Artist Info:Discography Album length: 15 tracks: 54 minutes, 30 seconds Street Date: February 8, 2005
After nearly a decade of brilliance in the Christian music industry, Chris Rice
has made an impact not only as a masterful musician, but also as a beautifully talented songwriter.
It's hard to say when Rice hit the "peak" of his career, because each of his albums has been unique,
and each has been just as good as the previous. In 2004, Rice released Short Term Memories,
a brilliant collection of his most popular songs as well as some new work.
Now, in 2005, Rice delivers Snapshots, an album with live songs as well as quite a few
different "fan favorites" from various compilations over the past several years. I've always been
wary of albums that throw a bunch of songs from different sources together onto one disc, because
they can feel too much like a homemade compilation and often come out unpolished.
The first six songs on the album are live, and four of them are from A Night In Rocketown,
released back in 1999. "Hallelujahs" is available on the Rocketown album with the same title, and
"Prone To Wander" is a previously unreleased version of the song from his debut album. Though it's
great to have these songs together, they're not enough to carry the album by themselves.
The second half of the disc is what really stands out, with some excellent songs like
"Nothin'," a soft and passionate ballad from the Exodus album, and "Me and Becky," a more
upbeat and energetic tune. The one thing that holds this album back is the fact that, really,
it's all been done before. There isn't anything new here, and while that isn't the goal of the
album, it certainly leaves the listener wanting more than what is presented.
Not a disappointment by any means, Snapshots is an assortment of some great songs,
both live and studio recorded. But with several of them having been released only two years ago,
it's somewhat difficult to consider them "fan favorites" already. Still, this release is a great
one for fans and is worth checking out.
- Review date: 1/30/05, written by Spencer Priest
Artist Info:Discography Record Label:Rocketown Records Album length: 15 tracks, 54 minutes and 30 seconds
Street Date: February 8, 2005
Deep Enough to Dream (live)
Sometimes Love (live)
Big Enough (live)
Hallelujahs (live)
Prone to Wander (live)
Cartoons (live)
Billy Joe McGuffrey (from Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie)
Calling Out Your Name (from Awesome God: A Tribute To Rich Mullins)
Artist Info: 
