STEVE YOST - BEHOLD

How does one come to review a rather eclectic collection of songs which range from bluesy hard rock to more progressive sounds, funk even and at the same time hearing very familiar guitar parts from a myriad of musical influences? (ie. Montrose, Petra, Mylon, ect.) A demanding proposition to be sure, the challenge gets larger when one realizes that there is a generational influence to be sure…

Steve Yost has delivered just such a quandary to my doorstep. His double disc release entitled Behold takes one on a musical journey that not only includes various musical genres, but is also one where the mans spiritual heritage is put on display as well. How can you possibly critique/review that!?!?!

The answer is you can’t; what I’m able to do is make some cursory observations in regards to the musical output Steve has provided here. In respect to Steve's musical acumen it should be noted that he is an accomplished studio musician having been around the musical landscape for many years.

Behold is broken up into two parts of the same whole. Disc one is entitled ‘The Hope’ and Disc two is christened ‘The Prophecy’. It strikes me that disc one is more a homage to his musical legacy while the accompanying platter is devoted to the spiritual.

As we look at the performances musically Steve Yost is no slouch when it comes to handling the instruments he’s played on this release, he plays most of them. You’ll discover some very energetic and gritty guitar playing with plenty of crunch.

Opening with a straight ahead rocker in ‘The Answer’ he moves into ‘Walking in the Light’ with a strong ode to Mylon and his version of ‘Gospel Ship.’ These songs represent some of the more straight ahead bits of whimsy found here. However that begins to change when you start listening to ‘We Can Do,’ there are enough parts and melodies that could be make into at least 2 different songs. Trying to follow along did present some challenges, for some reason the lyrics to this song do not appear in the booklet.

Montrose’s ‘I’ve got the Fire’ is a prime influence during Behold the Lamb. Yet this song again has so many different parts it’s hard to follow, only because it starts off as a straight ahead rocker (and only clocks in at 3:45) but varies widely. This seems to happen often throughout the album. It would seem that perhaps a producer might’ve helped with making the songs tighter and more effective.

Yet as I continued to listened I wondered if Queen and the rock opera concept would be more appropriate. After all how many different movements are there in Bohemian Rhapsody? With that thought in mind, 70’s hard rock is probably a more appropriate description and makes a lot more sense with that mindset. I don’t remember seeing that in the promotional material, alas perhaps I missed it.
However with that thought in mind the rest of this release comes into focus.

If you’re a fan of this style of rock n roll, you’ll undoubtedly enjoy what you hear on disc one. ‘Roll My Blues Away,’ is one of my favorites with a satisfying guitar solo. The funk inspired ‘Seek Out’ hides a tremendous solo by Steve. The nine minute acoustic epic ‘The Olympian’ strikes me as a combination of 70’s art rock with Petra type vocal harmonies.

Disc two is more of a tribute to Steve’s spiritual heritage through various songs and spoken tracks. It is a pretty amazing endowment to be sure. Again more 70’s inspired art rock is performed more as a background. The production aspect has changed from disc one. Steve on one of the spoken tracks shares his testimony and discusses how this collection had been put together over the years and recorded in various studios along the way.

One of the musical highlights for me was ‘The Race is Almost Over.’ Opening with a Pink Floyd style guitar intro that just screams! At the mid-point the music starts to give way to clips of Steve’s own Pastor. Floydian styles permeate this song.

This album isn’t necessarily for everyone, harkening back to the earlier days of CCM this album finds its contemporaries. However Steve Yost gives us a glimpse into his spiritual heart, with heart wrenching emotion combined with a musical fanfare this will please the most ardent fan of CCM.

7 axes

JIMMY HOTZ - BEYOND THE CRYSTAL SEA reissue

From those who were around the ‘in the old days’ of Jesus music it seemed that the criticism was that the product was inferior. In some ways that might’ve been true. The production values couldn’t compare with the deep pockets of the major labels. So the sound of many early Christian rock albums just weren’t up to snuff.

That being the case even if the musicianship was up to the quality of their secular counterparts, chances were the production would obscure their talent in a wall of sonic mud. Well thanks to Matt at Retroactive he has started another new label, entitled Born Twice it will solely focus on reissuing classic Jesus rock from a bygone era.

Now for me to be honest I’d not heard of Jimmy Hotz before. Yet as I ravaged through my bible bookstore memories I did remember seeing this album before, about 26 years ago. It sat in the ‘demo’ section of my local Bible Bookstore, long out of print. At the time it wasn’t ‘heavy enough’ for me. Well with time comes refinement and greater appreciation, as I slipped an advanced copy into my CD player I truly felt transported Beyond the Crystal Sea.

If you’re a fan of Pink Floyd, Archangel, Yes perhaps Emerson Lake and Palmer than this album should be right up your alley. Beyond the Crystal Sea provides soaring melodies and ethereal moments of synthesizers and keyboards. However Jimmy provides a tasty and emotional lead guitar that he isn’t afraid to bring right on out into the open. His guitar romps are reminiscent of Phil Keaggy or Jeff Beck in style and execution.

I’ve heard Hotz vocals compared to early Peter Gabriel, when he fronted Genesis that might be a fair comparison. The music is of a more relaxed variety that has more in common with 1970 than 2010. Comparisons to Archangel shouldn’t really be attempted, Hotz plays electric progressive rock. Archangel has been more known for their acoustic prowess. It should be noted the Kemper Crabb, leader of Archangel, plays recorder on the instrumental track, ‘Alpine Magic.’

There are also two bonus tracks for nine songs total. ‘Long, Long Ago’ and ‘The Gates of Time’ are fantastic Floydian/Yes styled compositions that add a lot to the album. These additions provide a swirly dreamy musical tapestry that will have hitting repeat on your player more than once.

Yes the production is a bit dated yet it is a reminder that this album was made for love. It wasn’t produced for some type of top ten splash in any market. This album is a labor of love that continues to please those who are lucky enough to unearth it.

Beyond the Crystal Sea is not for everyone, but it is a reminder of the purity and honesty of what Jesus music was in 1979. An art form that hadn’t been completely watered down or corrupted by the selfishness of man. Enjoy this release and take a journey Beyond the Crystal Sea.

8 axes