#1 - Give Yourself Away

Artist: Robbie Seay Band
Album: Give Yourself Away
Released: August 2007

It was a close finish, but the latest from the Robbie Seay Band, Give Yourself Away, is the best album I have heard this year. Their previous album, Better Days, has been one of my all time favorites for awhile, but Give Yourself Away tops it in many ways. Everything already great about the Robbie Seay Band can be found in this album, and then a little more. Robbie’s voice is unique, and it is beautiful in every song, loud or quiet, joyful or sorrowful, reflective or declarative. The album offers all of this and more with a wonderfully diverse track list, all written by Robbie and the band except for the fantastic cover of the Smalltown Poets song “Beautiful, Scandalous Night.” Give Yourself Away has songs for sunny days driving with the windows down and songs for lonely rainy nights. It reminds you of the Gospel, it challenges you to give yourself to God and to others, and it speaks of hope and truth in words passionate yet eloquent. Besides content, it is musically brilliant, driven by a perfect combination of electric guitar and piano. The entire album flows together without fault or awkward transition, and is all in all a masterpiece of musical composition. If you get nothing else out of this countdown, please purchase this album (please purchase all your albums, actually; there is no rationalization for theft) and I assure you that you will not regret it.

"Love Wins"
Robbie Seay Band

It’s a big world, we are hoping
For a big change, we are broken
In the fading light of a dying sun
We cry for redemption

There is hope, there is hope, there is hope
But everyone who’s lost will be coming home
And everything that hurts will be whole again
And love will be the last thing standing

Can’t stop, you can’t stop the seasons
Don’t stop, don’t stop believing
Keep on dreaming of the day when it all will change
Believe in the end, love wins
If you’re waiting for the time when your sun will shine
Oh, look above cause love wins

If it hurts you, just breathe in
When it pains you, just believe in
The radiant light of the morning sun
We can find our redemption

Love is strong, love is strong, love is strong
It's been there holding you all along
Everything thrown away will be new again
And love will be the last thing standing

There is hope, there is hope for my lonely soul
There is hope, there is hope to be made whole
There is life, there is life to be set free
There is life, there is life surrounding me

There is hope, there is hope for my broken heart
There is hope, there is hope for a brand new start
There is life, there is life give me eyes to see
There is life, there is life you have captured me

#2 - Let June Decide

#2:
Artist: Reilly
Album: Let June Decide
Released: October 2007

The hardest decision I had to make in this countdown was deciding which of my two finalists should be number one. If you were around my blog a few months ago you would have seen my lengthier review of Let June Decide just a week or two after it release in which I sung its praises to no end, and the album has since continued to wow me. You can check out that review and a sampling of John Reilly’s superb lyrical ability here, but allow me to say that after these months of fairly consistent listening, the album has not lost its appeal for me. I still love the acoustic rock sound with the characteristic violin accompaniment and John’s passionate and adaptable voice. As I wrote previously, it is the incredible lyrics which stand out as a highlight of the album, but musically each song is not only enjoyable to listen to but excellently composed and produced. I would be hard-pressed to name an album which so poetically yet accurately directs my mind toward God and yet still boasts musical talent on an equal level. Reilly and Let June Decide are certainly among the greatest additions to my music library in a long time.

#3 - Cities

#3:
Artist: Anberlin
Album: Cities
Released: February 2007

I have been an Anberlin fan for awhile, but with the release of Cities the band has reached a whole new level of musical prowess. Cities offers an impressive track list from beginning to end, without a single “filler song” that you end up skipping every time you listen through. After you start listening it is difficult to stop, as each song seems only to get better and better. And indeed the album’s closer, “Fin,” a nine-minute work of brilliance, is arguably the best of them all. Anberlin is best placed in the genre of rock music, but yet they break many of the molds of typical rock bands. For one thing, and to me it is one of the defining characteristics of their music, they know how to harmonize. And by “know how to harmonize” I mean that some of their echoing choruses boast some of the most beautiful harmonies I have heard in a band, rock or not. The album flows wonderfully, and the lyrics, though at times cryptic, have a level of depth also rare for even a decent rock band. Cities is the best of many worlds; as I have listened to it over the past day or two, I have regretted not being able to place it higher even than spot number three on this countdown.

#4 - Indiana

#4:
Artist: Jon McLaughlin
Album: Indiana
Released: May 2007

Of course I’m a sucker for a good piano-driven song, but an entire album of them is sometimes enough in and of itself to win my heart. Indiana, the debut album from Jon McLaughlin, is perhaps what you get when you cross the piano rock of Five For Fighting with the energy and personality of a Matt Wertz album. Jon McLaughlin has independently recorded an album and several EPs previously, but this is his first big-time release. Without sounding repetitive, Jon has created an entire album of songs that could be picked out of a crowd as distinctly Jon McLaughlin’s. Notably, Jon did write every song, and he utilizes well the range in which his voice is both passionate and personal. Though many of the songs are simple (yet clever) love songs, Jon sings them with enough flair and gusto to bring you into the relationship instead of giving a distant picture from the outside. Indiana can appeal to a wide range of listeners as it is not strictly limited to any one genre. Jon himself is a Christian, but I have a great deal of respect for his ability to make music that can be not only appreciated, but enjoyed by any audience.

