Definitely Gullahorn’s best release yet, “Reinventing the Wheel” is available at the Jill & Andy Online Superstore.

(You can also check out the awesome “Reinventing the Wheel” commercial.)

• Derek’s The Ringing Bell at #11, making him four-for-four in getting his solo albums on their list.
• Jeremy’s Recovery at #4, which is too low, in my opinion, but I haven’t heard #3 or #1.
• Caedmon’s Call’s Overdressed at #2, which has Andy O and Derek involved in the whole music scene and Randall on the songwriting end.

I personally would have Recovery up there at the top, but that’s just because it’s such a breakthrough in sound for Jeremy, a truly unique work of art in a “Christian music marketplace” seemingly content in making homages to other folks. [Which isn't to say that such homages can't be a lot of fun, because The Ringing Bell certainly is. It deserves the lauding that Paste and others have given it.]

This time next year, I fully expect that we’ll be having much the same discussion, with two of the Andy’s with new projects due to release and rumblings that Osenga might put out one himself, a new record [and an EP of duets with Sandra!] coming from Derek, and what all else, I don’t know just yet. Should be music for your ears…

[Thanks to Jeremy for the tip.]

Kudos to our friends Andy and Derek!

Osenga has expertly produced for various artists like Chris Mason, Andrew Peterson, Eric Peters and others, yet he also saves some great work for his own. He also pulled in the talents of longtime friend and fellow former Normal, Cason Cooley, on production as well. The result is an album that is great from beginning to end.

Holdouts, we’re going to hammer you over the head with reviews until you buy the album.

Whether by design or serendipity, Songs One Through Six provide us with a concept project that is remarkably linear. The first three songs illustrate the evolution of a terrestrial relationship. Meanwhile, the second three songs describe similar steps in a relationship with God; early tentative overtures fraught with fear, the warm healing that love brings, and in the end–full submission–because there is no other choice.

You can pick up Songs One Through Six at Chris’ online store.

Speaking of brilliance, the up-tempo rocker “Santa Barbara” burns with Springsteen-like urgency, the B3 simmering beneath the tight groove of the rhythm section. Thundering guitars and hi-hats lay a rich bed for Osenga’s story of young love, with all the élan and power of Bruce at his best. We’ve never seen this side of Osenga before, but it’s as if he was born for it. The seething “Dance Away the City” may be one of the most romantic songs of the decade, deeply satisfying in its quiet groove.

I personally think that there are three ways to Andy O’s heart: the eyes and smiles of the women in his life, his stomach, and telling him that he’s evoking The Boss. When I first met Andy, he would not shut up about Springsteen. He even proposed to Alison with a Springsteen song. So telling Andy that he’s evoking a musical idol? Kevan Breitinger, you probably have a new best friend.

That said: if, for some reason, you haven’t bought this album … I don’t know what to tell you. Wait, I’m lying: check out the bootleg of the Mercy Lounge release show. It’s FREE, people. If you can read all these reviews and listen to that bootleg and still not want to buy the CD … well, there’s just no convincing you, and we’ll give up.

Front man Andrew Osenga carries [The Normals]‘s legacy, independently recording his solo debut Photographs in 2002 before stepping in as lead guitarist for Caedmon’s Call while also keeping busy with studio work and production. Now maybe it’s the kind of music he’s recently gravitated toward, or perhaps it’s due to the stripped down sound of Osenga’s 2004 EP Souvenirs & Postcards, but I half expected the same folk/country on his second album, co-produced with Normals keyboardist Cooley. Instead, The Morning could pass as the follow-up to The Normals’ final album, with production values that surpass most albums in Christian music today, and Osenga continuing to impress (even surprise) as a songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist.

Suffice it to say that Russ Breimeier likes The Morning. So do we.