Delirious

Here follows a review of Delirious – over that last 17 years and also their farewell tour gig in Leeds on 28th November 2009.

Delirious were one of the first bands I was ever into, about 12-13 years ago. I have followed them avidly for the last decade and a bit, buying all their studio albums and seeing them several times in concert. They are one of my elite circle of six favourite bands, their song My Glorious features on my list of ‘contenders for greatest song of all time’ and their album Glo is in my top ten albums ever. I really like Delirious.

Several things make them great:

• Their longevity – they have been at the forefront of the Christian Rock genre for about 15 years, to a certain extent carrying that flag single-handedly, in that no-one else seems to have got close to them in terms of popularity and sheer volume of music produced.

• Popularity – they are much loved and almost universally respected amongst Christians, and they even broke America.

• Quality and quantity – their songs are just really, really good My Glorious is their best (no arguments please), but following this masterpiece are dozens more top quality songs. Including the Cutting Edge stuff (from before they changed the name to Delirious), they have release 9 full-length studio albums, plus two alternative release of Audio Lessonover, plus six live albums and 3 compilations.

• Live act – they are excellent live performers, and their shows are always both exciting and moving. I think Martin Smith might be the best front man I have seen.

• Variety – from the Cutting Edge worship songs to the alternative rock of Audio Lessonover. From Promise to What A Friend I’ve Found, in one album.

One thing makes them less great:

• In concert, they have never convincingly trodden the line between worship leaders and rock stars. They can do worship leaders. They can do rock stars. But they have never managed to combine the two and make it work in concert.

It was of course sad news that Delirious were to finish as a band at the end of 2009, and there was no way I would have missed the farewell tour. Tickets were booked back in about July, and the excitement mounted as 19 of us headed to Leeds for their penultimate gig. Before going, I displayed a moment of weakness and went online to find review of the previous four gigs in the tour. All four were similar but with slight differences each night. And none of them included My Glorious. Of course, that could change, but I didn’t want to get my hope up. Anyway, here comes the set list, with comments.

First: The Cutting Edge band, playing a worship set.
Live and In the Can intro – this was fairly standard, just helped to build the excitement
Not Ashamed – cracking opener, got the crowd (at least the ones who were old enough to remember this song) bouncing.
Louder than the Radio – very unexpected, but very cool live. Great singalongs in the choruses.
The Happy Song – against their better judgement, having vowed to never play it again, but it went down well. Much fun.
Shout to the North – another great singalong – this was Delirious leading worship, and they are good at it.
Thankyou for Saving Me – with a nice intro from Martin about when he wrote it.
White Ribbon Day (chorus only) – a song I desperately wanted to hear in full, and one that didn’t really fit here, both because it is by Delirious, not the Cutting Edge band, and because of the worshipful atmosphere in the room at the time.
Over the mountains and the sea – very good, mainly because, once the stupid middle 8 is removed (they removed it), it’s a good song.
Did you feel the mountains tremble – the full version, excellent!
Dance in the river – superb move by the band, with the classic intro from Access:D, got everyone jumping.
There is a light – beautifully done
The Lord’s Prayer – standard outro, mirroring the Live and in the Can intro.

Highlights from this set were Not Ashamed, Thankyou for saving me, Did you feel the mountains tremble and, the best of the lot, Dance in the river.


Next: Delirious.
All this time (chorus only) – I don’t think anyone in the world would have predicted this. Nice though.
Bliss – Delirious only ever open with a handful of songs, so this was no surprise. Classic Stu G guitar opening, into the full song.
God is Smiling – other than My Glorious, possibly the one song I was keenest to see, and my favourite of the latest album. As soon as I heard the riff, I think I screamed.
My Glorious – at this point I nearly fell over in shock because I didn’t think they were going to play it. God is Smiling into My Glorious was almost too much for me to take! And of course, it was amazing.
Solid Rock – I’ll be honest, I’m not a big fan of this song (especially after My Glorious), but it is better live than on the album, and it was quite good this time.
It’s OK – another straight out of left field, but beautifully moving. A superb performance which brought the energy levels down a bit.
Sanctify – complete with the football shirts from Wembley 1996, genius. I’ve never seen this one live before, so it was good to see their very first song once.
Obsession – controversially in the Delirious set, and sadly not as epic as it usually is. I’m not sure why. Still great though, with everyone singing the guitar solo.
King of Fools – Stu G solo, alone on the stage, playing the Access:D version. Pretty good, but not as good as most of the rest.
Rain Down – I couldn’t believe they pus this so late in the set (it’s normally first or second), but it worked and re-energised the crowd. Possibly the biggest singalong of the night.
Deeper – genius combination following Rain Down – two of their biggest hits, from very different time periods. Sadly no-one under about 18 seemed to know this one. Gutting.
Paint the town red – another Mission Bell song that gains a lot when done live. Still slightly outrageous that it got a better reception than Deeper though. Good performance though, very well done.
Jesus Blood – another one I’ve never seen live, and another great performance of an excellent song. The lighting was particularly spectacular in this one.
True Colours (chorus only) – I could not believe my ears. I’ve paid £18.50 to see Delirious one last time, and they play a cover?! The cheek of it! I don’t even like the song! I was not impressed.
Majesty – dangerous move, because it’s so worshippy, but they got away with it, just. Great singing from the crowd.
Our God Reigns (chorus only) – fair play to them, it’s a brilliant, brilliant refrain. Good to see it live one last time.
Investigate – Standard closer, performed magnificently. No more words.

