Over the years Emu Music has developed and quickly grown as one of the largest producers of Evangelical music in Australia. Having purchased the last four Emu produced CD’s, it’s time to have a look at why their music has become popular not only in YF, but also within Evangelical Churches in Australia.
You Alone – Emu Live was released in Early 2002. What sets this CD apart is of course the live nature of the recordings – no studio editing here! It starts off well with a triumphant version of ‘Behold The Lamb Of God’, which also includes a very cool Bass guitar solo. There is no doubting that behind each song are lyrics to shape and move the heart. However, whilst being a very good CD lyrically, the music does pale a little in the light of live efforts from the likes of Hillsong.
With a CD like this resetting the bar for Evangelical Music, you’d expect bigger things from the next CD.
However, when We Are His People (WAHP) landed on the scene, you couldn’t help thinking that maybe, just maybe, they had taken half a step back in their creativity and musicianship. Yes, WAHP sounds better than the previous two studio albums (No Other Name and Resurrection), but it could have been so much better. To be honest, WAHP suffers primarily in the lack of conviction. The vocals sound nice, but feel constrained and conservative.
That said the CD continues to produce easily transferable congregation music.
At the The Word In Song Together (TWIST) 2005 conference ‘See Him Coming – Emu Live 2’ (SHC) was recorded. The first thing you notice about this CD is the lack of the ‘Live’ feel – whereas You Alone had a congregation singing in the background and people clapping along, SHC feels a lot more quieter in that respect. Making it almost redundant that the CD was recorded ‘live’.
Instruments making some odd appearances on this CD include the saxophone, clarinet and flute. Whilst the saxophone introductions to ‘Jesus Is Our Song’ and ‘Christ Alone’ give the songs lift and an upbeat feel, it also sounds a bit 80’s-ish! An understated Clarinet in ‘How Can This Be’ is not too noticeable, however the flute introduction in ‘Live For The Kingdom’ definitely sounds out of place in a modern live ‘worship’ CD. It almost sounds like Emu have taken a step back in musicianship!
However, taking the CD two steps forward are Coldplay-esque ‘Hallelujah To The King Of Kings’, a more upbeat/uptempo version of ‘See Him Coming’, and the beautifully understated solo piano of ‘Holy’ and ‘Nothing Can I Boast In’ (which play as a medley and also include, thankfully, the sounds of the congregation singing along).
In all, SHC was another step forward in Emu’s production values, muscianship and vocals. There are still some kinks, but we’re getting there!
Which leads us finally to the recently released ‘Let All Creation Sing’ (LACS) CD.
LACS is a mix of both studio recordings and live recordings (some left over, although it seems better, music from the TWIST 2005 conference). The live songs, ‘Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus’ and ‘Never Alone’ are brilliant.
What is clear about this CD is that we are finally seeing Emu muscians step out of their comfort zones. Whilst not cutting edge music, the CD is full of really great tunes and simplier (though not diluted) lyrics. There are some really great songs on this CD, but again, there are some let downs – even though the muscians are stepping out, there is still some experimenting to go.
For instance, ‘Out Of My Distress’ (whilst great lyrically) sounds like a Rolling Stones song and ‘This Is The Victory’ definetly sounds like it came from two decades ago.
That said, LACS is by far the best CD Emu has produced of the last four. We can only wait with baited breath for the next CD to come – as there is definetly a great progression of music, lyrics and vocals. Who said that the charasmatics should have all the fun?!
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