could easily place these songs from an instrumentation standpoint in the mainstream arena. I think the best way to say this is that they album trascends many of the boundaries of a traditional Christian Contemporary album.
Another thing I found interesting is that around 1988, the mainstream music world was moving away from Synth-Pop to more guitar-laden natural sound. "Lead Me On" seems to bring the best of both worlds from this standpoint. I'd still say most of the influence is Synth-Pop, but there is some good examples of guitar work throughout the collection.
The first three tracks "1974", "Lead Me On", and "Shadows" seem to be songs that are more on the Synth Pop end. These are also great examples of songs that may Christian from a lyrical standpoint, but from an instrumentation standpoint they could easily go mainstream. "Lead Me On" is an incredible track. The instrumentation shines -especially Paul Leim's drums. Amy's voice is also powerful on the track. She gets an assist from Bill Champlin of Chicago (lead vocalist on the track "Look Away"). Champlin contributes lead vocals to "All Right". As for background vocals, "Shadows" has a great wrap up thanks to solid background vocals.
Amy does a great job at playing narrator in the song "Saved By Love". This song almost has a bit of a country-western influence. "If You Have to Go Away" is another country-western like song. Amy also does a self-narrative song with the powerful song "What About the Love". Although Amy didn't write this song, she delivers it boldy. In this song, Amy begins to question a lot of what is wrong with the world.
This collection features one of the greatest Amy Grant songs of all-time - "Waiting For the Healing". This song is a masterpiece. It is a very Christian song, but also has a near mantra like quality on the chorus (supported real well by background vocals). The song wraps up with some sensational guitar work (by Dan Huff and Jerry McPherson) at the end - in fact this guitar work can rock with the best of any mainstream work. This song will emotionally charge you as well as uplift you. It really should have been a "Song of the Year" nominee. On a side note, "All Right" also has some good guitar work and drum work (again by Paul Leim).
"If These Walls Can Speak" ,"Sure Enough", "If You Have to Go Away", and "Say Once More" are an example of how Amy has "crossed-over" from a lyrical standpoint and can do it real well. I love the beginning of "Sure Enough" which starts out "I'm laying it all out on the table".
The liner notes are solid. They include all of the lyrics as well as all of the musician credits. This is a solid collection. It is easily Amy's strongest release when it came out. This would be a sign of things to come as things would even get better with her follow-up "Heart in Motion". Whether you are a Christian Contemporary fan or just a music fan, this is a must have collection.
|
|
|
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amy's Best ....by far., March 29, 2001
If you only buy one Amy Grant CD.....this is the one. I have been a fan of Amy's for over 20 years and I own every album she has ever put out. This is the one to own. If you don't like Amy...you still need this CD. After tasting secular pop sucess with her album 'Unguarded', Amy then proceeded to produce her finest effort to date, and probably the best album she will ever record. The pop flash of 'Heart In Motion' is missing here. The narcissistic depression of 'Behind The Eyes' is missing also. This is the mature expression of a Christian woman immersed both in the world and in Christ. Honest lyrics, great music and Amys best vocals make this CD stand out from the masses. There is a reason that this CD is on many 'deserted island' CD lists, my own included.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
Interact With Your Music: Discover, listen to, and buy new music, all from the pages of SPIN's digital edition, free to Amazon customers.
- the new music site from IMDb and Amazon.
