Liberty and Justice - Welcome to the Revolution
Welcome to the revolution was a very interesting concept that was announced well in advance of it's release and which gave all the fans of classic Christian rock and metal a great deal of anticipation. It gathered together so many of our favorite lead singers on one album and we were just sure it would be the coolest thing since sliced bread.
Did it live up to that expectation? No.
Was it a good first crack at a really cool concept? Yes.
This album was the brainchild of one Justin Murr and he has already informed us that this will not be his last approach to this concept and a new album is already in the works. Hopefully, they will get better as time goes by.
Now the songs.
BLIND MANS BLUFF - MICHAEL SWEET
This song has a nice heavy groove, but over all I don't care much for the song and I really don't feel it was the right song for Michael. I would have preferred to see him do something with more of a driving beat and a greater vocal range.
NOISE - JAMIE ROWE
I love this song and it's perfect for Jamie. Nuff said.
SHED MY SKIN - LOU GRAMM
This song is ok, but Lou is rock singer and so far, with this and PETRA's WE NEED JESUS, he's been getting nothing but softballs thrown at him. Somebody please give this man a Christian song that rocks.
REBEL SON - PAUL Q PEK
This is a really good song. It may be a far cry from the PIG, but that's ok. It's good classic rock and I'll take that any day over most of what the PIG did.
ONLY HEAVEN KNOWS - MITCH MALLOY
This was a special treat for me, even though Mitch isn't a classic Christian rocker, he is a very talented young man who hails from my home state of North Dakota. Having said that, I may sound a little biased, but I honestly feel this is the best song on the album. More than that, I feel it's the best song Mitch has ever done. What a blessing to hear him make this confession of faith.
ONE WORD - KEN TAMPLIN
Another great song, but hey, that's pretty much the only kind Ken knows how to do.
DO YOU KNOW - BOB CARLISLE
Once again, we have here an ok song. However, if there is one thing we learned from Bob's years with the ALLIES, it's that he has one the biggest and most soulful voices out there. He needs songs that allow him to display that fact. This one doesn't.
CHANGE COMES AROUND - HARRY HESS & MIKE ROWE
There is nothing about this song that really stands out for me, but I guess it's good filler material.
RISE - SCOTT WENZEL
Now comes the point of the album which I'm sure must have left most listeners with their mouths hanging open.
RAP?
What on earth is rap doing on a classic Christian rock album? Well, I won't say too much about this because I know Justin has already taken a great deal of grief for his decision to add elements of rap into this album. It was a bad mistake and I think he now knows that and has already promised not to do it again on the next one. By biggest complaint is that this song was huge waste of Scott's talent.
THE LORD's PRAYER - ROBERT FLEISHMAN
This is a great song, but I don't ever remember this guy being in Jouney. Maybe I missed something.
IT'S ABOUT LOVE - JOHN SCHLITT
The perfect song for John. Excellent!
BARGAIN BIN - GREG X VOLZ
In spite of the rap, I actually like this song. The chorus is perfect for Greg.
FATHER I LOVE YOU - DOUG PHELPS
A simple worship song. Always a worth while addition.
HOLY ROLLER - MITCH McVICKER
RAP, ROCK, DISCO? Not quite sure where this song is trying to go, but the constant change ups do make it interesting.
DR. LOVE - MICHELLE LYNN
I have no idea who this woman is, but she's got a great voice and in spite of the elements of rap, this really is a great song.
CAIN 2 ABLE - DALE THOMPSON
This is a nice effort toward building a VAN HALEN clone and honestly, it's the best song DALE'S been part of for many years.
FHL - RICK FLORIAN
More rap, more crap. Another waste of another geat singers talent.
FOOLISH CHILD - JEFF FENHOLT & TIM MARTIN
Not a bad song. Not a great song. More like an it'll do song. Maybe it'll grow on me.
In conclusion. There is definetly enough good eatin' on this buffet to make it well worth the price of admission, just steer clear of the rotten eggs.
Mike Tifft - 2004
