With the release of Step Up to the Microphone, Newsboys have moved from one end of the production spectrum to the other. After being ridiculed time and again by those in the music biz for using too many tracks on albums and in concerts, Take Me to Your Leader listed a disclaimer in the credits that stated, "For those who are interested, this album contains no sequencing or loops." When first listening to SUTTM, one may wonder if any live instruments were used in the making of the record (okay - a slight exaggeration). But some of us don't care. If it rocks, who cares? The ultra-catchy title track, complete with programmed horn section, is sure to be an album favorite for many. Lead Newsboy, Peter Furler, comments, "Step Up to the Microphone obviously means make your statement, but to me, it also means what are you going to say when you get there?" Furler answers his own question in the song's chorus, "I say hey man!/ there's only one way!/ One God, one body, one faith alone."
'Tuning In,' one of only two songs co-written by long-time Newsboys collaborator, Steve Taylor, features trumpets from Shaded Red's, Jonathan Roberts (the one badly injured in the car-wreck last winter). Some may be quite surprised at the dance-sound of 'Hallelujah.' With grooving tracks, the 'boys sing about a girl who, "Sings hallelujah/ When all has become nothing."
While some may not enjoy the new, slightly altered sound of the Newsboys, most modern rock/pop lovers will find it very enjoyable. Step Up to the Microphone may turn out to be an industry no-no, but if fans like it then who cares?
Other coverage for this album
HM Magazine #73Reviewed by Brian Vincent McGovernYeah, they may be the darlings of youth pastors everywhere, but unlike many such bands in the industry, that doesn't mean the music is sub par. This record has a bite that just a few of the band's previous records have had, while maintaining the band's penchant for quality songwriting. Steve Taylor did not produce this project, but rather, vocalist/songwriter/former drummer Peter Furler did, and…7ball #19Reviewed by Chris WellAlthough youth groups nationwide have regularly mistaken Newsboys for an "alternative" band--must be the accents--the band has usually been sneered at by true modern rock fans for their reliance on flash and smoke; their best moments were chalked up to the influence of mentor and producer Steve Taylor. With the bold and refreshing Step Up to the Microphone, Peter Furler and the band seem to have…The Phantom Tollbooth 1998Reviewed by Linda T. StonehockerThis is not your youth group leader's Newsboys. The loss of their lead singer John James was guaranteed to change their sound as he was the one constant in their progression from bubble gum pop dance to the delicious romps of later projects. Compounding the loss was the decision to self-produce which meant foregoing Steve Taylor's considerable contributions to their last three acclaimed albums.…The Phantom Tollbooth 1998Reviewed by James StewartStep Up to the Microphone is indeed an apt title here, as founder/member and frontman John James has now left the Newsboys for the familiar pastures of his homeland Australia and a career as a speaker/writer. His place has been filled by the other founder-member, Peter Furler, who has left his drum kit behind to come out front. This is a hotly anticipated album, the follow-up to the huge-selling…Similar sounding releases
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