Underdog | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 14, 1999 | |||
Recorded | 1999 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Christian rock | |||
Length | 42:56 | |||
Label | ForeFront | |||
Producer | Audio Adrenaline, Charlie Peacock, Todd Collins | |||
Audio Adrenaline chronology | ||||
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Underdog is the fifth full-length album released by Audio Adrenaline. The album's lyrics are a slight departure from Some Kind of Zombie , as they focus more on missions and the word of God being spread, as shown in "Hands and Feet" and "Jesus Movement"; a theme that would reappear in Worldwide . Other songs, such as "Get Down" and "Good Life", reflect on God's influence in a Christian life.
The album also contains a more upbeat rerecording of "DC-10" (which had originally appeared on the band's debut album), a cover of "Let My Love Open the Door" by Pete Townshend, and a recording of "It Is Well With My Soul", the only recording of a traditional worship song on any of the band's albums.
According to guitarist/songwriter Bob Herdman, the idea for the album was to "have more fun — not take this music so seriously — and just make songs that people like". The title of the album comes from the belief that Christians are usually seen as "underdogs" or "weak . . . but we're not. We're just the opposite. God's empowered us because we've become less for Him," says Herdman.
The album includes two unoriginal songs and a new version of a song previously recorded by the band. The song "Let My Love Open the Door" was written and recorded by Pete Townshend in 1980. The album also features the band's version of the popular hymn "It Is Well with My Soul", which features the guest vocals of Jennifer Knapp. The band also decided to record a new version of one of their first songs, "DC-10". The song, which was featured on the band's debut album, was a live staple of the band and is considered one of their most popular songs. According to Herdman, they "wanted to do something that kinda touched back with our roots, our very beginning. We were gonna do it like the Beastie Boys — more modern stuff … we were just goofin' around and the swing thing came around. Swing's such a big thing and we thought we would just make a joke of it. And do our song swing."[ citation needed ]
One of the songs, "The Houseplant Song", features guitarist/keyboardist Bob Herdman on the lead vocals. The lyrics were inspired by a story Herdman read on the Internet about the effects of music on plants. It features a number of pop culture references, including a line that says "the second one you play that Petra or that Megadeth", and the closing line which says "we listen to Audio Adrenaline, cranked to eleven", in reference to a line from the film This Is Spinal Tap . [1]
The album was recorded on several studios in Nashville, Tennessee: Tejas Studios, Dark Horse Studio, The Battery, 16 Ave Sound, and The House of Insomnia. Most of the recording was handled by Aaron Swihart at Tejas. However, recording at Dark Horse was handled by Shane D. Wilson and Richie Biggs, while recording at The House of Insomnia was handled by F. Reid Shippen and Todd Collins. Strings were also recorded by Swihart at Sound Stage Studio, in Nashville, and mixed at Castle Recordings.
Most of the mastering was done by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound Studio, while digital edition was done by Paul Angelli. Mixing was done at East Iris Studio, Castle Recording Studios, and Masterphonics in Nashville. Shippen, Collins, and David Leonard where in charge of mixing. [2]
Audio Adrenaline performed songs from Underdog during the Underdog Tour, [3] the Diverse City Worldwide Tour, [4] the Until My Heart Caves In Tour [5] and the Kings & Queens Tours. [6] [7]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
HM Magazine | (favorable) [9] |
Jesus Freak Hideout |
Underdog was generally well received by critics. Steve Huey, of AllMusic, gave the album 3 stars out of 5, writing that overall, the album would please especially fans of the band. However, he writes that "the funk riffs still sometimes feel grafted onto the songs, which are melodic AOR at heart, and there are a few musically awkward moments here and there". [11] John DiBiase, of Jesus Freak Hideout, gave the album 4.5 stars out of 5, and claimed it was the best album from the band since Don't Censor Me . He also wrote that Underdog surpasses "each album in talent, song craftmanship, tightness, bold message, and overall greatness." [12]
Both "Get Down" and "Hands and Feet" were later featured in WOW 2000 and WOW Hits 2001 respectively, which features chart-topping and/or critically acclaimed Christian songs. Also, "Mighty Good Leader" was sampled by rapper Aceyalone for his song "Superstar", which was featured heavily in the 2004 video game ESPN NFL 2K5.
