ADULT CONTEMPORARY ADULT CONTEMPORARY REVIEWS ADULT CONTEMPORARY NEW RELEASES THE MARTINS New Day (Gaither Music Group) FOR FANS OF: Point of Grace, Jason Crabb, Guy Penrod QQQ Produced by Rascal Flatts’ Jay Demarcus, The Martins return with a decidedly commercialized Adult Contemporary turn. Walls of electric guitars, thick acoustic tracks, dramatic pedal steel swells and super driving vocals amp up the trio’s inspirational past. Though subtle, their awesome sibling harmony remains, coaxing a set list of grace and redemption—themes that have personally contributed to the revival of this great group. –Andrew Greer WE LIKE: “Tell Them That I Love Them” POINT OF GRACE Turn Up The Music: The Hits (Word) FOR FANS OF: Point of Grace (of course!) QQQ For any latecomers to the Point of Grace catalog, Turn Up The Music: The Hits provides a nice point of contact. Storied hits like “Jesus Will Still Be There” and “Circle of Friends” dot the landscape, paying homage to the group’s enduring success, while the girls’ recent country leanings like “Love and Laundry” are also present. A little originality never hurt anyone, however, so it’s frustrating to only have a cover of The Eagles 9/11 tribute “Hole In The World” present. Still a release like this has a purpose and Turn Up The Music serves that just fine. WE LIKE: “Reach” MARK SCHULTZ The Best of Mark Schultz (Word) FOR FANS OF: Billy Joel, Michael W. Smith, Elton John QQQ Throughout the past ten years, Mark Schultz has charted so many singles it’s almost impossible to count. Nonetheless, this compilation attempts to collect them all in one place, including piano pounders like “You Are a Child of Mine” and “Running Just to Catch Myself,” plus the tear-jerking ballads “He’s My Son” and “Letters From War.” Though some of the sentimental themes tend to blur together by the end of the collection, it’s impossible not to sing along. –Andy Argyrakis WE LIKE: “Running Just To Catch Myself” –Matt Conner 07.12.2011 POINT OF GRACE TURN UP THE MUSIC: THE HITS WORD RECORDS/EMICMG DARA MACLEAN YOU GOT MY ATTENTION FERVENT RECORDS/WORD POCKET FULL OF ROCKS LET IT RAIN: BEST OF WORD RECORDS/WORD SIDEWALK PROPHETS THESE SIMPLE TRUTHS (DELUXE EDITION) WORD RECORDS/WORD FERNANDO ORTEGA COME DOWN O LOVE DIVINE STYLOS RECORDS/WORD All release dates and album titles are subject to change. For the most up-to-date release schedule, visit www.ccmmagazine.com/ category/adult-contemporary/ 38 CCM