Acoustic Universe
CHALLENGE
ALV Music
P.O. Box 36755
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Marketed by Splash International Records
http://home.earthlink.net/~challenge
This group is mainly a duo, Allison Lindsay who is the main vocalist, and Arno Verstappen who is the main guitar player. He is originally from Holland, now in L.A., and she from California. They use an approach that takes them to basics. The focus here is the song, with good vocals and strong acoustic guitar.
Opening with "Words" her voice delivers soulful and rounded sounds. These lyrics tell of the power of words. The backing/studio band features some top players. They add solid support throughout. "Angels Scared To Fly" has a neat funky organ and Lindsay's singing here is bright and full and deep. Impressive! The song by Arno V. offers interesting lyrics. He wrote most of the songs with the exception of three co-written with Lindsay. I really liked this cut.
"Finding My Way" has a nice sense to it, a good rhythm. Here her voice and the acoustic are featured. The singing has a gutsy feel to it. A well produced song. Then comes "It's My Life" and we get a great track. Here her vocals are tough, gutsy and bluesy. The guitar lays down a good foundation. Smart acoustic playing. The track talks about not getting molded into the system, which cares nothing about our dreams.
Next comes a tune called "When Love Finds A Fool." The song has a funky acoustic aura to it. Then with Lindsay's emotive vocals we get one of the better cuts on the CD. The lyrics are intelligent and offer food for thought. A strong effort. We slow down a bit on "Wake Into Daylight" which is about living in dangerous Los Angeles where you have to be street wise and alert. A good song with lyrics that most Los Angelenos will relate to.
"How Does It Feel" is about the tables being turned in a relationship. This time the man is hurting and begging, a role reversal from before. A sort of poetic justice. The singing is the main feature with the nice acoustic as main support. The guitar delivers some very nice notes adding a different sense to the tune. The eighth track is "The Voice of Freedom" and it is a song I can relate to. They say it is one of the more autobiographical songs on the CD, but anyone caught up in debt, credit card problems, and the 9-to-5-just-to-survive will relate to this. The voice of freedom urges us to break free. A nice selection. Clear, clean singing and playing add much to this number. A real winner.
I really liked the feel of "I'll Fight For You" which started with a tinge of maybe reggae or calypso. I thought of STING [musically] a little. The organ is great here. With the guitar and fine vocal and you have a great cut. They sounded just little like QUARTERFLASH [or The MOTELS]. Her singing here is hot. [some might think of the band called HEART] This song deserves airplay! The album closes with "Don't Look Back" a sad song of heartbreak. They chose a great song to close with. This number is a very impressive work. This is a fine package-her emotional singing, the good lyrics, and solid playing. Another great song. I liked the Spanish-styled notes from the acoustic. This song has many influences yet everything works.
This is a solid CD from a group with much potential. The music is great melodic rock, with a fine unplugged guitar underpinning, setting a foundation for a hot emotive voice. They don't copy anyone because I can't think of any group, either in the secular or Christian field, that sound like this. CHALLENGE has a unique music. I recommend you check them out.