Underdog peaked at No. 76 on Billboard 200. [13]
Music videos were made for the songs "Get Down" and "Hands and Feet". [14] [15] The video for "Hands and Feet" was recorded in the Darién Jungle in Panama with some local native tribes. [1]
All tracks are written by Mark Stuart, Bob Herdman, Will McGinniss and Tyler Burkum, except where noted..
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Mighty Good Leader [a] [b] " | Mark Stuart, Bob Herdman, Will McGinniss, Tyler Burkum, Ben Cissell | 3:15 |
2. | "Underdog [a] " | 3:30 | |
3. | "Get Down [a] [b] " | Stuart, Herdman, McGinniss, Burkum, Cissell | 3:16 |
4. | "Good Life" | Stuart, Herdman, McGinniss, Charlie Peacock | 3:53 |
5. | "Let My Love Open the Door" | Pete Townshend | 2:35 |
6. | "Hands and Feet [a] [b] " | Stuart, Herdman, McGinniss, Burkum, Peacock | 4:08 |
7. | "Jesus Movement" | 3:18 | |
8. | "DC-10 [a] " | Stuart, Herdman, McGinniss, Barry Blair | 2:26 |
9. | "It Is Well with My Soul" (featuring Jennifer Knapp) | Horatio Spafford, Philip Bliss | 5:12 |
10. | "This Day" | 3:25 | |
11. | "It's Over" | 3:57 | |
12. | "The Houseplant Song" | Stuart, Herdman, McGinniss | 4:04 |
Total length: | 42:56 |
Notes
Audio Adrenaline
Additional musicians
Production
Additional studios
Audio Adrenaline was an American Christian rock band that formed in 1986 at Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, Kentucky. The band gained recognition during the 1990s and received two Grammy Awards and multiple Dove Awards. Audio Adrenaline were regular performers at the annual Creation Festival, Spirit West Coast festival, Agape Music Festival, and Alive Festival. In 2007, the group disbanded due to lead singer Mark Stuart's spasmodic dysphonia. During this time, they released eight studio albums.
Audio Adrenaline is the first full-length album by the Christian rock band of the same name. "My God" was one of the first songs recorded by the band, which caught the attention of ForeFront Records.
Don't Censor Me is the second studio album by Audio Adrenaline, released in 1993. The album features the song "Big House", which is considered the band's most popular song.
Bloom is the third studio album released by Audio Adrenaline. In 1999, the album was certified Gold by RIAA.
Some Kind of Zombie is the fourth studio album released by Audio Adrenaline.
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Worldwide is the seventh full-length album released by Audio Adrenaline in 2003.
Until My Heart Caves In is the eighth studio album by Audio Adrenaline and the final album with Mark Stuart as the lead vocalist. The album was released on Tuesday, August 30, 2005 on ForeFront Records and went on to win the Grammy Award for Rock Gospel Album of the Year.
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The 31st Annual GMA Dove Awards were held on April 20, 2000, recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 1999. The show was held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Kathie Lee Gifford.
My Utmost for His Highest is the first of three albums of songs inspired by Oswald Chambers' devotional My Utmost for His Highest. The album, produced by Brown Bannister, features performances by popular Christian musicians of songs relating to a day from Chamber's book. It was the first album to receive the GMA Dove Award for Special Event Album of the Year, and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album.
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F. Reid Shippen is a mixer, engineer and producer, currently based in Nashville, Tennessee. He has mixed a wide variety of records including "Cosmic Hallelujah" by Kenny Chesney, "Lights Out" by Ingrid Michaelson, "The Mountain" by Dierks Bentley, "When I Was Younger" by Colony House, and "Eye On It" by Toby Mac. Shippen has mixed 9 Grammy Award winning projects and received the Audio Engineer of the Year award at the 54th Annual ACM Awards.