Kingdom of Comfort – interesting choice for an encore, but not one that made me unhappy. Really good performance from the band.
Stare the monster down – a waste of an encore slot to be honest. The crowd weren’t that into it and there would have been better song to put in here (e.g. White Ribbon Day, Heaven, Everything, Years Go By, Take me Away, God in Heaven, Feel It Coming On, Love Will Find a Way, Wonder). Biggest mistake in the set list (apart from the aforementioned unmentionable)
History Maker – predictable, but nonetheless excellent, with great screen graphics

My Soul Sings – another encore, and another song that is ok, but not one of their best, but which is always better live. Decent ending.


Highlights:
God is Smiling into My Glorious
Sanctify
Rain Down and Deeper
Investigate
Also, the lighting and visuals were really, really good.

Songs I’d like to have seen: the ones mentioned with Stare the Monster Down, especially Heaven. Also Find me in the River and All I want is You in the Cutting Edge set.

One last thing – after the lights came up at the end, they played ‘Always look on the bright side of life) over the sound system. Seriously, why would you play such an annoying and addictive song after a gig. Je ne suis pas impressed.


My latest attempt to rank the studio albums:
Glo
World Service
King of Fools
Kingdom of Comfort/Mezzamorphis (joint, off the top of my head)
Audio Lessonover/Mission Bell (also joint)

A more considered blog of my top ten Delirious songs might follow.

Albums I have discovered in 2009

About this time last year, I blogged about ten albums I was excited to have discovered in 2008.
This year, I have a list of some of the albums I have discovered, with a rating, out of 10, for each, to indicate how much it excited me.
However, a low score does not necessarily indicate a poor album, because these marks are given relative to my expectations. Therefore, if a band I love produces a relatively poor album for their high standard, they will receive a low mark, while if a band that I am not as keen on produce a surprisingly decent album, they will receive a high mark. A score of 5 indicates a satisfactory album that is exactly as expected given a band’s previous work. Hope that makes sense.
So, in alphabetical order by artist:

Anberlin – New Surrender – 8
Not as good at the previous Anberlin album, Cities, but full of decent songs and maintains the high Anberlin standard.
Athlete – Beyond the Neighbourhood – 10
Actually released in 2007, this is Athlete’s best album, far surpassing their first two. Not a weak track in sight. Best album of the year, hands down.
Athlete – Black Swan – 9
Athlete’s fourth album isn’t quite as good as BtN, but it’s still very good, and Black Swan Song is just amazing.
Bloc Party – Intimacy – 1
The third Bloc Party album had the task of following one of my all-time favourite albums, and doesn’t come anywhere close. Some good songs, but overall a big disappointment – far weaker than either of Bloc Party’s first two albums.
Editors – In the light and on this evening – 3
Some decent stuff on their third album, but it is still definitely their weakest.
Idlewild – Post electric blues – 2
Again, some really nice songs here, but ultimately a disappointment – this is significantly Idlewild’s weakest album since Hope is Important.
Killers – Day and Age – 4
Not as good as Hot Fuss or Sam’s Town, but this is still quite a good album. It’s a shame that it declines after the great opening of Losing Touch and Human.
Matt Redman – We shall not be shaken – 6
Another very solid Matt Redman album which, while not even close to The Friendship and the Fear, is definitely better than Beautiful News. A few absolute belters in We Shall Not Be Shaken, Through it All and You Alone Can Rescue.
Mew – No more stories – 3
Four very good songs, but ten that are not bad but not up to the standard of Mew’s first two albums.
Muse – The Resistance – 7
Like many albums on this list, this isn’t Muse at their very peak, but it’s still a very good album.
Stellastarr* - Civilised – 4
Some really cool stuff on Civilised, but following Harmonies for the Haunted was always a tall order and it’s just not in the same league. Move On is lovely though.
U2 – No line on the horizon - 2
My least favourite of all of U2s albums. Nuff said.


Absolute top 5 albums of the year?
Beyond the Neighbourhood
Black Swan
New Surrender
The Resistance
We Shall Not Be Shaken

A very interesting list, because this is the same ranking as the ‘relative to previous work’ list above. Which means that either this is a fluke, or I’m less capable of being objective than I thought.

Anyway, the moral of the story is that this year has been Athlete’s year. Well done boys.

Covers

Susan Boyle has released an album. It has broken the world record for most Amazon pr-orders. That is a pretty phenomenal feat. I checked out the track listing and got very annoyed, because it's just full of covers! It really makes me angry when musicians just take someone else's creation, re-record it, and sell it.
If they change it significantly (a great example is Ryan Adams' version of Wonderwall) then I don't mind - that shows creativity and talent. Just singing it again really doesn't, and that's what Susan Boyle has done. It's also what Leona Lewis did with Snow Patrol's 'Run', and her version is far inferior to the original.

It takes far more talent and work to create something new, and I am in awe of people who can do it. It takes very little talent and work to just play something someone else has written. To be brutally honest, I could do it, with a bit of time. People shouldn't make money from covers. End of.

Quiet third verses

In the Silence of Beginning and In Christ Alone. 2 good worship songs. Both 4 verses long. The start of both third verses is about the cross. And the start of both third verses is universally and infallibly played at a quieter pitch than the rest of the song.
I'm wondering why this is. I guess it's partly to allow a build of volume into the middle of the third verse, and maybe partly because of the subject matter. (Worship leaders - opinions please!)
It always slightly annoys me (no offense) - I have no problem with bringing the music down a bit, but it happens every single time and seems formulaic, almost as if the music has become more important than the worship itself. I am sure this is not the intention, but I'd just like a bit of variation - maybe even cranking the volume up at the start of verse three and then building it even more throughout the verse. Maybe try changing the singing about the cross from a moody contemplative section to a more bold and celebratory section.

A fundamental difference between girls and boys

When girls accidentally wear the same clothes as each other, they are mortified.
When boys do it, they think it's hilarious.

Housewasmhogafnleilts

Sometimes my (lovely, Sony Ericsson) phone doesn't know a word that I am trying to text. For example, 'housewarming'. I don't have a problem with this - I can just enter the word into the dictionary. One can't expect one's phone dictionary to contain all words, some of which aren't even proper words.

My problem is this: when trying to text 'housewarming', my phone's predictive text suggested 'housewasmhog'. In fact, it is possible to text 'housewasmhogafnleilts' in my phone before it gives the 'spell word' option because it no longer recognises the word I am trying to text. Housewasmhogafnleilts!

I don't know how these things are programmed, but either:
(a) someone enters all the words they think the phone will need, and housewasmhogafnleilts was one of them, or
(b) whatever program is used to recognise words thinks that housewasmhogafnleilts is more likely to be a word than housewarming.

Either way, there is no logic to this. This is one of many, many examples where a word that is clearly not really a word is recognised by my phone, but other words are not. Great annoyance and frustration ensues.

Mew in concert

On Saturday I went to see Mew play in Leeds. Here is a song-by-song review.

Special - an unexpected opener that began with just guitar and drums and took a few minutes of buildup before the actual song was revealed. A song that suffers from being between 2 slightly superior songs on the album. However, on the night it was brilliant - an excellent live performance and a great opener.
Zookeeper's Boy - as Special ended, everyone was wondering if it would flow into Zookeeper's as it does on the album. When it did, it was welcomed by one of the biggest cheers of the night. Lots of singing along, and seeing the live four-part harmony was pretty special.
Am I Wry? No - the entry was just as good as the recording, and this probably got the best singalong of the night. The sort of song a band can't go wrong with.
156 - very dark and sinister, even more so than the album version. They kept the first chorus low-key - quite chilling. But superb - probably the highlight of the show.
Hawaii - the first from the new album, and it didn't even feel like a letdown after 156. Epic, with great lighting. Felt like standing in a thunderstorm.
Apolcalypso - a carbon copy of the album recording, so I won't complain, but it was a shame that they did nothing different with it. Very good though.
A really random bit involving a teddy bear on the screen - don't think this was a real song, more of an instrumental. The bear spoke about friends and forgiveness - I didn't catch it all but it sounded very deep and moving. Then, one by one, tha bad left the stage while the music continued.
Repeaterbeater - then they re-entered and started in exactly the same way as at the beginning - guitar and drums, same rhythms and notes. This time they went into another of the new album which was short but solid.
Sometimes Life Isn't Easy - my favourite from the new album, and performed to perfection. So far not a single letdown on the night.
Saviours of Jazz Ballet (not sure about the order of this and the next two) - unexpected, but welcome, with suitably enormous chords. Good to hear one of the not-so-obvious-hits.
Beach - the latest album is weaker than the previous two, and there are 4 songs that stand out: Hawaii, Repeaterbeater, Sometimes Life, and Beach. This song confirmed this as a near-perfect set list.
White Lips Kissed - not what I'd have picked to play, but by this point Mew could do no wrong, and performed this with great skill and passion. The guitairst injured his finger, just before playing...
Snow Brigade - with a very difficult guitar part. But you couldn't tell he was injured. A great, fun, upbeat finish to the main set.

Circuitry of the Wolf - did not see this coming at all (I was expecting She Cam Home for Christmas), but it's always a good song to hear, especially when combined with...
Chinaberry Tree - one of those songs that everyone just loves. Big singalong.
Comforting Sounds - there's only one way to end a Mew gig, and this was enormous. One of those songs that you just have to hear live to really get it.

Overall, a magnificent gig. My only complaint would be a lack of She Came Home for Christmas (especially as they were only on stage for 1 hour 20. That aside, just brilliant, one of the highest quality concerts I've been to.

Ketchup bottles

It seems that ketchup is generally sold in one of three types of bottles, only one of which is any good.
Type 1, glass bottles, are apparently classier, but unfortunately don't work because it is a nightmare to get the sauce out as the bottles are unsqueezable. Much shaking ensues until half the bottle falls onto your plate.
Type 2, upside-down bottles, are designed to be stored upside-down, with the lid at the bottom. While squeezable, there is so much resistance at the aperture that it is very difficult to get any sauce out, until a critical point where squeeze exceeds resistance and ketchup flies everywhere except on the plate.
Type 3, the normal, plastic, upright type, work wonderfully. They win the prize of being this connoisseur's favourite.

Feeling Christianity

Over the past 5 year, 38 young adults have undertaken the Internship program at my church, King’s Church Durham. At the start of the year, inters do a Myers-Briggs personality evaluation. One of the dichotomies of this evaluation is “Thinking-Feeling” which is about how a person makes decisions. “Thinkers” more naturally make decisions based on their thoughts, “feelers” more naturally make decisions based on their feelings.
Of the 38 interns, to my knowledge only 6 have been “thinkers”. That’s less than 16%. I have done no further research, but I would guess that this trend would follow across Christians in general, not just King’s Church interns, though perhaps not to quite the same extent.
A common misconception about Christianity, and faith in general, is that it requires the suspension of reason. Therefore people who tend to make decisions based on rational thought rather than gut instinct would be less likely to have faith of any kind, including Christianity.
As someone who loves thinking, and loves discussing my thinkings with others, this distresses me. I’m not sure what should be done about the situation though. Thoughts?

Early Christmas

This year, Tesco Durham went Christmassy on November the 1^st.  Many other shops had of course already installed their decorations and displays.  Everyone I know gets annoyed by how early Christmas arrives each yeah, and it has been a pet hate of mine for years.

This year my thinking on the matter developed slightly.

We look at Christmas as one day, after weeks of build-up, which is usually a bit of an anticlimax.  We should think of Christmas as more of an extended festival, which begins on December 1^st, in a quite relaxed and low-key manner, and climaxes on December 25^th.  In the intervening period occur carol services, Christmas parties, gift shopping etc.

You see, I think that one reason why Christmas begins so early (other than profit-making) is that people want more than just one day from the biggest festival of the year.  By seeing Christmas as a 3-week festival rather than just one day, this desire would be satisfied.  Of course, not that whole 25 days would be as intense as the 25^th.

Let’s think of ‘Christmas’ as an extended festival that lasts 25 days.  No more and no less.  Shops and other public places start decorating premises and selling Christmas goods from December 1^st.  Activities and celebrations get steadily more intense until the climax day on 25^th.

I know that this isn’t very different from what currently occurs.  The difference is in the mindset more than the activities.  See Christmas as a long festival, not just a day preceded by months of unnecessary hype.