#5 - Hvarf-Heim

#5:
Artist: Sigur Rós
Album: Hvarf-Heim
Released: November 2007

It is a difficult task to capture the true measure of a Sigur Rós album into mere words. Everything about the album transcends all my previous conceptions of what constitutes beautiful music. The band has been described as “Icelandic post-rock,” but I really do not know what post-rock is. The Icelandic part is accurate enough though; each of the members is from the great island of Iceland, and yes, all of the lyrics are in Icelandic. If you have never before heard a Sigur Rós album, you may be understandably skeptical at this point. If you have listened to them before, let me assure you that Hvarf-Heim, a compilation of new studio tracks and acoustic versions of old songs, is their best yet. Sigur Rós, meaning “Victory Rose” in Icelandic, is one of the most popular bands in Iceland, and is lately gaining more worldwide recognition, and for good reason. Each track is a perfectly constructed composition of artful guitar work, sweeping orchestral melodies, and flowing piano riffs accompanied by lead singer Jónsi Birgisson’s unrivaled falsetto voice. The music is epic and majestic in just the right places, yet with undertones of intimacy and thoughtfulness that make you feel like the music itself is the meaning of the song, rather than the lyrics you do not understand. Jónsi’s voice, to me, is yet another instrument used in flawless accord with the rest of the music. There is depth and meaning to be found in each and every song. You could close your eyes while listening to Hvarf-Heim and open them at the end of the album to find that your mind had been taken on a journey of such stunning imagery and reflection that you marvel at your own capability to conceive it.

#6 - Cigarettes and Gasoline #6:Artist: Emerson HartAlbum: Cigarettes and GasolineReleased: July 2007Hailing from the mainstream market at number six is the first solo project from Emerson Hart, Cigarettes and Gasoline. Previously lead vocalist of the band Tonic, Emerson has, in my opinion, created an album far superior to anything the band was ever able to produce as a whole. Though I normally place far more emphasis on the lyrical aspect of songwriting, and Emerson is certainly a talented lyricist, what sticks out most from almost every song is that they are quite simply enjoyable to listen to on a musical and vocal level. The songs are catchy but not cheesy; they’re memorable. Cigarettes and Gasoline features a track list with a wonderful balance between upbeat and slower songs, from the contemplation of “Cigarettes and Gasoline:” “Holding in and letting go / Freezing hands and coffee burns / Steering straight in a heavy tide / All these things I've learned” to the insightful sorrow of “I Wish the Best for You:” “The words once they're spoken / Are words that we can't take / Back to where we were, before / Things got in the way / Life gets so confusing / When you know what you're losing.” I bought the album on iTunes on a whim, without recommendation or review, and every time I listen I am glad that I took the chance.

#6:
Artist: Emerson Hart
Album: Cigarettes and Gasoline
Released: July 2007

Hailing from the mainstream market at number six is the first solo project from Emerson Hart, Cigarettes and Gasoline. Previously lead vocalist of the band Tonic, Emerson has, in my opinion, created an album far superior to anything the band was ever able to produce as a whole. Though I normally place far more emphasis on the lyrical aspect of songwriting, and Emerson is certainly a talented lyricist, what sticks out most from almost every song is that they are quite simply enjoyable to listen to on a musical and vocal level. The songs are catchy but not cheesy; they’re memorable. Cigarettes and Gasoline features a track list with a wonderful balance between upbeat and slower songs, from the contemplation of “Cigarettes and Gasoline:” “Holding in and letting go / Freezing hands and coffee burns / Steering straight in a heavy tide / All these things I've learned” to the insightful sorrow of “I Wish the Best for You:” “The words once they're spoken / Are words that we can't take / Back to where we were, before / Things got in the way / Life gets so confusing / When you know what you're losing.” I bought the album on iTunes on a whim, without recommendation or review, and every time I listen I am glad that I took the chance.

#7 - Burn for You

#7:
Artist: Steve Fee
Album: Burn for You
Released: January 2007

Coming in at the bottom end of this year’s countdown is the actually the first album on the list to be released this year; I purchased it at the Passion 2007 conference in January, where I was privileged to hear Steve Fee lead worship, a treat rarer these days now that 7:22 has changed directions and Steve Fee no longer leads worship regularly within my local area. If you have heard Steve’s first album, Sacred Space (an album that has previously appeared on my top eleven albums of all time), you can expect something vastly different from Burn for You. Where Sacred Space is quiet moment of intimacy with God, Burn for You is a blaring declaration of the glory of God as revealed in the work He is doing on this earth. The album could be described in a word as “loud,” though not obnoxiously so. It is loud in the sense that Steve Fee has something to say and he says it unashamedly. The music is primarily driven by electric guitar, with some U2-esque builds in songs such as the title track, “Burn for You,” though there are some nice moments of piano melody in the quieter and more reflective “Grace Will Be My Song.” Steve has always had a talent for song-writing, and certainly some of his best yet are found on this album. The album is vocally strong throughout. One important note: if you are looking to buy the CD, it was actually re-released later in the year under the title We Shine and the shortened band name: Fee. Very slight changes were made to the track list.

Coming Soon: The Best 7 of 2007

Hello friends -- it is very possible that I may begin writing for the blog again now that I am in the midst of winter break, but for the next week or so (I give myself the allowance to miss a day or two) I will be counting down what I consider to have been the seven best albums to be released in the year 2007. It has been a good year for music. I want to make the disclaimer here at the start that I do not claim to have heard all the great music to come out this year. In fact, my music spending budget has been cut quite drastically as of late, and I am sure to have missed out on some fantastic albums. I apologize for this incompleteness. All the same, I love to talk about music and I am excited to pass along those albums which I have indeed heard and feel obliged to recommend to you. Most of the albums are Christian albums; this is not because I think Christian music is the only music worth listening to. Rather the contrary, I find the lack of decent Christian music disheartening at times. And yet, when good ones do come around, they are such treasures that I find them most worth my time and money, and therefore most worth passing on to you. Thoughts and opinions are always welcome. Enjoy!