album reviews

I WORSHIP

"You have NEVER heard a praise CD like this before. This CD is the praise and worship equivalent of the Beatles'', "Abbey Road," the entire B side of the LP. I Worship is simply magnificent! A work of art! I should leave it at that for a review. Would you let me?"

Catholic Music Network

"Sal Solo has pushed the edge of envelope yet again and has come up with a truly unique and vibrant praise and worship album that blends old with new. It stimulates the mind, inspires the heart and soul, and compels the body to respond with singing and dancing. This is worship that involves the whole person; this is 3D worship! Solo''s purpose for this CD was a simple one: "I very much had in mind hundreds of teenagers at youth rallies, who know nothing about worship, but could be brought into worship without realizing it!" This should succeed in that goal."

Susan Bailey, Grapevine Magazine

"Now based in Chicago, the talented Mr Solo turns his hand to a worship album, but not just any worship album. True, there are songs here by Scott Underwood, Rich Mullins and Twila Paris, but after Sal''s finished programming them through his Mac Powerbook computer, they sound totally, radically different Permit me to coin a new contemporary Christian music genre: garage praise. Rick Founds'' classic "Lord I Lift Your Name On High" is reborn with a ricocheting beat and then segues into a pounding, fuzz-laden, punch-the-air chorus, "Gonna Lift His Name Up", complete with sampled preaching from Sal''s pastor, Michael Pfleger. Other Solo originals include "Every Knee Shall Bow", "The Battle Is The Lord''s" and "He Reigns On High", and all are compelling, anthemic, power-packed and utterly awesome. I have never ever heard praise music done like this and I love it!"

Trevor Kirk, Cross Rhythms Magazine Issue 65 Nov/Dec 2001

"Sal Solo''s CD is a worship CD mixing great originals with classic praise songs. The techno rhythms combined with rock undertones fills a much needed void in the Catholic music scene. This unique styling is sure to be a hit with the youth"

David Wang, Catholic Register

"If you are looking for praise and worship CD that is not your normal fare, you would be wise to get a hold of this one.Sal Solo is the Catholic Church''s best kept musical secret! His latest CD I WORSHIP possesses the exceptional musicianship we have come to expect from his work. The professional production on this work is something Catholic Christian Music has yet to reach and Contemporary Christian Music has yet to equal. If you are looking for ''power praise'' songs that really PRAISE then ''Glorify The Lord'', ''Gonna Lift His Name Up/Awesome God'' and ''The Battle Is The Lord''s'' are for you! If you are looking for truly beautiful songs which are so expressive that they reach to Heaven then ''I Will Give My Life To You'', ''Almighty God'', ''Every Knee Shall Bow'' and ''He Reigns On High'' you have to listen to these. This is exactly the kind of songs youth groups have been begging for for a long time."

Michael Williams, Vorarlberg University, Austria

PILGRIMAGE

"Sal Solo was ahead of his time with the music called New Romance, now known as Gothic. Funny how life, time and God''s will changes people. Here I am working for the Catholic Music Network and Sal Solo is making Catholic Music. Sal got out of the popular music business, but if you listen to his current CDs you know he NEVER lost what made him popular and got him so many #1 hits in Europe. If you want a taste of Sal Solo, pick up Pilgrimage: The Gospel Best Of Sal Solo. "No Other God" is vintage Sal Solo of the early days with a wonderful message. The song that recently hit me was "Father''s House." On the last day of 2000, the feast of the Holy Family, the reading during the Mass depicts Mary and Joseph looking for a young Jesus and finding Him in "His Father''s House". This song is about that passage."

