Newsboys - Take Me To Your Leader (1996)

When I first heard the latest release by the Newsboys, I had relatively low expectations, as most of what I heard about it was on the negative side. Instead, I got a lesson about not listening to other people's judgments: this CD rocks!

The Newsboys have taken another step in the right direction with Take Me To Your Leader. The band rocked the Christian alternative / pop scene in 1992 with Not Ashamed, and this album takes the lyrical wit and musical creativity to the max. If it weren't for the fact that this CD is only 37 minutes long, I'd have rated it a five-star hands down. Unfortunately, I can't give five stars when I pay $16 for 37 minutes of music.

The CD begins with the Newsboys new rock / alternative / pop recipe, which incidentally now includes no looping or sequencing ... i.e. everything you hear is straight from the musicians. Granted, there are a lot of effects and such, but the 'boyz blew me away with this one. They managed to reproduce the high energy and impact of Not Ashamed without the extra looping.

"God Is Not A Secret" opens with in-your-face lyrics and rock, and a message they have held all along: they ain't going to hide God, they're going to tell everyone about Him! From the first verse, they set the record straight:

"You don't understand, this is not what you think it is. You don't get it man, you want to boil it down to showbiz. Your in-depth research shows: drop the God, emphasize the beat; I've heard that positive pop you dig - I'd rather be buried in wet concrete!"

Talk about speaking their mind! But would you expect or accept anything less from the band that woke up the world to the fact that Christian alternative doesn't have to be disappointing. The rest of the song sings that God is not a secret, they're not going to hide Him, they're not going to play lyrical and political games by keeping their message vague ... as the Psalms say, if we don't praise His name, the rocks and all of creation will cry out for us. Personally, I think it would be somewhat embarrassing to be outdone by a tree! And catch the trailer, if you haven't caught on to the Newsboys determination: "Would I deny my savior when He hung inside the public square? Did not my silence put Him there?" It sounds to me like we have a duty to do, and the Newsboys aren't being eccentric ... they're merely living up to our God-given responsibilities as Christians.

The title track follows, with a mellow, funky air to it, and a message that we've go to take them to our Leader - a fitting follow up to the intro track. After this comes "Breathe," which I think could have been done better. For a rock alternative song, it's pretty cool, but the song and the music don't fit together. It sounds more like a ballad sung to a rock background to me.

The pop hit "Reality" is the fourth cut on the CD, and is bound to rise up the charts. The Newsboys, with lyrical help from Steve Taylor, created a winner with this one. They take a very mellow, almost easy-listening style, put in a heavy bass line and drum beat, and added in some really clever lyrics, making a song that's a lot more energetic and upbeat than it's tempo would make you think.

The lyrics on this song really are funny, in typical Newsboys / Steve Taylor combo style. It starts out with a letter to Mom and Dad, saying "I'm fine, how are you? I've joined a small circus ... I'm a little malnourished, but try to relax. Could you find a better photo for the milk carton backs? Send money." The second verse says more of the same - "My career as an acrobat hasn't begun, but I'm busy giving blood and shoveling elephant dung." The chorus comes back with the reality that comes from God: "God is calling, there's no bigger love. It's His reality that welcomes us back."

Another serious joke follows: and ode to "Breakfast." In effect, it's a funeral song for a breakfast that's seen better days, but the chorus has a catchy, if serious, message: "When the toast is burned and all the milk has turned and Captain Crunch is waving farewell, When the big one finds you, may this song remind you that they don't serve breakfast in Hell." Hidden behind the cereal bowl full of wit is a lot of wisdom - no matter how hard life is on Earth, it isn't anything like Hell will be for those who don't know Jesus. When we as Christians die, we have Heaven to look forward to, and those we leave behind have comfort in knowing we're in a better place. When non-Christian's die, they don't have that hope, and the ones they leave behind can only mourn. In a way, the 'boyz are saying that even if you don't care about going to Hell, you owe it to your loved ones to turn to Christ....

Continue Reading at this Christian Music Review