Famous Christian Band The Newsboys
ONE OF MY FAVORITE SONGS BY THE GROUP IS STAY STRONG
You're in the moment now
A bitter root
A wandering eye and then
The ties that bind start wearing thin, thin
You're in the moment now
When all you've been blessed with
Is not enough
Here's where the ground gets loose
Here's where the devils call your bluff
Stay strong
You are not lost
Come on and fix your eyes ahead
There's a new dawn to light our day, our day
You've gotta stay strong
You and I run
For the prize that lies ahead
We've come too far to lose our way, our way
We've seen the tragic flaws
The tortured souls
The saints with feet of clay
Here's where sin becomes cliche'
We've come through wilderness and watched
The cloud by day
The burning sky into dawn
Have you forgotten who you are?
Did you forget whose trip you're on?
Stay strong
You are not lost
Come on and fix your eyes ahead
There's a new dawn to light our day, our day
We've gotta stay strong
You and I run
For the prize that lies ahead
We've come too far to lose our way, our way
Get up, there's further to go
Get up, there's more to be done
Get up, this witness is sure
Get up, this race can be won
This race can be won
We've gotta stay strong
You are not lost
Come on and fix your eyes ahead
Our Father's dawn will light our day, our day
Come on and stay strong
His grip is sure
And His patience still endures
There'll be no letting go today, no way
Come on, and stay strong
You and I run
For the prize that lies ahead
We've come too far to lose our way, our way
lyrics by the newsboys
PS -2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (NIV)
THE NEWSBOYS CREATED SOME OF THE BEST CHRISTIAN MUSIC IN CHRISTIAN MUSIC.
It's surprising to think that with the magnitude of a band like
Newsboys, it would take over twenty years for them to release their
first ever official live audio project. For 2008, the Aussie based pop
rock band brings their successful 2007 GO Tour to disc in a CD/DVD
packaging format.
This version of the GO Tour captures on CD and DVD a slightly
different presentation and song selection than their Spring '07 launch
of the GO Tour. The tour's set list primarily consists of tracks from
the band's latest studio effort, GO, with early runs of the tour
including "In Wonder" as well, instead of "Stay Strong" which replaced
it following the release of a new Greatest Hits compilation from their
former label. Also, the "medley" tease that is performed towards the
middle of the set included "Not Ashamed," "Million Pieces,"
"Entertaining Angels," and ended with "Where You Belong / Turn Your
Eyes Upon Jesus." Here, only "Not Ashamed" remains in the medley, and
"Reality," "Love Liberty Disco," and "Amazing Love" all appear
instead. But while "Entertaining Angels" was excluded from this
particular set list, it does appear in its entirety following the
medley, whereas "It Is You" was performed before.
The biggest drawback to this tour, as well as this recording, is
the lack of classic Newsboys tunes presented in their entirety. The
band has been performing an overlong cover of Matt Redman's "Blessed
Be Your Name" since the Adoration Tour years ago and for it to be
included here for nearly seven and a half minutes just feels a bit
like overkill. On the other hand, it always goes over well live and
makes for a lovely worshipful moment in their live set (which is
probably why they keep playing it), it's just that with such a catalog
of music as Newsboys have, it's a shame they couldn't represent more
of it live. And that brings us back to the classic medley, which
clocks in at over nine minutes but consists of only one performance of
a line from the chorus of each song (except for "Amazing Love," which
is another song that isn't a Newsboys classic). Most of the track is
Peter Furler's tongue-in-cheek retelling of the band's humble
beginnings set to Paul Colman's repetitious strumming -- something
that is delightful live, but tedious in recorded form if you plan to
listen to it over and over. When all is said and done, only really
eleven full songs are included on Newsboys Live: Houston We Are GO,
while many live records will load up the track list with many fan
favorites (TobyMac's recent Alive & Transported comes to mind).
The audio quality for the CD portion of the project is actually
really crisp and clear. On most of the tracks, the crowd is loud and
pronounced at the beginning and fade into the background when the core
vocals begin. Peter Furler's vocals are near perfect - at times almost
too perfect (some studio overdubbing?). While listening to the CD, it
meshes really well, but while watching the DVD, Furler's voice doesn't
seem to match the image as it sounds more like a studio recording than
a live one. And at times - like during "The Mission," we can see Paul
Colman or Jeff Frankenstein belting out background vocals into their
microphones while with the audio on the DVD especially, all we really
hear are Furler's leads. But regardless of how it was done, the audio
disc sounds great and fans will enjoy having these songs captured live
in high quality.
The real drawback to Newsboys Live: Houston We Are GO is actually
its DVD. With recent live projects from Third Day, TobyMac, and
Rebecca St. James having been presented in widescreen, I was really
expecting this to be a high resolution production. Sadly, it's hardly
that. The video is merely presented in standard full screen format.
While that's clearly forgivable, the quality of the captured video
varies from crystal clear to muddy or presented in much, much too high
contrast. Some of the camera angles are interesting, including some
shots from within the crowd, but the cameras seem to focus a little
bit too often on the audience members themselves, and not even in the
best screen quality either. The resolution varies from camera to
camera and it sometimes gives the presentation a truly amateur feel -
especially when some zoom shots are digital zoom and not optical zoom.
One of the highlights of the concert footage, however, is the
inclusion of the entire drumming duel between Duncan Phillips and
Peter Furler. It's a highlight of the live show and, while only forty
five seconds of it appears on the CD, fans get to experience it in its
unedited form on the DVD portion of the project. Lastly, the DVD
doesn't include any other bonus features besides the live concert
itself. This isn't really a big deal either, but some artist
interviews thrown in for good measure would have been a nice addition.
In the end, Newsboys Live: Houston We Are GO isn't quite
everything longtime Newsboys fans have been waiting for. The audio
quality is near fantastic which makes the project worth the fans'
purchase, but the DVD is rather disappointing. Still, even if you view
the DVD as a bonus to the live audio disc, Newsboys Live: Houston We
Are GO works well enough as a GO Tour souvenir. Now, all we need is
for the Newsboys to record a live CD/DVD project consisting of all fan
favorites from their extensive album collection and we'll be really
good to go.
- Review date: 9/29/08, written by John DiBiase
STAY STRONG I MENTION IS ON THE NEW CD AND DVD NEWSBOYS/LIVE
HOUSTON WE ARE GO...I PERSONALLY THINK THAT THE CD AND DVD WAS GREAT SOUNDING AND ALMOST MAKE YOU WANTED TO DANCE
THE DVD PROVES THAT AND FROM MY EXPERIENCE SEEING THEM IN THE 1990'S THAT IS WHAT I USE TO DO WHEN I SAW THEM AT KINGDOM BOND NEAR BUFFALO NY. THE NEWSBOYS WENT THROUGH MANY CHANCES PRETTY SAD TO SEE PETER LEAVE THE BAND .
STAY STRONG
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