Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Music Review: Peter Furler's On Fire

My reaction to Peter Furler's ON FIRE is very similar to my reaction to BORN AGAIN. The moment I knew it existed, I HAD to have it. It wasn't a want, it was a need. I NEEDED this album, today, the day it was released. I trusted it to be good--really, really good. Because I expect the best of the best from Peter Furler. I knew I couldn't possibly be disappointed.

I wasn't. Not at all. This album--for me--is practically perfect in every way. I wouldn't change a thing. It is energetic, addictive, and wonderful! Yes, the music is fun and energetic, and, well, bouncy. But the lyrics, well, the lyrics MEAN something too. It isn't all about how loud and fast they can play. (Yes, they can play fast and loud! And their music is very fun, it always makes me happy, but they're not sacrificing meaning for style.) Some albums I listen to in the store--very superficially, I admit--leave me wondering: Why is this Christian music? Are any of the songs about God? What are the songs about again? Is there a deeper meaning I'm just not getting? How is God glorified by this? Some of the music SOUNDS good. I won't lie. Some of it sounds like it has potential. But do I want to spend money on something if it's not *really* Christian? I'm not saying that every person should feel that way. But, for me, if I'm going to listen to Christian music, I want it to be CHRISTIAN.

So. LOVED the music, LOVED the lyrics. Here are the songs on the album: I'm Alive, Reach, Glory to the King, Never Ending Love Song, Matter of Faith, All In Your Head, Closer, Faster and Louder, Psalm 23, Hold On, and Greater Is He. I loved them all.



I don't review music all that often here at Operation Actually Read Bible. Not because I'm not listening to music, I am. But because I tend to listen to the same thing over and over and over again. With some CDs and artists, there's no such thing as too much. (There are a couple of Newsboys albums that I put on repeat and listen to for five or six hours at a time: Going Public, In the Hands of God, Born Again, and Step Up to the Microphone. Well, I could probably make it easier on myself and say almost every single one of them.) Anyway, I have a feeling that ON FIRE will be the same. I've already listened to it eight times today!

© Becky Laney of Operation Actually Read Bible

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