Take Me to Your Leader is the sixth studio album by Christian pop rock band Newsboys, released in 1996. It was both the last Newsboys album to feature lead vocalist John James and the first to feature bassist/vocalist Phil Joel. The album won a Dove Award in 1997 for its packaging,[1] and was also nominated for "Rock Album of the Year", "Rock Recorded Song of the Year" ("God Is Not a Secret") and "Short Form Music Video of the Year" (for "Take Me to Your Leader"). The album was also recognized with a Grammy nomination for "Best Rock Gospel Album". It is also the band's the first album as a sextet.
| Take Me to Your Leader | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 20 February 1996 | |||
| Recorded | November 1995 – February 1996 | |||
| Studio | The Sanctuary Studios, Nashville, Tennessee | |||
| Genre | Christian rock, Christian pop | |||
| Length | 37:00 | |||
| Label | Star Song | |||
| Producer | Steve Taylor, Peter Furler | |||
| Newsboys chronology | ||||
| ||||
The vehicle pictured is an X-PAK 400, created by George Barris in the early 1960s during the Battle of Air Cars. This car appears on a stage in "Hangover" (season 1, episode 12 of the Alfred Hitchcock Hour). Also in this episode, actor Tony Randall, as Hadley Purvis, says the phrase "Take me to your leader."
Reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Cross Rhythms |  [3] |
| Jesus Freak Hideout |  [4] |
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Lead vocals[citation needed] | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "God Is Not a Secret" | Taylor and Furler | Furler | Furler | 3:09 |
| 2. | "Take Me to Your Leader" | Taylor | Furler | James and Joel | 2:58 |
| 3. | "Breathe" | Joel and Furler | Furler | Furler | 3:15 |
| 4. | "Reality" | Taylor and Furler | Furler | James and Furler | 3:08 |
| 5. | "Breakfast" | Taylor | Furler | Furler | 3:40 |
| 6. | "Let It Go" | Taylor and Furler | Furler and Frankenstein | Furler and Joel | 3:38 |
| 7. | "Cup O' Tea" | Furler and Joel | Furler | Furler | 2:40 |
| 8. | "It's All Who You Know" | Taylor | Furler | Furler | 3:11 |
| 9. | "Miracle Child" | Taylor and Furler | Davis and Furler | James | 3:10 |
| 10. | "Lost the Plot" | Taylor and Furler | Furler | Furler | 4:56 |
| 11. | "Breathe (Benediction)" | Joel and Furler | Furler | Joel | 3:15 |
| Total length: | 37:00 | ||||
Music videos edit
- "Take Me to Your Leader"
Radio singles edit
Aside from "Miracle Child," which was not released as a radio single, every track from Take Me to Your Leader became a top ten hit on at least one of CCM Magazine's Christian charts (either the CHR, adult contemporary, or rock format).
Note: all CCM Magazine' chart information is available in the book Hot Hits CHR 1978-1997 (1997) by Jeffrey Lee Brothers
| Single | CCM chart |
Debut | Peak date |
Peak position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Reality" | CHR | 12 February 1996 | 1 April 1996 | 1 |
| AC | 19 February 1996 | 1 April 1996 | 9 | |
| "God Is Not a Secret" | Rock | 26 February 1996 | 29 April 1996 | 2 |
| "Take Me to Your Leader" | CHR | 29 April 1996 | 24 June 1996 | 1 |
| AC | 20 May 1996 | 6 June 1996 | 37 | |
| "Cup O' Tea" | Rock | 29 July 1996 | 16 September 1996 | 1 |
| "Let It Go" | CHR | 5 August 1996 | 23 September 1996 | 1 |
| AC | 5 August 1996 | 23 September 1996 | 4 | |
| Inspirational | 16 September 1996 | 23 September 1996 | 21 | |
| "Lost the Plot" | Rock | 21 October 1996 | 6 January 1997 | 2 |
| "Breakfast" | CHR | 4 November 1996 | 6 January 1997 | 4 |
| "Breathe" | Rock | 27 January 1997 | 17 March 1997 | 1 |
| "Breathe (Benediction)" | CHR | 10 February 1997 | 24 March 1997 | 2 |
| "It's All Who You Know" | CHR | 16 June 1997 | 14 June 1997 | 6 |
Personnel edit
Newsboys
- John James – lead vocals, backing vocals
- Peter Furler – drums, lead vocals, backing vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica, kazoo, whistling
- Jody Davis – guitar, backing vocals
- Duncan Phillips – percussion
- Jeff Frankenstein – keyboards
- Phil Joel – bass, lead vocals, backing vocals, whistling
Production
- Peter Furler – producer
- Steve Taylor – producer, engineer
- Wes Campbell – executive producer, management, vocal recording (5)
- Darrell Harris – executive producer
- Russ Long – vocal recording (5)
- Jeff Nolte – vocal recording (5), production manager
- Steve Broadway – recording assistant
- John Caudill – recording assistant
- Annette Cisneros – recording assistant
- Dennis Desmet – recording assistant
- Mitch Eaton – recording assistant
- Scott Feltheim – recording assistant
- Brian Jerden – recording assistant
- Shane Johnson – recording assistant
- Tim Jordan – recording assistant
- William Stace – recording assistant
- Cindy Sutton – recording assistant
- Jamie Tate – recording assistant
- Tom Lord-Alge – mixing
- Mauricio Iragorri – mix assistant
- Pete Martinez – mix assistant
- Juan Rosario – mix assistant
- Cesar Sogbe – mix assistant
- Bob Ludwig – mastering at Gateway Mastering, Portland, Maine
- Debby Austin – project coordinator
- Toni Fitzpenn – art direction
- Joel Anderson – design
- George Barris – cover photography
- Michael Wilson – band photography
- Norman Jean Roy – additional photography
Studios
- The Sanctuary, Nashville, Tennessee – recording location
- The Carport, Nashville, Tennessee – recording location
- El Dorado Recording Studios, Hollywood, California – recording location
- Steve's Studio, Stillwater, Oklahoma – recording location
- Walls Have Ears Studio, Milwaukee, Wisconsin – recording location
- Sixteenth Ave. Sound, Nashville, Tennessee – mixing location
- South Beach Studios, Miami Beach, Florida – mixing location
- Encore Studios, Burbank, California – mixing location
References edit
- ^ [1] Archived 20 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Michael Gallucci. Take Me to Your Leader Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
- ^ Tony Cummings (13 April 1996). "Newsboys - Take Me To Your Leader Review". Cross Rhythms. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
- ^ Mark Ross. "Newsboys - Take Me To Your Leader Review". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved 13 September 2011.