Sorry about last week, I was just takin' it easy and not doing much.
There's basically nothing going on in Christian Music these days
(except for MusicForce.com's merge with ChristianBook.com, but we'll
talk about that later), so we have been having a hard time coming up
with new content for this e-zine. But, we dug this one up, even
though you have all your Christmas shopping done...

ESSENTIAL ENERGY CHRISTMAS - VARIOUS (2000)
by Josh M. Shepherd
Under normal conditions from a normal music company, free samplers
haven't deserved even a casual mention, merely a savvy marketing ploy
to increase awareness (and ultimately sales) of the 'next big
record.` Not this label. Since Jars Of Clay and subsequent multi-
platinum sales, Essential Records has blown the winds of change into
mainstream circles; they make no exception with these five songs,
woven in a checkered plaid of ancient and advanced melodies. Mac
Powell and the 3d guys ride in on a tidal wave called "O Come, O Come
Emmanuel," stretching their signature Atlanta sound through an
understated gospel choir and make-no-apologies rock guitar. This
projective single shows the art of making music both hook-laden and
unloosed from any "Christmasy" presumptions; Third Day plays so
confidently, you'd swear they wrote "O Come..." and somehow it got
picked up by those other holidays crooners decades earlier.
FFH's "The First Noel" treats the carol respectfully, adding only a
faint beat and a "Sing noel ~ Sing noel" background harmony. Stout
guitar mixing, unencumbered percussion, and very healthy volume for
Josh Moore's accordion reveal again what we all love about Caedmon's
Call, even as their ability is set on worship in "What Child is
This?" 'Tis a bit old after four years, but surely no one has caught
all the overlay, processing, and mixing subtlety of "Little Drummer
Boy" by Jars of Clay, even after the first dozen or so listens. That
recording may never get old, while the EP's closing song is a good
example of one that will never be new. Sub-par pop music gets it's
latest addition with V*enna, presenting a syrupy, waning mix of the
usually-enjoyable carol "O Come All Ye Faithful." Notwithstanding,
Essential Energy Christmas brings relevance to the often elusive, old-
fashioned holiday spirit; the only problem evident is that no plans
exist for a full-length seasonal outing from these artists...yet.

This album can be found for free from almost any store, because it's
after Christmas and they're trying to get rid of their extra
copies! :-)

If you didn't get enough seasonal music or the best of last year for
Christmas, do something with that cash you got for Christmas:
http://cMusicWeb.com/features/christmas


AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER (on cMusicWeb.com)

POP: http://cMusicWeb.com/pop
Transparent - LaRue [01/23]

Click on the album titles on the genre page to order them and recieve
them on the release date.


CHRISTIAN HIT RADIO YEAR 2000 CHARTS
> The year 2000 finds teen pop abounding, but the only
> artist with two tracks in the top 10 is Jennifer Knapp.

1. DON'T LOOK AT ME - STACIE ORRICO
Getting the earliest start of the teen pop artists, Stacie
got the most airplay by diverting her looks towards God.

2. WRITTEN ON MY HEART - PLUSONE
The only major Christian boy band right now, PlusOne delivers
a true love song focused to God with harmonies and big beats.

3. A LITTLE MORE - JENNIFER KNAPP
The only major single that came in at the start of the year,
this masterpiece rode high on the charts for the first quarter.

4. COLLIDE - JARS OF CLAY
These boys found their great new sound with If I Left the Zoo,
and this track, one of the best on their CD, was fourth this year.

5. YOUR LOVE, OH LORD - THIRD DAY
Third Day introduced this live version to support their new worship
release, Offerings, which is their best selling album to date.

6. BEAUTIFUL SOUND - NEWSBOYS
These Australian outcasts found new fans in reinventing their
sound in favor of the untapped, nonexistent Christian disco market.

7. LIVE FOR YOU - RACHEL LAMPA
Although more of a Jaci sound than a Britney sound, this teen pop
artist was introduced a bit late to get very high onto the charts.

8. MY REFUGE - SONICFLOOD
Despite band member problems all year, this remix of an original
album track was almost as well-accepted as "I Want To Know You".

9. DON'T WORRY - REBECCA ST. JAMES
The queen of teen pop did not get high on the charts this year due
to the release of the single in the last quarter, but was
definitely played, staying at number one for almost two months.

10. INTO YOU - JENNIFER KNAPP
Pushing the volume up a couple notches from her more popular
single, Jennifer shows that she can really rock (and get people
to listen).

SOURCE: CCM Update (http://www.ccmupdate.com/)


cMUSICWEB UPDATES
• New Artist Page - Brave Saint Saturn:
http://cMusicWeb.com/alternative/bravesaintsaturn
• New Series Page - Ardent Worship:
http://cMusicWeb.com/worship/ardentworship
• New Review - Surrender by Vineyard UK:
http://cMusicWeb.com/worship/vineyarduk/reviews.shtml
• Updated Look - wOw Series:
http://cMusicWeb.com/pop/wow
• Updated Look - Burlap to Cashmere:
http://cMusicWeb.com/alternative/burlaptocashmere


MERGER OF MUSICFORCE.COM AND CHRISTIANBOOK.COM
As you, the viewers and customers of cMusicWeb.com, we'd like your
feedback on the MusicForce.com crisis. As many of you know, the
MusicForce.com site was starting to wear off its welcome in the last
six months, and after threats of being shut down, it was sold to
ChristianBook.com. We, at this point, are no longer supporting
either MusicForce.com or ChristianBook.com at this time, and are
looking for a new, quality affiliate to serve you better. If you
have any suggestions or comments on this, we'd like to hear from
you. Please send them directly to webmaster@... and we'll
consider them highly in our analysis of what to do at this point. We
may return to full support of the forementioned site in times to
come, but right now it is not a feasible option.


Thanks for all the feedback we get on the site, but we still need
more! On another note, we have two videos to give away on here, one
from the Creation Festival and another on the Ardent Worship series.
So make sure you don't unsubscribe and you keep reading!

Dan Ficker
http://cMusicWeb.com/
a different approach to music
ICQ - 43224317 AOL IM - dMusicWeb