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Album Of The Day: Majesty & Wonder by Phil Keaggy
This is another Top 5 in my collection of Christmas albums. It's a beautiful instrumental collection of songs on guitars by Phil Keaggy backed by the London Festival Orchestra to produce a very full, classical sound. It's an excellent 50 minutes of music including some classic instrumental versions of carols like "What Child Is This?", "O Holy Night" and "O Come O Come Emmanuel", but also some original new tunes like "For Hearth And Home" and the "Nativity Suite" comprised of 3 different tracks. It's a beautiful album to put on in the background during your Christmas events but it's also really fun to listen to in the foreground and turned up loud. It sounds just as excellent today as it was when it was released 26 years ago.
Release Year: 1999
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Album Of The Day: Your King Has Come by Various Artists
Released 25 years ago this past October, this album is in my Top 5 Christmas albums of all time. Matthew Smith and his friends put together a beautiful collection of songs to celebrate the Christmas season, both songs new and old. Derek Webb and Sandra McCracken open it with a new folk melody to "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus". Matthew Perryman Jones, Jill Phillips, Mandy Ihrig and Billy Cerveny deliver beautiful renditions of fairly common carols. I really love the middle of the album with Jeremy Casella's guitar-heavy original "Joyful Fire". And then Andrew Osenga does a very interesting version "Of The Father's Love Begotten"; it's a bit sad and is mostly just electric guitar and vocals, and some of my family doesn't like it, but I find it unexpected and fun. The best part is Matthew Smith's version of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" that leads right into his original response to the hymn, "Your King Has Come", a beautiful new modern song celebrating Jesus's birth. Katy Bowser also sings a beautiful variation on the translation of "Silent Night" called "Still The Night". If you're looking for some independent, folk-rock music to get you into the Christmas spirit, look no further than this album.
Release Year: 2000
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Album Of The Day: TOPxMM by Twenty One Pliots & Mutemath
Released 9 years ago today as a free download and a YouTube video, this digital EP captured the musical duo performing 5 of their songs in a studio with the help of the band Mutemath. They start off with the song "Heathens" from The Suicide Squad soundtrack, and perform some of the best songs from their Blurryface album. The members of Mutemath provide guitar, effects, keyboards and much more to recreate much of the sounds Twenty One Pilots had put down in the studio, with some definite variations and extended jams in a few songs too. This was a complete surprise when it was released and it's probably my favorite recording from Twenty One Pilots, maybe at least partially because of my love of Mutemath, but primarily because these live arrangements are so energetic and dynamic.
Release Year: 2016
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Album Of The Day: Smile In The Mystery by John Mark McMillan
This seventh album from John Mark McMillan is a bit of a seasonal affair. This mini-album combines a number of new and old Christmas tunes with a few standards that are not really Christmas, but they fit well. Songs like "Baby Son" and "Lights" are new, original songs celebrating the season of Christ's birth. "Make You Feel My Love" and "What A Wonderful World" are not really Christmas songs in my opinion, but they fit here and are well-done covers. "Silver & Gold" from the "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" TV special of old is sung here by Sarah McMillan and it's beautiful. "Silent Night" has a special coda to with the "Smile In The Mystery" new ending reminding us of the magic of Jesus coming to earth. And this album of slow rock songs ends with "Joy To The World". I love John Mark McMillan's unique musical style and this is a fun collection of songs to listen to in this special season.
Release Year: 2018
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Album Of The Day: Happy Christmas Vol. 3 by Various Artists
Released 24 years ago this past October, this is Tooth & Nail/BEC's third volume of Christmas recordings from their rock/alternative artists and other friends of the label. The O.C. Supertones kick it off with a rousing version of the ballad "Heaven's Got A Baby", a cover of a bit softer version written and recorded for Happy Christmas Vol. 1 just 3 years before by Sarah Masen. Kendall Payne, Cadet, Hangnail and Poor Old Lu offer up versions of classic Christmas carols. Earthsuit, Starflyer 59 and Skyline Drive offer up their covers of more modern Christmas classics. Bleach, Joy Electric, Ace Troubleshooter and Dension Witmer pen brand new songs about the Christmas season and do a good job to add to the variety. I love Aaron Sprinke's cover of Randy Stonehill's classic "A Christmas Song For All Year Round" too—It's a nice nod to the CCM genre's roots. And then, well, Relient K must have been in a very Debbie Downer mood this year, because there's two songs of very snarky original Christmas tunes from them, "Santa Claus Is Thumbing To Town" and "I Hate Christmas Parties" (not actually by Relient K, but by their lead singer's other band, Matthew Thiessen & The Earthquakes). It's a good collection of rock/pop Christmas songs new and old with a bit you might not expect, and it's unfortunately not available on streaming, so you might have to find a used CD copy out there if you want to give it a listen.
