Geoff Moore & The Distance

Item: Greatest Hits
Author: Brendt W. Waters

Greatest Hits

(1996)

Reviewed by Brendt W. Waters

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Label ForeFront RecordsThe LighthouseJune 1997

ccm pop rock rock

Sometimes people don't understand / What a good boy's doin' in a rock-n-roll band...

It is appropriate that the song from which this lyric comes (Larry Norman's classic "Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music?") has become something of a signature tune for Geoff Moore and the Distance, because-after all-Geoff Moore is basically "a good boy...in a rock-n-roll band." Not that that's a bad thing-quite the contrary. But it does define fairly well what this band is all about. Both in attitude and music, Moore has shunned the bad-boy rock image from day one. This is reflected in his easy manner and warm smile in person, and in the brighter pop-like sounds infused in his rock-n-roll. While rarely lacking excess energy, the music produced by Moore and his band picks the listener up (and occasionally dances him around a bit) rather than beating him into the ground with the force of its strength. This style, carefully honed over the years, is evident throughout the 2-disc best-of set, simply titled Greatest Hits.

The first disc consists of studio cuts, opening with a new song, "More Than Gold," which was the title track for a special Christian music sampler put together for the 1996 Olympic Games. This pop/rock song draws parallels between competing in the Games and the Christian walk. This is followed by 10 best-of tunes, ranging from the celebratory ("Life Together," "Good To Be Alive," and "A Friend Like U") to the contemplative and worshipful ("The Vow," "Listen To Our Hearts," "Simple Heart," and "Live To Tell"). Half of these tracks were penned by Moore with his longtime friend (and penultimate Christian music good boy), Steven Curtis Chapman-evidence to the fact that many more people than just these two men have benefited from their friendship.

Well, as most folks know, Chapman took on an edge with his new album, stating that he tried to avoid anything that was too familiar while writing it. With the last track of disc one, it would seem that Moore has taken on a similar train of thought. Possibly in an effort to keep smug album reviewers from pigeon-holing his music, he takes a sharp turn with the other new song of this project, "Today," a warning against procrastination. Musically, this is a driving-as in nails, not cars-grungy, modern rock song that still has me a bit stunned after hearing it a dozen times. (For those familiar with John Schlitt's recent re-invention with his latest release, "Today" would have fit comfortably on that album and would have been one of the harder rocking tunes on the disc.) If this is a sneak preview of what's to come from Moore and friends, they will most likely turn more than a few heads with their next album.

Disc two of this project features 9 songs from a 1996 concert in Rome, Georgia. It's mostly a high-energy good time, slowing temporarily for the fourth cut, "Best Days" (the only song from an acoustic mini-set to make the disc), before steadily re-building the energy through four more tunes, wrapping with the climactic "Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music?" This is followed with some words of encouragement and admonition from Moore and the introspective closing song, "When All Is Said And Done."

Greatest Hits is an excellent introduction to (or recollection of) the music of Geoff Moore and the Distance, displaying their gift for creating uplifting pop/rock and the energy with which they deliver it both in the studio and-even moreso-on stage. With the added bonus of the surprising "Today," this project deserves serious consideration by present (and perhaps future) fans of this talented band.