Catholic Music Network

ANNO DOMINI

"What can I say about Sal Solo that I haven''t said before? Forget any preconceived ideas about him - the shaven head, the ear-rings and the fact that he''s a Roman Catholic - the man is woefully underestimated as a composer and criminally underused (in the UK at least) as an instrument whereby people can be brought into a deep meaningful experience of God. His latest project is a Mass for the Millennium, and again, please put away any excess baggage regarding the word ''mass''; it''s basically the same form of liturgy used by Anglicans and Methodists, but the spin is that the music is gorgeously ambient and at the same time intensely devotional, drawing on all sorts of traditions from classical and Gregorian through to world music and pop. Apart from strings, vocals and clarinet from some human singers and musicians, the entire album was written, recorded, performed, programmed and mixed by Sal on his trusty Mac G3 laptop, and the whole thing is a delight. Unreservedly recommended."

Trevor Kirk, Cross Rhythms Magazine Issue 54, December 99/January 00

"I will state it very simply - this is the most important piece of work to come down the track in many a year. A truly revolutionary setting for the Mass, Anno Domini perfectly combines and integrates several different musical styles - Gregorian chant, classical, world music rhythms and pop - and is a truly inclusive piece of music. The world population is represented through this setting. It is powerful and prayerful, evoking strong emotion and great reverence, while at the same time creating a tremendous temptation to move and dance in prayer. The different pieces (Lord Have Mercy, Gloria, Alleluia, etc.) are at once anthem-like, simple, and very easy to learn (I was singing them after the second listen) while also being extremely sophisticated. There is wonderful orchestration throughout, and very appealing African rhythms. >From a strictly production point of view, Anno Domini is a masterpiece. Tech heads will marvel at the fact that the entire project, orchestration and all, was produced on a Mac G3 laptop! The artwork and packaging are very well done as well.

Although Sal Solo does the lead vocals and produced all the music, the listener does not at all get a sense that he dominates the work. This is music taken from and given back to God. It is much bigger than the artist himself.

As with any great work, there is one weakness - the lyrics are very hard to hear. The vocals are masked in the music and even with the benefit of headphones, it is still difficult to make out some of the lyrics (even though they are very familiar).

Anno Domini is not just a listening experience, but a multi-media one as well, with stark and creative images flashing on large video screens during the mass. It is an event that involves the whole person. This work is the perfect vehicle for welcoming in the new millennium and the Jubilee called for by Pope John Paul II. It is exciting, extremely well done, prayerful, and very, very new."

Susan Bailey, Grapevine Magazine

LIVE!

"Sal Solo is one of UK Christendom''s unsung heroes. Unfailingly excellent in his song-writing and presentation, sadly under-used in doing what he does best - proclaiming God''s love and his plan of salvation, and reminding people of the need to seek the Holy Spirit''s indwelling presence. Ober the years, people have told him that the music was more exciting live than on record - having heard him live, and seen the stunning visuals he uses, I agree that a concert is certainly a more complete experience. Thus we have here a live album, recorded on Easter Saturday, 1998 at Brondesbury Christian Centre. The songs will be familiar to those who have Sal''s three albums "Look At Christ", "Through Ancient Eyes" and "Born To Die", but the live context gives them an immediacy and impact that the studio albums don''t have. Sal reckons it''s the Holy Spirit, not him! Considering it''s live, the quality is excellent, Sal''s programming skills and voice have never been better (particularly since he was healed of his sinus complaint), and this is not so much a concert, more a time of ministry. A very good example of what those who have never had the Sal Solo Experience have missed."

Trevor Kirk, Cross Rhythms Magazine Issue 47 Oct/Nov 1998

BORN TO DIE

"Sal Solo''s music is as sweetly eccentric as his faith is uncompromising. In this latest manifestation, simple titles such as "Prepare", "Blessed", "Passover" and "Son Of Man" belie a complex, enntertaining, heartfelt exploration of what it takes to point us toward God. There are so many delightful surprises here, so many twists and turns within the songs - from Latin compline and the haunting sound of cloister bells to the entreaty of raw gospel close harmony. And through it all, the melody remains. This is the third of what Sal describes as a set, which began with "Look At Christ" in 1991 and "Through Ancient Eyes" in 1994. Sal''s stubbornly brilliant creative energies seem always destined to be pitted against the world of praise and worship mediocrity - and in "Born To Die", supported by his band Pam Taylor, Phil Barker, Scott Jackson and Russ Taylor, he has achieved an album of rare beauty."

