Contact

Awesome band and cd!

The more you listen to this music, the more you will like it. As an American that has been to South Africa four times, I find their adventurous and stalwart character represented here yet again in their stand for their faith in Jesus Christ. One can only have admiration and appreciation for this project. May you be once again reminded of the greatness of God and his unlimited compassion in this cd as I have been.

The more I listen to this CD, the more I love it. It's rare that a cover is better than the original, but the BG version of Overkill is far better than the original by Men at Work. This is a great CD!

On this album, the production trims the focus away from dense production stacked with walls of guitar atmospherics and technoish keyboards drifting in and out of the mix and instead focuses on "cleaner" guitar lines. The lyrics (a bit of a downfall for the last one) are quite a bit better here, avoiding much of the repetitiveness that undercut many tracks on the last one. Perhaps it's all the influence of wunderkind producer Charlie Peacock, whose name turns up here as co-executive producer with David Bach and who's been responsible for producing much of the most memorable Christian pop and rock of the last 10 or so years.HIGHLIGHTS:The debut began with mediocre track "How Long?" On this one, the Gate comes out swinging with radio hit "Lift Me Up", a soaring sonic merry-go-round celebrating the promise of Jesus' eventual return to Earth. The 'whoa-oh-oh-oh' hook to "This is Not" is infectious. "Do What you say" issues a challenge to spend more time living a TRUE Christian life rather than merely "doing what we should". ("We're here to love and not be manipulated/And that should never be understated/Let's see what we've got here/Let's take it on...") A completely revamped cover of 80s Men at Work hit "Overkill" also sparkles. "Your Kisses Blind Me" uses a unique image to try and express the wonder of knowing God ("Beautiful you are to me/Moon above a raging sea..")LOWS:There's still a couple songs where the words aren't up to snuff but at least they're at the end. Chorus to "Violently" is "Fight/Got to fight/Got to fight to get thru/Got to reach/Got to reach/Till we find you". Same thing with "Fall Away" ("I fall away/away/away..")BOTTOM LINE:In every way a step up from the debut. One can only wonder where they might have gone had the band not broken up. This one has a pretty good consistency to it and I think will probably still be listenable as time goes on.POSTSCRIPT:Keep listening after "Fall Away" for a hidden version of "The Calling" that's a little more raw than track 3.3 1/2 stars

Last year 'The Benjamin Gate' debuted '[Untitled]' to rave reviews. It was sufficient to catch the eyes of Ausy Christian-rockers 'The Newsboys', and America got it's first exposure to the South African group. While press photos make the band look like a wannabe No Doubt, The Benjamin Gate defined themselves as undefinable, by creating familiar but distinct music. While most Christian bands these days are simply trying to copy successful secular artists, The Benjamin Gate is definately the most original Christian band to hit the scene in years. Many bands who release edgy debuts that go big, wus out and go mainstream on their second album, Adrienne and the boys reject the sell-out manuever and stay true to their fans without going the way of Creed and simply rehashing their successful album, assuming that their fans are too stupid to tell the differance. '[Untitled]' was an edgy techno-rock praise and worship CD with lyrics a la The Smashing Pumpkins. 'Contact', with it's uncomprimisingly 'Gate' cover art, delivers a matured sound that is reminiscent of meeting a father after meeting his son. The lyrics, however, are the biggest leap between albums. The praise and worship is left behind for a more human take on Christianity. It's unusual to hear an angsty Christian band, but The Benjamin Gate strikes a cord as they deal with the struggles of Christians in the secular world. This makes the title make a good deal of sense. It's about the Contact betwen Christians and non-Christians. [Untitled] is obviously a reverent referance to the humility in praise and worship. Among the specific subjects are purity in relationships ('The Calling') and anti-conformity ('Do what you say'). 'Contact' while a very differant experience from '[Untitled]' is unarguably Benjamin Gate.

TBG comes through with another great album, but is not nearly as electronically savvy as the first one. "Untitled" was oozing over with electronic guitar cuts, and numerous loops, whereas the number of loops in this album are in single-digits. After a rockin' first album, TBG goes more CCMish in "Contact" much like Audio A did with "Lift." Stll, there is a large presence of guitars, but the music is more smooth and easier to listen to while "Untitled" was rough and edgy... not that it was bad or anything. My personal fav on this record is "This is Not.""Untitled" contained two singles ("All Over Me" & "Lay It Down), yet "Contact" contains one. "Do What You Say", the expected single, was placed on CCM(magazine)'s "Songs To Watch." About 25 are choosen annualy.Another difference on tis record was the length of songs. About 4 tracks stayed under the three-minute mark (including "This Is Not" & "Do What You Say"). Plus, if you noticed that "Untitled" has 77 tracks, don't worry. "Songs" #'s 13-76 are all 17 sec. blank periods. Track No. 77 is a full-length song.No such catastrophe occored on "Contact," yet there is an encore performance of "The Calling" on the last song.All in all, "Contact" is an awesome CD, and dubbed by CCM & me, one of the best releases of 2002. Belonges in the collection of any CCM or rock fan.