|
1. I Am New
2. Lost At Sea
3. Fence Riders
4. Dearly Loved
5. For Freedom
6. Speak
7. You Make Me Sing
8. Wake Up
2. Lost At Sea
3. Fence Riders
4. Dearly Loved
5. For Freedom
6. Speak
7. You Make Me Sing
8. Wake Up
Speak
[Release Date: August 15, 2006] (Inpop Records)
Track Listing:
Track Listing:
9. Regardless
10. Stand On Grace
11. The Gospel
12. Benediction
10. Stand On Grace
11. The Gospel
12. Benediction
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
10.0 out of 10
Message
Music
Production
Creativity
Overall Score
| 100% A+ |
You know when I first heard the debut album Speak from Jimmy Needham it was nearly
a year and a half after its initial release. It had sat in my office for months and I just
overlooked it. Then I started hearing two of his singles on the radio. “That was Jimmy
Needham with…” So I was thinking, Jimmy Needham? These two radio songs were
amazing. So I dug through what seemed like an endless stack of pre-release CDs that
had started to collect dust on my shelf. Jimmy Needham. Speak. After listening
through I was thinking to myself, “How in the world did I overlook this album? I must
be crazy!”
So I sat down and started listening. I was blown away! I think that was probably one
of the most productive hours I had spent listening to music since I reviewed John Waller’
s debut, The Blessing. The album was not only great and fresh musically, but it
ministered to me immensely. Jimmy’s vocal style reminded me a lot of Stevie Wonder.
I used to love listening to Stevie Wonder growing up in the 80’s. Kind of a flashback for
me. :-)
The album starts out with the harmonica-led bluesy song, “I Am New”. The song in
which Jimmy says he wrote during a class (guess it was a pretty boring class!) one
semester in college. The message of the song comes from 2 Corinthians 5:17 which
says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed
away; behold all things are become new.” In essence, once we give our lives to Christ,
we are new creations which means we need to go out and live the life, witness to people,
help build the Kingdom. Alive, no longer dead.
After the blues-guitar laden song, “Lost At Sea” comes probably one of the most bold
and commanding songs that I have heard in years. Needham accomplishes this status
with his tremendously bold song, “Fence Riders”. Man and I thought Todd Agnew was
the only one that could write a song bold enough (see “My Jesus”) that could stir up
enough thought to get a back-sliden believer to turn around and take action! Jimmy sits
next to Todd in class now! The song is a direct reference to Revelation 3:16. Jimmy
mentions that after meeting an old friend, who curses and talks vulgar, still finds a need
to wear a cross around his next and play the Christian. I have seen so many of ‘these’
types of Christians and to tell you the truth, it makes me sick! I think the chorus of the
song says it all. “Can I sing about my Maker and have you not roll your eyes? / Can I
weep about my Savior and the way He died? / I know it don’t make sense to those who
ride the fence / But I’m sold out to Christ”. Wow! Note to reader: If you have given
your life to Christ and call yourself a Christian, then make sure you act like one. Don’t
sit on the fence and ‘stay in the middle’. Jesus didn’t call us to ‘sit on the fence’. We’
re to take our faith to the streets and when needed, defend it, no matter what people
would think of you. Their loss, not yours.
Wow, that only took up a paragraph! But hey, when a song speaks, it speaks! You
know? The very next song, “Dearly Loved” is a perfect example of Needham’s humble
and creative writing. “Dearly Loved” should serve as a reminder of God’s love toward
us in “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) I like the one verse
halfway through the song which says, “To the slaughter you are being led / Being told
that it’s a party / That this God is in your head / And every single lie / Sounds just like
the greatest truth / But the one truth you’re not hearing / Is that He died for you.” I have
truly had people tell me that God is just a part of my imagination. I pray for people who
have this mentality, for “the fool hath said in his heart there is no God” (Psalm 53:1) Is
this enough to convince you that God is real? And that Christ loved us dearly? Dearly
enough to take our sins upon His body so that we may have Salvation and gap the space
between us and God? Yes indeed.
The title track, “Speak” is a slowed down acoustic song full of true meaning (especially
in this day and time) that we as Christians need to stand up and speak up. Let the lost
know of the destruction that lay ahead of them. How will they know the truth unless we
tell them? We’re called the “light of the world”, (Matthew 5:14). “Cause I’m getting
sick and I’m getting tired / Of not even hearing us preach to the choir” Basic
instructions. Open your mouth and speak. Any questions?
“Wake Up”. Not much there to think about as the title speaks for itself. “The eyes of
the Lord search to and fro / For one who will serve Him.” The Lord loved us so much
that He sent His only begotten to die for our sin, (John 3:16), why not return the favor
by living our lives for Him? Why not show Him the attention and affection He deserves?
Open your eyes and wake up. I really liked the simple but effective rock guitars on this
track. The music fits the song well.
