Review

The label promo speaks of the unlikelihood of Idaho being anyone's idea of a rock 'n' roll breeding ground. It brings to mind the passage in the Bible where one wondered if anything good could come out of Nazareth! But, lo and behold, there is a compelling reason to thank Idaho for giving us Grand Prize. So, most likely you've never heard of these guys. I hadn't, either. While I listened to the album, I got to thinking about what the transformation must be like to go from church worship leaders to touring band and recording artists. I mean, how many of you reading this piece belongs to the first group (worship leaders)? And how many are in the second category? I'll bet the percentage of touring bands vs, church worship leaders is very small.

These guys do rock, though. I'm very impressed with their maturity in crafting songs. They have excellent dynamics and I enjoyed both their harder edged songs and their more contemplative efforts. Luke Caldwell's vocals are clear and I can understand what he's singing about (which is of tremendous value when the songs are meaningful!). I'm most taken by the guitar work of Steven Harder. He's clean, bright, not-too-busy and he pretty much makes every song into the classic that it is. This band is very basic, in that it has guitars, bass and drums. No horns, keys, loops, etc Out on the West Coast there is a fast food chain that sells cheeseburgers and fries Period But they're the best burgers in town. The point is, if you do what you do well, you don't need a lot of extras. And Grand Prize does it well.

The first track, "It's Not Over" will be a radio staple, as well as a concert stomper. Geared toward the back-sliding Christian, it's a great exhortation to buck up l'il camper, and let Jesus lead from the throne. "Break Me" echoes the Apostle Paul when he cries that he does what he doesn't want to do. So, right off the bat, we see that Grand Prize is acutely aware of the difficulty of walking with the Lord. This is probably a big reason for their popularity. It's refreshing to hear this kind of transparency mixed with straight talk about the way out. The best sermons always run along the lines of "You know that sin that you're doing? Stop it!" And that's what these songs give you.

The songs, all written by the band, are varied in their themes, but most of them are "to You, Lord" songs, as opposed to "about the Lord" songs. And that's the way it has to be. We can sing all we want about our troubles, but in the end, we come face to face with our wonderful Counselor, and He is worthy to be praised. "To See You", "You Are Wonderful", "King Of Kings", "I'm Waiting" all come from this perspective.

A couple of more songs that I particularly like are "Like I Never Did" and "Shepherd of My Soul". The former just hits me where I live, both lyrically and musically. One line goes "Every heart that seeks the wind will be left searching and wanting again, but every heart that seeks Your face will be gladdened by Your amazing grace I need you now like I never did". The latter's poetry is notable: "Is my life what You had in mind, I feel I'm falling behind. On the outside I look fine, but my heart is dark as wine. I look to You to pull me through the quicksand of my life".

For all these things; the excellent musical craftsmanship, the lyrical poignancy, the killer electric guitar, I recommend you check this band out. It's not quite the ground floor (although thousands of their fans will lay claim to that territory), it's just the beginning of a great ride with Grand Prize.

Review by John Ausmus