|
Influential Albums: 1241-1247
Fri., Oct. 6. 2023 7:12pm EDT
J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.
Here are the latest entries in the "albums that influenced me" series I started writing in May 2020.
Note: Just because an album appears on this list doesn't mean I give it a blanket endorsement. Many of the secular albums on this list are mainly there because they wound up being spoofed by ApologetiX.
1241. Honky Tonk Attitude - Joe Diffie
Released in April 1993, Honky Tonk Attitude was the third LP by Tulsa-born country singer-songwriter Joe Diffie. It went to #67 on the Billboard 200 and #10 on the U.S. Top Country Albums chart and sold a million copies, thanks to these singles: "Honky Tonk Attitude" (#5 country), "Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox (If I Die)" (#3 country, #122 pop), "John Deere Green" (#5 country, #69 pop), and "In My Own Backyard" (#19 country). "Honky Tonk" reminds me of "Boot Scootin' Boogie" by Brooks & Dunn, "Prop Me Up" is amusing, and "In My Own Backyard" is poignant. But "John Deere Green" was the one that got to me ... and it still does. Although I'd seen the title before, I first actually heard the song while driving with Lisa on our first trip from Pittsburgh to Kentucky as a married couple. I love those trips back to the Bluegrass State. We've made many of them since we got married (June 3, 2000), and I fondly think of it as my second home. "John Deere Green" was written by Dennis Linde, the same guy who wrote the huge Elvis Presley hit "Burning Love" (#2 pop), a song ApologetiX spoofed in 2021. Sadly, neither Linde nor Diffie are with us any longer. Both died in their early '60s. Diffie had 17 singles that hit the country Top 10 — some funny, some serious — including five that made it to #1: "Home," "If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets)," "Third Rock from the Sun" (#84 pop), Pickup Man" (#60 pop), and "Bigger Than the Beatles." He also had three songs that reached #2: "If You Want Me To," "New Way (To Light Up an Old Flame)," and "So Help Me Girl" (#84 pop). He finally achieved only Top 40 pop hit, "A Night to Remember" (#6 country, #38 pop), in 1999.
1242. Offerings: A Worship Album - Third Day
On Saturday, July 1, 2000, ApologetiX performed for our largest audience ever when we played the main stage at the Creation festival in Mount Union PA. If I remember correctly, there were 60,000 in attendance that weekend. I'd been to Creation in 1988, 1992, and 1999, but this was obviously a totally different experience. It could have been the highlight of the year except for the fact that I'd met Lisa in January and married her in June. Having her there with me at Creation 2000 made it that much better, even though I was a little bit under the weather the night before our performance, so I was fretting about what it would do to my voice. Third Day was the second-to-last act that Friday, right before Steven Curtis Chapman. I seem to remember them talking from the stage about their upcoming worship LP. Less than two weeks later, on July 11, they released Offerings: A Worship Album. This was before it became popular for Christian artists to do such a thing. Offerings probably helped pave the way for that trend. Offerings went to #66 on the Billboard 200, and became the group's first million-selling album, even though only one cut charted, "King of Glory" (#13 Christian adult contemporary). It also featured a live version of "Agnus Dei/Worthy." Although Third Day's version of the Michael W. Smith composition "Agnus Dei" had reached #2 on the Christian Hit Radio chart in 1998, it had previously only appeared on the various-artists compilations Exodus and Wow 1999. Special treats for me on Offerings were the cover versions they did of two songs I love by Bob Dylan ("Saved") and Jacob's Trouble ("These Thousand Hills"). I was very glad to see those songs get increased recognition and a wider audience. Third Day later produced sequels called Offerings II: All I Have to Give in 2003 and Christmas Offerings in 2006. The also released Lead Us Back: Songs of Worship in 2015. I really like the song "Soul on Fire" from that album.
1243. Now That's What I Call Music 4 - Various Artists
Now That's What I Call Music 4 was the first album in the Now series to top the Billboard 200. In fact, it debuted at #1 — the first time that had ever happened with a compilation of previously released hits. Released on July 18, 2000, Now 4 featured 18 tracks and sold two million copies. I bought it with the intention of finding more songs for ApologetiX to spoof, but that didn't happen until the very last selection, "All the Small Things" by Blink 182. We released our parody in 2001, and it became a popular audience-participation number in our concerts. The other tracks that stood out to me on this one were "Meet Virginia" by Train," "This Time Around" by Hanson, "Blue (Da Ba Dee)" by Eiffel 65, "I Need to Know" by Marc Anthony, and "I Knew I Loved You" by Savage Garden. It also featured two of my favorites from albums I've mentioned before "Larger Than Life" by Backstreet Boys and "Then the Morning Comes" by Smash Mouth. For a complete track listing, go to: https://www.discogs.com/release/1879451-Various-Now-Thats-What-I-Call-Music-4
1244. Shine: The Hits - Newsboys
Released on October 24, 2000, Shine: The Hits was the first Newsboys compilation LP, and it covered their career from Read All About It (1988) through Step Up to the Microphone (1998). As you might expect, it favored the latter half of their career up to that point, with only a few selections from 1988-92: "I Got Your Number," "Where You Belong/Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus," and "I'm Not Ashamed." There were 17 tracks in all, including three excellent new songs — "Joy," "Who?," and "Praises" — co-written with Steve Taylor, who hadn't written any on their previous album and only two on its predecessor. Moreover, there were four semi-new cuts: an extended version of "I'm Not Ashamed," a remix of "Shine," a remake of "God Is Not a Secret" (featuring TobyMac from DC Talk doing some guest-rapping), and an eight-minute medley that acted as a finale. The eight songs in the medley were all featured elsewhere on Shine: The Hits. We played this album a lot as house music before and after ApologetiX concerts in the early 2000s. It only reached #122 on the Billboard 200 but went on to sell half a million copies.
1245. WOW The 90s - Various Artists
This 30-song compilation arrived on July 20, 1999, but I don't think I was aware of it till the following year. It even featured some songs that crossed over into the mainstream pop Top 40: "Place in This World" by Michael W. Smith (#6), "That's What Love is For" by Amy Grant (#7), "Everything Changes" by Kathy Troccoli (#14), and "I Will Be Here for You" by Michael W. Smith (#27). All four of those songs hit the Billboard adult contemporary Top 10 and two of them, "That's What Love Is For" and "I Will Be Here for You," made it to #1. My favorite song on WOW The 90s is probably "The Great Adventure" by Steven Curtis Chapman, although I also like "Place in This World" a whole bunch. For a complete track listing, go to https://www.discogs.com/master/899112-Various-Wow-The-90s
1246. WOW Gold - Various Artists
WOW Gold featured 30 CCM classics from 1971 through 1997, although they were not presented chronologically. The album itself came out on June 20, 2000, and I picked up one soon after. It showcased a great cross section of the genre: Andraé Crouch, Larry Norman, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Keith Green, Phil Keaggy, The Imperials, Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Twila Paris, Sandy Patty, Russ Taff, Carman, Rich Mullins, Petra, Stryper, Steven Curtis Chapman, DC Talk, Newsboys, Jars of Clay, Kirk Franklin, and many more. So many great tunes. I have to confess that even though I know some of them were surely calculated to put a lump in my throat, they succeeded (and still succeed) in doing so. I'm talking about tunes like "Thank You" by Ray Boltz, "Butterfly Kisses" by Bob Carlisle, and "The Champion" by Carman. WOW Gold only made it to #111 on the Billboard 200, but it did indeed go gold. For a complete track listing, go to https://www.discogs.com/release/12647686-Various-WOW-Gold-30-Landmark-Christian-Songs-Of-The-70s-80s-And-90s
1247. Long Line of Leavers - Caedmon's Call
The third major-label LP by Caedmon's Call, Long Line of Leavers, hit the stores on October 10, 2000, and I bought a copy immediately for my bride. It reached #58 on the Billboard 200 — higher than its predecessors — but only stayed on the chart for two weeks. As with the group's previous projects, the music was pleasant and the lyrics were cerebral. For some reason, however, the songs didn't resonate with us as much, although we played the album numerous times. The two most memorable tracks for me were "The Only One" and "Mistake of My Life." I asked Lisa about Long Line of Leavers recently, and she said the same. I also like "Love Is Different," "Prepare Ye the Way" (written by John Michael Talbot), "What You Want," "Valleys Fill First," "Can't Lose You," "Dance," and "Ballad of San Francisco." I'd caught a little bit of Caedmon's Call that summer at Creation 2000 but was distracted with preparations for our own performance. However, Lisa and I went to see them in concert in Lancaster PA on November 3, 2000, less than a month after they launched Long Line of Leavers. We enjoyed ourselves, and the whole experience made a lasting impression ... on Lisa's car ... as we got rear-ended by somebody tailgating us on the way home. The police pulled them over, and there wasn't any serious damage to our vehicle, but we wound up with a trunk door that wouldn't close properly, which kept the trunk light on. That car would be rear-ended again in much more serious fashion after an ApologetiX concert on April 5, 2002. I was stopped at a red light in Mars PA, when a drunk driver plowed into us at full speed. Lisa was almost eight months pregnant with our second daughter, Heather, at the time, and our oldest daughter, Janna, was in the back seat. Thankfully ... miraculously ... none of us were hurt, but the car was totaled. Well, I had been praying recently that God would make a way for us to get a minivan, and He did.
|
