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Frankly, I'm a
little disappointed with this years EFY album.
Honestly, the
EFY album is the CD I look forward to the most each year. To me, it
represents the very best of the LDS music industry in every aspect,
including the singers, songwriters and producers.
This year, we
have three 'no-names' on the album. Dan Cahoon, Chad Neth, and Brian
Rhodes. Who are these guys?
Dan Cahoon - He
appeared on the "Joseph: A Nashville Tribute to the Prophet" album
on a song called "The Prayer."
Chad Neth – I’ve
never heard of Chad.
Brian Rhodes - I
actually served a mission with Brian. He's been an independent
musician for years, but has never been on a commercially released,
respected LDS album to my knowledge.
Granted, greats
like Katherine Nelson, April Meservy, and David Osmond got their
start on EFY albums. But, not all in the same year!
The only
respected musicians that appear on EFY 2006 are Jenny Frogley,
Felecia Sorensen, April Meservy, Hilary Weeks, Jenny Phillips and
David Osmond.
But, what
happened to award-winning artists like Kenneth Cope? Julie de Azevedo?
Michael Webb? Greg Simpson? Cherie Call? (Cherie actually wrote a
song for this album called "Change of Heart," but it’s sung by David
Osmond).
Maybe they've
all been busy with other projects, but I know that the EFY album is
recorded 6-12 months before its release date, so they should have
had plenty of time to book some more respected voices to contribute
to the album.
Another
disappointment for me is the pace of the album. It drags. I enjoy
inspirational music, but the EFY albums of the past have been a
little more upbeat. “Give The Gift” is the most upbeat song on the
album, and probably my favorite. The album picks up ‘a little bit’
with “All Times, All Things, All Places,” and a tiny bit more upbeat
with “Prove Me.” The only other songs I can really call upbeat would
be “Change of Heart.” There’s a drum beat in “Shine On,” but I can
see myself slow dancing to this track rather than getting down!
I can’t
understand why the producers chose to completely re-make the Michael
McLean song, “As I Am.” This songs was released LESS than one year ago
and the original singer, Jeff McLean, does a much nicer job on the
vocals. The arrangement of this track on the EFY album is a bit more
inspirational, and with an album that’s lacking an upbeat feel… they
should have gone with the Jeff McLean version.
The other thing
that bothers me is the fact they the EFY producers encourage
musicians to submit songs each year, based on that years theme. I
can't quite understand this when 6 of the 12 tracks are written by
the producers themselves. Granted, they are EXCELLENT songwriters,
and I love their music. I just don't understand why they entertain
submissions when they end up writing half the album themselves. It
seems that those of us who submitted did it with a false hope.
Anyway, I'm sure the album will grow on me. But, it's by far one of
my least favorites. Last year's album, "A More Excellent Way," and
1999’s “A Season For Courage" are two examples of suburb, classic
EFY albums, where the best of the LDS industry is graciously
represented. I do not recommend this album at full retail price.
Wait until it’s on sale, or until it’s sitting underneath your
Christmas tree as a GIFT. (No pun intended).
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Jeff Goldman -
LDSMusicNews.com (Emeritus status)
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