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Commercial :
 com-mer-cial /k m r[] l/ Pronunciation Key -   Pronunciation ; [kuh-mur-shuh [] l] – adjective
1.prepared, done, or acting with sole or chief emphasis on salability, profit, or success:
2.suitable or fit for a wide, popular market: 
see: newsboys

The new CD by newsboys (who have made things quite awkward for reviewers by dropping the ‘The’ from their name and sticking to all lower-case letters) is a rousing return to classic form after two ‘worship-oriented’ studio projects and one rock-worship compilation. It’s been almost five years (and two guitarists) since the boys have given us what they’ve built their reputation on: clever, up-beat, positive, hook-laden pop/rock music. On Go, newsboys manage to craft a work so confident and polished, so catchy and well-produced, featuring lyrics that are at the same time so humorous and so insightful, that only the most curmudgeonly critics will be able to find serious fault with it. If you’re looking for angst, doubt and soul-searching here, you’re barking up the wrong eucalyptus tree.

Go starts with a powerhouse of a pop song that will play on repeat-mode in your head all day if you let it. The reggae-tinged “Wherever We Go” is sure to annoy the more serious-minded out there, with its bouncy rhythms, relentless optimism and almost anime-like lyrics, which cover everything from smiling squirrels to mobs of zombies. Steve Taylor, who had a big hand once again in the writing of many of the album’s 11 tracks, could certainly test his directorial skills by producing a video for this song, with its many surreal images. Only Taylor could come up with lines such as, “Wherever we go, the dumb get wise / And the crime rates drop, and the markets rise / it’s a curious thing…,” or “Wherever we’re led, all the Living Dead / wanna leave their Zombie Mob / It’s a touching scene when they all come clean / God help us, we just love our job.” 

There’s obviously a lot of fun going on here, but that’s not to say that there isn’t some serious reality and insight thrown into the mix. Peter Furler’s  “Let It All Come Out” starts out with the sobering lines, “Who, who’s touched you child? / Now you can’t feel a thing, not anything / Who’s been the one telling you lies? / Now you’ll believe anything…” 

Hopefully, the band has now realized that there’s no need to separate (dare I say it?) Praise and Worship from rock and roll, and they prove it with “In Wonder,” by Furler, Taylor and Rick Knott, and “I Am Free,” written by Jon Egan and Furler; the latter being an anthemic, explosive celebration which, musically calls to mind both U2 and The Call, and has already become a concert favorite.

Certainly an album highlight, and somewhat of a stylistic departure for this band, is “Your Love Is Better Than Life,” which is a rapid-fire monologue (don’t call it a rap) delivered against a fast ska-like musical setting reminiscent of classic techno-band, After The Fire. A sampling of the lyrics is in order: 

I dunno what goes down the moment we die
Do we get halos and harps? Do we sleep? Do we fly?
I dunno how, when and why this world will finally end
Speculation’s gonna grow, who knows best, I dunno …
…I don’t know when it’s a ministry and when it’s a show
Maybe neither, maybe both, I dunno
But this one thing I know…. 

No one will ever accuse newsboys of being an ‘art rock’ band, or a band with the oft-hinted-at but rarely-defined ‘indy-sensibilities,’ but this is a band with obvious talent for creating powerful pop and rock music with catchy hooks and often memorable lyrics (thanks, in large part to the ‘sixth newsboy,’ Steve Taylor). The production on Go is first-rate, handled by Tedd T, who is also responsible for producing, among others, Rebecca St. James and Mute Math. Not a band for those who are looking for jamming and improvisation, newsboys do, however, provide solid musicianship from Furler on lead vocals and guitars, Phil Joel on vocals and bass, Jeff Frankenstein on keyboards, Duncan Phillips on drums (sounding quite powerful here), and new member, Paul Colman on guitar. This is a CD that offers much to think about, but also provides some good rockin’ fun – and we sure need some fun these days. Yes, “Secret Kingdom” even features some whistling! 

This here wants faithfulness, not easy fixes.
This here won’t shrink to fit no politics – yeah
This here knows whistles make for better mixes …

Chutzpah – [khoot-spuh]
Noun – slang
unmitigated effrontery 
2. audacity; nerve. 
Written with a small dose of chutzpah …

By Bert Saraco 
www.myspace.com/expressimage
expressimagephoto.tripod.com 

The newsboys have never been a band without elements of simple, heart-felt praise to their maker.  Some of their most sincere moments of contemplation and beauty are found in their most vertical songs, and all of them in their pre-worship album days - “The Tide,” “I Surrender All,” “Breathe,” “Thrive.”  It’s an important truth about the newsboys: they are plenty effective and powerful as a praise and worship band not just when they are riding on the popular worship bandwagon, but when they are simply being themselves.

Go is appropriately tagged as a return to the band’s true sound and style-­catchy, playful pop with picture-perfect production and overly-clever but occasionally poignant lyrics-­but it is also the most danceable and, considering their two previous strictly worship releases, understandably worship-oriented pop album to date.  Go seems to take the dancey-praise style found in particular tracks from Going Public and Love Liberty Disco and grafts it to an entire album of new material, creating a thumping, fast-paced listen that can be fun and enjoyable if not engaged too deeply with the senses. 

Yet as fun as the record can be, there is still something about Go that eventually doesn’t quite sit right.  It’s partially because of the lyrics ­ they’re some of the poorest the band has written yet.  Though assisted again by Steve Taylor, whose witty song writing in the past helped boost the newsboys to attain the popularity that they have in the Christian industry, almost every song starts with rhymes that are too easy and fall flat or lyrics that are too clever and silly for their own good.  There are still some good lines scattered in other places in the record ­ predominately in the great, spoken-word “Your Love is Better than Life” ­ but most songs, especially in the worship tracks, don’t quite succeed at capturing the same heart that some of their older, God-directed songs attained.  It might also be because this particular style of bouncy praise-pop just isn’t as complete or satisfying a style as the similar but more focused Going Public or the more creative and beautiful Love Liberty Disco; in fact, if I were to choose a single newsboys album that Go most reminded me of, it’d be their 2003 remix album!  Not a very good thing, as it means Go isn’t packing a required amount of inspiration to make it as lasting as their other pop albums. 

As a return to form, Go is still fairly loveable and welcome.  It’s got lots of energy and some pretty entertaining tunes, but while better than their previous two worship-only releases, Go may not last in your player as long as the band’s other work.  Still, how good in itself does it feel to say ­ the newsboys are back, and making true pop music again? Go is just enough to make me happy, and I’m a fan of their more serious work, to put that into perspective.  Fans will love this one I suspect, and rightly so.  Just be aware that the band has made better albums, and hope that there is still stronger material in the future that the newsboys will be capable of bringing us. 

Jonathan Avants 11/05/06

From the get-go, it's clear that Newsboys are all about being a Christian band.  In an era of of faith-based artists being more concerned with self-fulfilling spirituality or being gun-shy about even mentioning the name of Jesus, Newsboys' "mission" oriented lyrics are refreshingly focused "off" of themselves and "on" the Gospel.  While at times the band approaches the clever brilliance of classics like "Breakfast" or "Take Me To Your Leader," they also stumble over some clumsy, downright cheesy turns of phrase.   "Wherever We Go" is alternately great ("Wherever we're led/ All the Living Dead / Wanna leave their Zombie Mob / It's a touching scene when they all come clean / God help us, we just love our job") and then groan-inducing ("HANDS UP / HOLLER BACK HERE / LET'S THROW THIS PARTY IN GEAR / WE BROUGHT THE WELCOME MAT / WHEREVER WE GO, THAT'S WHERE THE PARTY'S AT").  I also find it derivative that Newsboys wrote a track about "the mission bell" so soon after Delirious? released an entire album with that name/concept.   On the other hand, the Boys earn high-fives for "Secret Kingdom.  Peter Furler sings "This here wants faithfulness, not easy fixes / This here won't shrink to fit no politics, yeah  / this here knows whistles make for better mixes."  Long time fans will no doubt stand up and cheer when that very line is followed up immediately by the band's signature whistling!

Musically, Go is notable for its reintroduction of two elements sorely lacking from Newsboys' worship discs:  fun and personality!  The guitars and drums are crisp, the bass lines bouncy, and Peter Furler delivers his vocals with a trademark "wink" that has been sorely missed.   The album draws from much of the band's previous output to create it's dancy alt/pop sound while adding a dash of rhythmic spice.  A rehash of the past?  Well, certainly "The Mission" evokes "Rescue" from "Thrive", and "Secret Kingdom" is a spiritual successor to the classic "Breakfast" -  but they're familiar, not redundant.    The two lead-off tracks ("Wherever I Go" and the title track) are flavored by reggae guitar and beats; "Something Beautiful" an inspiring, up-tempo disco-infused ballad.  The worship ballad "Let It All Come Out" opens with Beatles-esque piano and is one of the best cuts on the cd.  And as mentioned above, "Secret Kingdom" is in every way "vintage" Newsboys.

The stand-out track of the album?  Track seven: "Your Love Is Better Than Life."   Opening with rock guitar and filtered, watery vocals, the song immediately cuts into a back-beat driven spoken-word verse delivered by new member Paul Colman.  The lyrics are equally strong: "I dunno what goes down the moment we die / Do we get halos & harps? Do we sleep? Do we fly? / I dunno how, when and why this world will finally end / SpeculationÕs gonna grow, who knows best, I dunno."  "Your Love" is the penultimate track on the album where everything - lyrics, music, theme, delivery, creativity - comes together perfectly.  It's great to hear the Newsboys saying that "hey, we don't have all the answers.  We don't have to.  We're not perfect.   But we do know that God's love is real and awesome."  It's a message that is both encouraging and resonant.

Final thoughts:  Some eye-rolling lyrics aside, Newsboys have a winner on Go.  It's a reasonably ambitious album from a band that could have easily sat on its laurels and rehashed their best songs ad nauseam.  There is enough classic Newsboys charm (oh, the whistling!)  and new ideas to stand strong next to the best of the band's prior output.   Say what you will about the band, but there's only one Newsboys band in the world, once again doing what they do best:  Their own thing.  Recommended.

Ryan Ro / hollandrow.wordpress.com