I had heard for a few years about the fun live shows that Needtobreathe put on, but it wasn't until about 5 years into their existence as a major-label band that I got around to seeing them play live. And I was hooked. Their albums are good southern rock with a bit of gospel/blues thrown in in places, but only once I heard them play live did I really like them. They're all great musicians and the band can really play, plus they know how to put on a good show with the video screens, lights, etc. This 2-CD Live At The Woods album captures the audio of their live show really well and features some of the best songs of their first 5 albums. Many songs run 5 or 6 minutes long with the band jammin' and rockin' the crowd. On occasion, lead singer Bear Rinehart shares a bit about the song before they perform it, and it's meaningful and doesn't get too old on repeated listens. Needtobreathe is a really good band, and this live recording is just as good as their studio albums, in my opinion. I always enjoy when they come to town, but this album is the next best thing.

Release Year: 2015
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Released 8 years ago today, this is the second album from Bright City, the modern worship team from St. Peter's Church in Brighton, UK. The lyrics are much like other contemporary praise and worship with songs of to God for church services or other events. However, this album's production is a bit more of a dance-pop sound than your average worship music, and some tracks really get the BPMs up there. "Rock Of Our Salvation" and "Come Holy Spirit" are instant classics, if you ask me, and Martin Smith of delirious? sings lead vocals on the latter song and co-writes on many others. His daughter, Elle Limebear, also takes lead vocals on a few other tracks which she also re-recorded on her solo album a few years later. There's a large group of people on the Bright City worship team, though, so no one person leads the majority of the 10 tracks, and the talented musicians provide a lush, bass-filled instrumental track under the melody. It's an engaging album that keeps the music focused on God and I think it's a bit better than most of those mega-church modern worship bands. I hope they continue to make music.

Release Year: 2017
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Released 20 years ago today in the United States, this is the second and last of Sufjan Stevens's albums that is loosely based on a U.S. state. Known as Illinois, the full title of this album is Sufjan Stevens invites you to: Come on feel the ILLINOISE, and the titles of some of the tracks are much, much more verbose and sometimes a whole story unto themselves. At 74 minutes and 22 tracks, this is a magnum opus for the artist and a incorporates many new sounds to the musical styles of Stevens, whose music was often mostly banjo-heavy, quirky folk-rock music before this. This album has elements of marching bands, classical, electronica, musical theater, and much more with many of the instruments played in the studio by Sufjan himself. Lyrically, it makes a lot of references to Illinois history and geography, mentioning lots of city names and places as well as historical events such as the World's Columbian Exposition, John Wayne Gacy, Jr.'s actions as a serial killer, and that the fictional city of Metropolis that Superman resides in is somewhat based off Chicago. But it also uses these bits as a pushing-off point to talk about other subjects, weaving in religious themes and more universal questions of life, such as referencing Chicago's most famous skyscraper "The Sears Tower" in the track "The Seer's Tower", referencing the Apocalypse and Sufjan's relationship with God. 20 years later, it still is Sufjan Stevens's most successful album by sales and is definitely an interesting listen the whole way through due to its mini-songs and musical interludes.

Release Year: 2005
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Released 24 years ago today, this is the fifth studio album from the band PFR. In 1996, the band broke up, but in 2000 they reunited for a track on the Roaring Lambs album. They decided to reunite and recorded an album, but as soon as the album was released, their label folded and the album never really got the promotion they deserved. The band may have been a bit disappointed with the sound, though I have a copy of the CD and it sounds very good to me. It's definitely not exactly the same as their '90s albums, but it's some solid rock/pop songs with some three-part harmonies and religious language. 24 years later, they are working to give fans a chance to rediscover the album. Through a crowd-funding campaign, they are getting the album remastered and will release it on CD, vinyl and streaming. So whether you have heard this album or if you have not, you can support their Kickstarter campaign to re-release the album independently, and sometime this year or next, it will be on streaming for everyone to hear.

Release Year: 2001
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