The message of “Regardless” fits very well into a message that I wrote and preached to
our youth group at church one night. Not giving into pressure and serving God no
matter what. Jimmy goes onto explain the background of this song, “This is a song of
stories. The first verse is about Job, and the second verse is the story of Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego. Both stories are biblical accounts of men who, regardless of
circumstances and persecutions, chose the glory of the LORD over submitting to
blasphemy or idolatry.” The bluesy-rock guitars of this track are very catchy, carrying
the message with exciting pace.
Slow it down a bit in the tenth track, “Standing on Grace”. The message is very simple,
but its worship-style words speak to the heart. All we truly need is Jesus. Amen? More
then the air we breathe, more then anything. It’s that Grace that saved us. It’s that
grace that opened our eyes when we were blind. It’s that Grace the gives us a future
with hope.
During a season of guilt and discouragement, when all I felt was condemnation, the
LORD gave me this song. I based it off of a Martin Luther quote: “The Gospel is a fresh,
mild and cool air in the extreme heat of summer; that is, a solace and comfort in the
anguish of the conscience.” Says Needham of the song, “The Gospel”. Musically I liked
this track very much. The message was something I needed desperately to hear. It
made me really sit back and re-analyze the Gospels again and the Bible for that matter.
All the sacrifices made in its pages from Genesis to Revelation, it’s a book like no other.
Magnificent. Beautiful. Important. A line from the verse that stuck out to me says,
“May the Gospel of Jesus, Wash over me”. Yes, yes… yes.
The album ends on a somewhat unfamiliar note. Not a song, but a spoken poem called
“Benediction”. It’s hard to describe, so it’s best to listen to it. Very intriguing.
Unfortunate but hauntingly true.
I was really impressed with not only Jimmy’s musical and vocal talents found
throughout the album, but his incredible and thought-provoking song writing. You
wouldn’t imagine too many twenty-one year olds would have been gifted with this kind
of writing ability, but I believe the Lord has really blessed Jimmy and he uses it to speak,
to tell the story, to let God’s people know, that we need to do more. We need to live our
lives right. Talk the talk, but walk the walk. The album’s title Speak, really fits well
with the message throughout the album. I loved it!
Closing Thoughts:
There is not too many albums out there that have provoked so much thought within
myself, asking me questions, teaching me, letting me know that no matter what I think I
have done in my walk, it’s still not good enough. The word ‘Christian’ means Christ-
like. To strive to be like Christ. While I will never be like Jesus, the message of this
album inspires me to never quit trying! It ministered to me, reminding me that though I
will never be as great as my Savior, He still gave His life for me. The least I can do is
return the favor and dedicate my every moment for His honor and for His glory.
If you are looking for an album with some new, fresh and catchy music. This is a good
one to pick up. If you are looking for something that will not only minister to you, but
an album that’s message will encourage you, then this one is definitely one you will want
to go out and get. Be sure to keep an eye out for Jimmy’s sophomore album, Not
Without Love, available in stores August 19th!
a year and a half after its initial release. It had sat in my office for months and I just
overlooked it. Then I started hearing two of his singles on the radio. “That was Jimmy
Needham with…” So I was thinking, Jimmy Needham? These two radio songs were
amazing. So I dug through what seemed like an endless stack of pre-release CDs that
had started to collect dust on my shelf. Jimmy Needham. Speak. After listening
through I was thinking to myself, “How in the world did I overlook this album? I must
be crazy!”
So I sat down and started listening. I was blown away! I think that was probably one
of the most productive hours I had spent listening to music since I reviewed John Waller’
s debut, The Blessing. The album was not only great and fresh musically, but it
ministered to me immensely. Jimmy’s vocal style reminded me a lot of Stevie Wonder.
I used to love listening to Stevie Wonder growing up in the 80’s. Kind of a flashback for
me. :-)
The album starts out with the harmonica-led bluesy song, “I Am New”. The song in
which Jimmy says he wrote during a class (guess it was a pretty boring class!) one
semester in college. The message of the song comes from 2 Corinthians 5:17 which
says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed
away; behold all things are become new.” In essence, once we give our lives to Christ,
we are new creations which means we need to go out and live the life, witness to people,
help build the Kingdom. Alive, no longer dead.
After the blues-guitar laden song, “Lost At Sea” comes probably one of the most bold
and commanding songs that I have heard in years. Needham accomplishes this status
with his tremendously bold song, “Fence Riders”. Man and I thought Todd Agnew was
the only one that could write a song bold enough (see “My Jesus”) that could stir up
enough thought to get a back-sliden believer to turn around and take action! Jimmy sits
next to Todd in class now! The song is a direct reference to Revelation 3:16. Jimmy
mentions that after meeting an old friend, who curses and talks vulgar, still finds a need
to wear a cross around his next and play the Christian. I have seen so many of ‘these’
types of Christians and to tell you the truth, it makes me sick! I think the chorus of the
song says it all. “Can I sing about my Maker and have you not roll your eyes? / Can I
weep about my Savior and the way He died? / I know it don’t make sense to those who
ride the fence / But I’m sold out to Christ”. Wow! Note to reader: If you have given
your life to Christ and call yourself a Christian, then make sure you act like one. Don’t
sit on the fence and ‘stay in the middle’. Jesus didn’t call us to ‘sit on the fence’. We’
re to take our faith to the streets and when needed, defend it, no matter what people
would think of you. Their loss, not yours.