Release Year: 2001
Album Of The Day: Advent by Rachel Wilhelm
Released 5 years ago this month, this is an EP by independent singer-songwriter and worship leader Rachel Wilhelm. She takes traditional church texts and classic hymn texts and sets them to a bit more modern, contemplative music. These are fairly simple arrangements, with guitar, banjo, cello and vocals. These songs were recorded during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic as a way to give those not gathering in their church buildings music to reflect on, and they still are great music for reflecting on the mysteries of the Advent season before celebrating the joy of Christ's birth on Christmas. Thanks, Rachel, for providing such music for this time of preparation and waiting.
Release Year: 2020
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Album Of The Day: Fielder by Fielder
"Don't overthink it baby." Released this past August, this is the first album from Fielder, a duo of young women—Skye Peterson and Addison Agen—who, despite their age, have both been performing as solo artists for many years. They craft chill indie pop tunes with beautiful harmonies and lots of songs about friendship and relationships. These two also sing about the unexpected things in life and that they don't have all of it figured out. It's a nice album for some quiet contemplation on a dark winter night, i think. This is a pretty good album and I think it will be fun to see these young women improve their craft over time.
Release Year: 2025
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Album Of The Day: Here I Am To Worship by Tim Hughes
Released 24 years ago this month, this is the first studio album from UK worship leader and songwriter Tim Hughes. He does sound a bit like Matt Redman, who was a mentor of his and writes very similar songs, but there is still some uniqueness to his music and he definitely has a heart that longs to praise God. Songs like "Maker Of All Things" and "Jesus, You Alone" were pretty well-known songs written and performed by Hughes here. The one song that he is most known for is the title track, "Here I Am To Worship", which has been sung at many churches in the last 25 years and has been recorded by dozens of Christian artists, and it definitely is a highlight of this album. But after listening to this album today, the album is full of solid songs of praise and worship like "May The Words Of My Mouth", "Day After Day" and "The Eyes Of My Heart". It sounds beautiful thanks to a great team of musicians and producers in both the UK and in Nashville.
Release Year: 2001
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Album Of The Day: Third Verse by Smalltown Poets
Released 25 years ago this past September, this is the aptly-titled third album from rock band Smalltown Poets. It's maybe not the band's most beloved album, but I really like these songs. "Every Reason", "Any Other Love" and "That Line" are quality rock with a Christian message. Some of the best songs on this album are covers of '90s Christian rock you may not have heard, "Beautiful, Scandalous Night" and "The Lust, The Flesh, The Eyes, And The Pride Of Life". And well, I love a great all-out rock closing track, and "100 Billion Watts" definitely does that here. Smalltown Poets is not one of my favorite bands, but whenever I do give their music a listen, I wonder why I don't listen to it more often because it's good. They also recently put out an EP a month or two ago, which is good too.
Release Year: 2000
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Album Of The Day: Unclassified by Robert Randolph & The Family Band
"I need more love every day of my life." It's the weekend, so I needed some rock jams to kick it off. Robert Randolph started playing the pedal steel guitar in church as a kid, and by the time I first heard this album from him and his Family Band, Randolph was jammin' in New York City at clubs playing a mix of R&B, rock, funk, soul and Gospel. Half the songs on this album are just instrumental jams, and his band of longtime relatives and friends are excellent musicians as well. Unclassified always puts me in a good mood and is an excellent vibe from start to finish. If you haven't heard this album, you should give it a listen. They hit it out the park with this first studio album, and I'm not sure they did any better than this later, though I like all their albums.
Release Year: 2003
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