Carman - The Champion
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Free Music Notes for The Champion
Free Music Review: Las Vegas Lounge Singing; CCM style
Hit: 1 Stars
Some people have accused Carman of seeming insincere and plastic. They don't understand that he was an aspiring Las Vegas Lounge Singer and one time. His "phoniness" is an offshoot of his stint as a lounge singer and member of the piano bar faithful. I have a distaste for this form of Contemporary Christian Music.Free Music Review: Goosebumps
Hit: 1 Stars
I also am unable to avoid an outbreak of goosebumps. Amen, brother music fan! Friggin' goosebumps is EXACTLY RIGHT, buddy!! The very existence of this piece of noisome Christian dung is all the evidence I need to disprove the existence of god... and i mean ANY god. Lord have mercy! This monumental piece of life-changing dung begs the immortal question "WWJV?" - Where Would Jesus VOMIT?brother rob
Free Music Review: A Carman Classic
Hit: 4 Stars
Teaming with producer Keith Thomas, a relationship that would successfully continue through 1991, THE CHAMPION was Carman's best-produced and slickest sounding album of his career to that point. It was also the first time that we began to see him begin to change his style in an attempt to be relevant to his target youth audience. That morph was evident from the very first note of the record. The hip-hop Carman of the 90's had yet to appear, but Carman was ready to rock here in the mid-80's. "Prepare To Die" was one of three songs on the project where Carman adapted a synth-rock 80's style which he later admitted was an uncomfortable fit. The song is an affront to "disease, hatred, jealously," and other enemies of the Cross, and it was a snapshot in the development of Carman's spiritual warfare discography. "Abundance Of Rain" follows and the jazzy, First Call-backed track is a sharp u-turn in style. With speedy delivery on the verses and an upbeat message it is one of the most fun songs Carman has ever recorded. Carman co-wrote "Revive Us, Oh Lord" with Steve Camp. It still stands today as one of his best-ever anthems and has been embraced by many churches in their worship. "A Little Bit More Conviction" could've been co-wrote by Camp, with its bold lyric demanding holiness and a new attitude of seriousness in one's Christian faith. The song borders on legalistic for some, but at its heart the message is dead-on, saying "I'm telling you something's wrong/When holiness don't belong/In living day to day 'cause it ain't fun." A contemporary message if there ever was one.
"It Happened To Me," which relates Carman's conversion experience, is still a musical misfire. "The Destination Is There," one of the three rockers, was one of my favorite songs as a kid but today sounds dated. "Fear Not My Child" is a duet with Kim Boyce, who was a rising star at the time; she shines on her delivery and the song works. "Love Can" is largely forgettable.
The album closes with the title track. Elaborately produced by Thomas, it is a fictional story of a cosmic confrontation between Jesus Christ and Satan, in a boxing match setting. Carman had experimented with story songs before, on "Sunday's On the Way" and "Lazarus Come Forth," but neither had the "epic" feel that "The Champion" did, and it remains perhaps his best known and loved song. It's one thing to hear it on the album and quite another to hear it live.
That story song began the incredible run that Carman experienced up through the mid/late 90's. Never a critical favorite, he nonetheless won over the crowd with his genuine spirit and passion for the Lord. Where his path might be headed now remains to be seen. But THE CHAMPION continues to stand as a pivotal point in the career of this remarkable man, and as such it was named to the 100 Greatest CCM Albums list, coming in at #99. I give it FOUR STARS, on a heavy dose of nostalgia.
Free Music Review: Carman--The Champion
Hit: 5 Stars
I have been looking for The Champion in cassette form. Any possibilities of getting it? I have heard this and Carman is incredible, and pulls the listener right into the strength and excitement of the songs. Who can sit still during the Champion being performed by Carman? AmazingDottie Hicks.Free Music Review: The Champion
Hit: 5 Stars
This is an awesome CD. Carmen expresses the Power and Majesty of our God. While listening, you have no choice but to praise God.