Wow, that only took up a paragraph! But hey, when a song speaks, it speaks! You
know? The very next song, “Dearly Loved” is a perfect example of Needham’s humble
and creative writing. “Dearly Loved” should serve as a reminder of God’s love toward
us in “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) I like the one verse
halfway through the song which says, “To the slaughter you are being led / Being told
that it’s a party / That this God is in your head / And every single lie / Sounds just like
the greatest truth / But the one truth you’re not hearing / Is that He died for you.” I have
truly had people tell me that God is just a part of my imagination. I pray for people who
have this mentality, for “the fool hath said in his heart there is no God” (Psalm 53:1) Is
this enough to convince you that God is real? And that Christ loved us dearly? Dearly
enough to take our sins upon His body so that we may have Salvation and gap the space
between us and God? Yes indeed.
The title track, “Speak” is a slowed down acoustic song full of true meaning (especially
in this day and time) that we as Christians need to stand up and speak up. Let the lost
know of the destruction that lay ahead of them. How will they know the truth unless we
tell them? We’re called the “light of the world”, (Matthew 5:14). “Cause I’m getting
sick and I’m getting tired / Of not even hearing us preach to the choir” Basic
instructions. Open your mouth and speak. Any questions?
“Wake Up”. Not much there to think about as the title speaks for itself. “The eyes of
the Lord search to and fro / For one who will serve Him.” The Lord loved us so much
that He sent His only begotten to die for our sin, (John 3:16), why not return the favor
by living our lives for Him? Why not show Him the attention and affection He deserves?
Open your eyes and wake up. I really liked the simple but effective rock guitars on this
track. The music fits the song well.
The message of “Regardless” fits very well into a message that I wrote and preached to
our youth group at church one night. Not giving into pressure and serving God no
matter what. Jimmy goes onto explain the background of this song, “This is a song of
stories. The first verse is about Job, and the second verse is the story of Shadrach,
Meshach and Abednego. Both stories are biblical accounts of men who, regardless of
circumstances and persecutions, chose the glory of the LORD over submitting to
blasphemy or idolatry.” The bluesy-rock guitars of this track are very catchy, carrying
the message with exciting pace.
Slow it down a bit in the tenth track, “Standing on Grace”. The message is very simple,
but its worship-style words speak to the heart. All we truly need is Jesus. Amen? More
then the air we breathe, more then anything. It’s that Grace that saved us. It’s that
grace that opened our eyes when we were blind. It’s that Grace the gives us a future
with hope.
During a season of guilt and discouragement, when all I felt was condemnation, the
LORD gave me this song. I based it off of a Martin Luther quote: “The Gospel is a fresh,
mild and cool air in the extreme heat of summer; that is, a solace and comfort in the
anguish of the conscience.” Says Needham of the song, “The Gospel”. Musically I liked
this track very much. The message was something I needed desperately to hear. It
made me really sit back and re-analyze the Gospels again and the Bible for that matter.
All the sacrifices made in its pages from Genesis to Revelation, it’s a book like no other.
Magnificent. Beautiful. Important. A line from the verse that stuck out to me says,
“May the Gospel of Jesus, Wash over me”. Yes, yes… yes.
The album ends on a somewhat unfamiliar note. Not a song, but a spoken poem called
“Benediction”. It’s hard to describe, so it’s best to listen to it. Very intriguing.
Unfortunate but hauntingly true.
I was really impressed with not only Jimmy’s musical and vocal talents found
throughout the album, but his incredible and thought-provoking song writing. You
wouldn’t imagine too many twenty-one year olds would have been gifted with this kind
of writing ability, but I believe the Lord has really blessed Jimmy and he uses it to speak,
to tell the story, to let God’s people know, that we need to do more. We need to live our
lives right. Talk the talk, but walk the walk. The album’s title Speak, really fits well
with the message throughout the album. I loved it!
Closing Thoughts:
There is not too many albums out there that have provoked so much thought within
myself, asking me questions, teaching me, letting me know that no matter what I think I
have done in my walk, it’s still not good enough. The word ‘Christian’ means Christ-
like. To strive to be like Christ. While I will never be like Jesus, the message of this
album inspires me to never quit trying! It ministered to me, reminding me that though I
will never be as great as my Savior, He still gave His life for me. The least I can do is
return the favor and dedicate my every moment for His honor and for His glory.
If you are looking for an album with some new, fresh and catchy music. This is a good
one to pick up. If you are looking for something that will not only minister to you, but
an album that’s message will encourage you, then this one is definitely one you will want
to go out and get. Be sure to keep an eye out for Jimmy’s sophomore album, Not
Without Love, available in stores August 19th!
Review Written By: Jay Heilman [jay.heilman@christianmusicreview.org] Date Written: April 21, 2008
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