One of Christian music's biggest bands just released a big disappointment. Newsboys--the Australian rockers who have made themselves known throughout both Christian and mainstream music with their rock/dance style of music--released a greatest hits album. The album contains some of their most popular songs such as 'Shine,' 'Entertaining Angels,' and 'Step up to the Microphone,' along with some new tracks that are only available on this album. This means all the Newsboys fans who already have their albums are going to have doubles after buying this album to hear the new songs, which includes a remix of one of my favorite Newsboys songs.
The album does an okay job on selecting the "greatest" hits, but I think it misses a few. For those of you who were into the Hell Is For Wimps Newsboys, they are long gone with a totally new sound and practically no songs from that time period are included on this disc. To those who were excited to hear their last album Love Liberty Disco, that is also missing from their greatest hits. This album is basically a mix of three albums, Take Me To Your Leader, Step Up To The Microphone, and Going Public, with a few new or old songs inserted here or there.
The new tracks are quite entertaining when you get to them. The remix of 'God is not a Secret' with guest, Toby Mac from dc Talk, is a nice change from the pop sound we are used to hearing from Newsboys. The other new songs fall in line with the innovative style of Newsboys, and lyrically continue to be some of the best in the Christian music business. The song 'Who?' is a song addressing the idea that Jesus changes to meet our needs, when really He is the same all of the time. The chorus reads, "I'm not following a God I can lead around, I can't tame this deity / That's why Jesus is the final answer, to who I want my God to be."
If you don't have any Newsboys albums and are looking to hear some of their better songs, this is a fine album, but for those of us who have been following the Oy boys for years, three new songs and two remixes is an underhanded way to get us to buy the album.
Other coverage for this album
The Rebel Base 2001Reviewed by Josh HurstWhile some people don't care for the Newsboys' CD's, just about everyone loves their hits. Therefore, this album is the perfect addition to anyone's collection. It's a very good showcase of the talent of the Newsboys, one of the most popular groups in Christian music. The selection of hits was based entirely upon radio popularity. Because of this, many fan favorites were not included, such as…The Phantom Tollbooth 2000Reviewed by Adam DuckworthAfter listening to Love, Liberty, Disco time and time again, I will admit something. I, one of the biggest Newsboys fans of all time, got tired of it pretty quick. The first week or so, I thought it was great, then some songs began to get on my nerves. Yeah, surprise surprise. You would have never figured that out if you read my review. When Shine, the Hits came out, I was having mixed feelings…Similar sounding releases
2001Mick JaggerGoddess in the Doorway
1994Audio AdrenalineDon't Censor Me
1999Collective SoulDosage
1998Considering LilyThe Pieces Fit
1997Natalie ImbrugliaLeft of the Middle
2005MobyHotelMore from Newsboys
2002Remixed
1994Going Public
2000Live One Night in Pennsylvania (video)
1998Step Up to the Microphone
2002Thrive
1996Take Me To Your Leader
