On Ep 73 of the PostConsumer Reports Podcast we have Phil Joel, notably of the bands Newsboys, Zealand, and also a prolific solo music career, who has just released his first book Redwoods and Whales. You will need to read the book to discover Joel's inspirational meaning, but essentially it is much better if we end up like a redwood and not a whale (of the beached variety...). You can find links of where to buy the book at his website: http://www.philjoel.com/. While currently gearing up for another Zealand album, Joel is also in the midst of the successful Newsboys United "Greatness of Our God" tour, which finds him reuniting with Peter Furler, his former bandmates, and Michael Tait of DC Talk who has be leading the band for the past several years. In our conversation we discuss the tensions of songwriting in the Christian industry, what led him to write his book, and his reflections on the lates chapter of being a Newsboy.
Please check out these past PostConsumer articles on the Newsboys:
PostHumous Record Reviews: Newsboys' Love Liberty Disco
Record Review: Peter Furler Band's Sun and Shield
Peter Furler: His New Album and 15 Greatest Songs
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Related Podcast Episodes:
Ep 53: The Mosleys—Husband and Wife Duo
Ep 67: Singer-songwriter John Van Deusen
Ep 70: Glenn Kaiser
Last week I was able to interview Fernando Ortega for the PostConsumer Reports Podcast. This week I am featuring a review of his new album The Crucifixion of Jesus, which you can order at his website: www.fernandoortega.com. You can listen to our interview here:
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You can also stream/download the album on itunes, Amazon, or Spotify.
It's been six years since Fernando Ortega last released an album, and his new work The Crucifixion of Jesus finds him creating music in mainly the same vein as he has been for the past decade. And yet this new collection finds the New Mexican singer-songwriter beginning to paint on a much larger canvas. As we have come to expect from Ortega, this album features a gorgeous collection of hymn re-tunings and spiritual songs, but Ortega is now 60 and you can tell he feels mortality weighing on his bones.
Consider this my VH1 Storytellers episode for my new Christmas album The Hopes & Fears of All the Years, which you can purchase as a download here:
The Hopes & Fears of All the Years (it's a cheap affordable price, I promise).
For the past couple of weeks I've sharing daily stories on my Facebook page about a few of the songs. I've compiled them all together here, in case you wanted to listen to them in one big gulp while you listen to the song. On top of that, if you haven't gotten your fill of Christmas music and my thoughts on the album, you can listen to my podcast episode with commentary on the album.
Here now are the stories:
