from: CrossRhythms, Issue 79
         [March/April 2004]
author: Dustin Helgeson (UK)
website: http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/magazine/

»» NEWSBOYS

Open Mic Karaoke: Newsboys - Volume One

Sparrow TKD82352 Album Book (EMI Christian Music Group)

Ah…karaoke. It’s fun isn’t it? The Open Mic Karaoke series gives us another reason to sing with a collection of four of the Newsboys’ most popular sing-along songs. While most of the Newsboys choruses are quite easy, only hardcore fans of the band will be able to belt out most of the verse lyrics. The tongue-in-cheek approach to verses on “Breakfast” and “Shine” will make it difficult to remember 10 years down the road. As I mentioned before, the choruses are mostly fine, with memorable melodies that are easy to remember. Essentially, the original tracks from the artist on ‘Newsboys Vol 1’ are a waste of disc space designed to up the price of the collection. With this series, they ought to at least give us our money’s worth with a disc packed with contemporary Christian classics. The real test of this ‘Open Mic Karaoke’ series is whether anyone will be singing these songs somewhere down the road, because we all know that the best karaoke is aged, tried and tested. It’s all good fun, but perhaps they’re getting a bit ahead of themselves with this karaoke thing.

reviewer's rating: 5/10 ["fair"]

--Dustin Helgeson ««