Disc 002 - Newsboys - Going Public

The Disc: Since 1985, The Newsboys having been wowing Christian audiences and headlining Creation Festivals with their Aussie accents, catchy keyboard riffs, and a line-up that revolves just about as often as the rotating drum rig for which they're oh-so famous. Though they made their first mark on the CCM scene with Not Ashamed and its single of the same name, their fifth album, Going Public was where things really took off. The lead single, "Shine" is an instantly recognizable hit, and the album is generally considered to be one of the first alternative Christian records that was open and honest about its subjects, yet reverent.

My Copy's Origins: I'm pretty sure the strobe lights made me buy this CD. Our junior high youth group at church was organizing a trip to go see Steven Curtis Chapman on his "Heaven in the Real World Tour" (see what he did there?) and though I'm not sure why, I ended up tagging along. My friend Mark and I sat together in the arena seats, probably making fart jokes and laughing hysterically at nothing, while our youth group leader hyped up SCC's show. I was pretty skeptical. I'd seen Stevie's haircut.

"Shine"

Then the lights went down and the synthesizers started. It was the opening riff from "Shine." When the lights flashed back on there were several odd looking Aussie's on stage wearing grey jumpsuits, banging their bald heads, and letting loose some raucous contemporary Christian pop. At the chorus, a giant LED-style screen behind them flashed "S-H-I-N-E" in quick succession as strobe lights pounded the audience with each new letter. Mark started making ridiculous faces to coincide with each flash of the strobe. Either that, or he was having a seizure.

I don't remember much else from that night, except that I talked my parents into taking me up to Hackman's Bible Bookstore the next weekend and splitting the cost of "Going Public" with me.

To Toss: A few years ago, Blaze magazine praised the Newsboys for showing "music from a Godly perspective could sound extremely catchy, have lyrics that were honest and still glorify God." What Blaze neglected to mention was that, while those lyrics might be honest, some are also downright silly. Here's a quick sampler:

"Try as you may there is no way to explain that kind of change that would make an Eskimo renounce fur, that'd make a vegetarian barbecue a hamster."

-"Shine"

"I wanna preach the word. They want massages. I check chapter and verse. They check their watches."

-"When You Called My Name"

"It's not a family trait, it's nothing that I ate, and it didn't come from skating with holy rollers."

-"Spirit Thing"

Needless to say, this ain't Shakespeare, it ain't T.S. Eliot, it ain't even Dylan. (Of course, Dylan's Christian albums weren't exactly "Dylan," either... but, we'll get to that later.) These lyrics might have earned them some respect in the CCM community, but outside of that, they don't hold up so well.

Furthermore, those same synth sounds that thrilled my adolescent ears in that big arena can also be used for evil. When it comes to laying on the schmaltz, the Newsboys know where all the necessary buttons are on their KORG keyboards. The two major offenders here are "Let It Rain" and "Be Still."

The former track, written from the perspective of the apostle Peter during his "final hour" remembering all of the water-related elements that remind him of Christ, is quite poignant and poetic. It could probably have been salvaged as a decent ballad were it not drenched in multiple layers of synth strings and pad swells.

The latter, however, is so cheesy that its melted corners practically drape over the edge of the disc itself. I'm pretty sure I can even hear a few whispered lyrics in the background. What is this, Newsboyz II Men?

With a few other notable examples, this type of production comes off as considerably dated, keeping the listener constantly aware that this is an early-90's Christian pop album.

Not to Toss: Of course, those three adjectives are a triple-whammy to any record, especially in the area of production. We're talking about an era, a religion, AND a genre that tend to favor flowery, over-produced music. This may not excuse the Newsies for their crimes, but it certainly puts things into perspective as to what kinds of obstacles they needed to overcome to make a good record.

So, did they?

To be honest, some of these tracks hold up surprising well today. Yes, there are the aforementioned lyrical and synth-based atrocities to consider, but if you can take yourself a little less seriously (and I'd like to think I can) there actually is some brave honesty here. While the word choice may not always be impeccable, the themes and truths that they're examining still come through, and they say a lot.

The title track, for example, deals with the tendency of believers to stay closeted about their faith for fear of the persecution or stigma they'd face from others. In less capable hands, a song like this could come across as accusatory or preachy, but Davis and Furler manage to make it more of a rallying cry than a sermon: "Sign on, the time is drawing near, this surely a banner year to be a public witness."

"Truth and Consequences," while still fraught with some laughable lines and a slightly confusing spoken-word bridge, (are we meant to imply a Cyrano de Bergerac-style dialogue from the dual panned voices repeating each other?) still addresses the fact that many Christian relationships are just as vapid, self-serving, and tactical as those outside the church.

The real stand-out song is the concluding track, "Elle G.," whose title is a thinly veiled reference to the word "elegy." The song revolves around a man coping with the shocking suicide of a young girl who was obviously a close friend. Rather than sentimentalizing the subject, the lyrics explore some of the serious questions anyone in this situation would ask. Lines like, "Silence, nobody breathe. How in the world could you just leave? You swore that you would silence that evil with good," are left unanswered, adding a notable depth to the subject matter. However, the final "overcome evil" that appears to signal the denouement of the whole record takes a surprise turn by swelling back with a confident cry of "for good" and a climactic guitar solo.

The Verdict: Overall, the tracks where the production is less than intrusive are fun and somewhat thoughtful. This is by no means high art, but certainly good listening. And I don't know about anyone else, but I still smile when "Shine" starts and I hear that opening synth riff. I smile without irony.

Going Public stays.