Phil Thomson, Cross Rhythms Magazine Issue 36 Dec 1996/Jan 1997

LOOK AT CHRIST

"Here''s an album that truly defies typecasting. The pigeons will have difficulty finding a hole for this one! Ex Classix Nouveaux front man Sal Solo has turned in a thoughtful and reflective concept album (as these things used to be known) which sets out its wares in the middle ground between the contemporary and praise/worship genres. The first three of four songs in this romp through Christ''s life might have fitted well on a praise album, were it not for Sal''s production touches, like the sound collages which open and close each track, and the strange blends of instruments. But the African rhythms – played on Indian instruments! – of "Now I Can Go in Peace" and the rhythm box pyrotechnics of "Who Hit You Then" are distinctly pop. While the final three tunes are reflective masterpieces. What we have here is the beginnings of a whole new style of Christian music: Meditative music which helps us, as the title suggests to ‘Look At Christ''. Highly recommended."

Mike Fearon, Cross Rhythms Magazine Issue 7 Aug/Sep 1991

 

HEART & SOUL - album review

In the annals of new romantic history, riddled as it is with tales of debauched glam-ery and cosmetics-wielding bad boys, no story is more bizarre than the tale of Sal Solo. What's more -- it's a wholesome one. While fronting the largely underrated Classix Nouveaux, skin-headed frontman Sal Solo had a revelation during one of the band's several extensive Eurasian tours. At the height of the Classix's popularity, Solo felt that there was something major missing from his life -- despite the massive crowds the band was attracting (as many as 15,000 in Poland, and 25,000 in Helsinki, Finland) -- and turned to Christianity for some answers and healing. During a 1983 Italian pilgrimage (with born-again Kajagoogoo bassist Nick Beggs!!!) Solo found God, and became a born-again Christian himself. This turn of events didn't end his musical career though, in fact, it jump-started a new one -- Sal Solo, the contemporary Christian artist. He did continue on with Classix Nouveaux, recording and touring through 1985, but, as their popularity waned, Solo began concentrating more and more on his musical ministry. After an amicable dissolution of Classix (following two successful farewell shows in Spain and London), Solo took his first tentative steps into Christian music with the release of 1985's Heart & Soul. "Tentative" is certainly the word to use too, as Heart & Soul proved to be intelligently subtle in light of Solo's major, life-changing event. Where other popular-artists-turned-born-again-Christians of the era tended to water down their musical output in order to make room for their message, Sal Solo worked to further develop the stylistic trajectory he was on with Classix. Helped in large part by the musical muscle of former Classix bandmates Mik Sweeney, Rick Driscoll, and Paul Turley, Solo's solo debut was alight with perky synths, funky guitar and fleet-fingered bass. It had none of the saccharine or stodgy tendencies of other Christian bands of the period and, save for some of the lyrics, could easily be passed off as a fine late-period new wave record in its own right. The production was more spacious and detailed than any of the Classix's earlier work -- choir backing, lush keyboard beds, and slow-developing melody lines dominated the bulk of Heart & Soul's offerings -- and had more in common with the grown-up romantic stylings of Midge Ure's solo efforts than the angular disco of Duran Duran. Album opener "Heartbeat" and the surprise U.K. hit "Shout! Shout!" featured that classic Classix sound, while "San Damiano" and "Contact" explored a more world music-based palette. In 2006, El Records reissued Heart & Soul with five bonus tracks. Among them: Solo's controversial 1987 single "How Was I to Know" -- a pro-life love song, sung from the viewpoint of an unwanted, unborn baby to its mother and, in Solo's own words, "...a record which more or less ended my commercial career." He was only partially right in that statement though. As Solo's less-secular direction certainly served to alienate some of his more superficial fans, stalwart supporters (both Christian and non) did indeed continue to love the man and his music -- and they loved him enough to support a dozen albums that followed in the wake of Heart & Soul.

J. Scott McClintock, All Music Guide