Spoken For
Spoken For | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 1, 2002 | |||
Recorded | 2002 in the United States | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 37:58 | |||
Label | INO | |||
Producer | Pete Kipley | |||
MercyMe chronology | ||||
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Singles from Spoken For | ||||
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Spoken For is the second
Critics praised Spoken For as a progression from Almost There and a more cohesive album overall, with some finding it to be more refined lyrically and musically. The album's stylistic shift was praised, along with Millard's lyrics and vocals. Spoken For was nominated for Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year at the 34th GMA Dove Awards, and at the 35th GMA Dove Awards "Word of God Speak" received the awards for Song of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year.
Spoken For sold 23,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number 41 on the
Background and recording
Spoken For was recorded by Csaba Petozz, J. R. McNeely, Lee Bridges, and Jim Bryson in several locations: Luminous Sound in Dallas, Texas, The Sound Kitchen in Franklin, Tennessee, Indigo Room in Franklin, Tennessee, HydeAway Sound Lab in Jeckyll Island, Georgia, The Scwoodio in Greenville, Texas, Mountain View Recorders in Glorieta, New Mexico, and Playground Recording in Wylie, Texas.[6] It was mastered by Richard Dodd at Vital Recordings,[6] and mixed by F. Reid Shippen at Recording Arts in Nashville, Tennessee,[6] with the exceptions of "All Because of This", "Word of God Speak, and "Love of God", (which were mixed at Salvo Mix by Salvo),[6] and "Go" (which was mixed by McNeely).[6]
Composition
Spoken For has been described as
The songs on Spoken For are generally guitar-driven.[9][11] In comparison to some other Christian rock groups, the lyrics on Spoken For are overtly Christian in theme.[12] Russ Breimeier of Christianity Today described the album's lyrics as adopting a "broader" definition of worship than the band had previously used, being "more thoughtful" but "still catchy and vertically focused".[7] Millard's vocals on the album were noted as being "warm"[15] and "crystal-clear".[9]
"The Change Inside of Me" and "All the Above" were noted as being "firmly rooted in the pop side of adult contemporary music",[9] with the latter song focusing on "the elation that rang through the heavens when we became children of God" (The moment you surrendered/the moment you were saved/Life as you knew it forever was changed/And all the above rejoiced).[7] The album's title track was described as "haunting";[8] lyrically, it "offers a look at Jesus recognizing His children at heaven’s gate".[9] "There's a Reason" was noted as being "worshipful".[15] "Word of God Speak" features only piano and strings alongside Millard's vocals; according to Millard, the sparse musical arrangement mirrors the song's lyrics, which focus on the inability to describe an infinite god with a limited vocabulary.[10]
Release
Spoken For was released on October 1, 2002.
Spoken For spent 29 weeks on the Billboard 200[25] and 91 weeks on the Christian Albums chart.[26] The album also spent one week on the Catalog Albums chart in December 2004, peaking at number six.[27] It is the band's only studio album not to have reached the number one spot on the Christian Albums chart.[28] Billboard ranked Spoken For as the tenth-best selling Christian album of 2003,[29] the 20th-best selling Christian album of 2004,[30] and the 46th best-selling Christian album of the 2000s.[31] The RIAA certified the album gold in October 2003,[32] signifying shipments of over 500,000 copies.[33] As of May 2004, Spoken For has sold over 553,000 copies.[34]
Critical reception
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [12] |
Dayton Daily News | B−[15] |
New Release Tuesday | [35] |
Christianity Today | [7] |
Cross Rhythms | [8] |
Spoken For received generally positive reviews. Critics reacted positively to the album's shift in style from Almost There,[7][9][11] as well as to Millard's vocals[9][15] and its lyrical content.[7][9][11] Allmusic gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, saying that MercyMe "shows its knack for mating spiritual lyrics to state-of-the-art pop-rock".[12] The album received a B− from James Lloyd of the Dayton Daily News, who praised the album's ballads, lyrics, and vocals but said that some of up-tempo numbers "almost seem like filler".[15] New Release Tuesday's Kevin McNeese gave the album four out of five stars, praising its music as "encouraging and inspirational" and saying it provides "some of the finest moments in praise and worship".[35] Russ Breimeier of Christianity Today gave the album 2.5 out of 5 stars. Breimeier praised the album for its cohesiveness and described it as a major improvement over the band's debut album Almost There musically and lyrically, but criticized the album's track order as "[making] the album seem more repetitive than it really is".[7] The album received 7 out of 10 squares from Tony Cummings of Cross Rhythms, who praised the album as "intelligent" and "well-crafted" and complemented its lyrics and production.[8]
Wendy Lee Nentwig of Crosswalk.com praised the band's musical and lyrical growth since their debut effort, as well as the "passionate intensity and emotion" of lead singer Bart Millard's vocals.[11] Marcia Bartenhagen of CCM Magazine praised the band's vocals and progression in songwriting and musical style, but felt the album "occasionally sways to the triteness so often found on AC/pop projects".[9] Tim Harms of Baptist Press called Spoken For a major improvement over Almost There and said it "feels more coherent and flows smoother and it flourishes in vertical lyrics".[14] Brian Bowers of Stars and Stripes called the album a "step forward" for the band, but that fans would "still get what they liked on [Almost There]".[36]
Spoken For was nominated for Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year at the 34th GMA Dove Awards.[37] At the 35th GMA Dove Awards, "Word of God Speak" received the awards for Song of the Year and Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year.[38]
Track listing
All songs written by Jim Bryson, Nathan Cochran, Pete Kipley, Bart Millard, Mike Scheuchzer and Robby Shaffer except where noted.[6]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "The Change Inside of Me" | 3:24 | |
2. | "All The Above" | Millard, Cochran, Scheuchzer, Bryson, Shaffer, Kipley, Mark Stuart | 3:23 |
3. | "Spoken For" | 4:09 | |
4. | "There's A Reason" | 4:11 | |
5. | "Come One, Come All" | 3:50 | |
6. | "Crazy" | Millard, Kipley, Robby Hurd, Chad Sipes | 4:38 |
7. | "Word of God Speak" | Millard, Kipley | 3:07 |
8. | "Your Glory Goes On" | 2:39 | |
9. | "Love of God" (Arrangement by Millard, Cochran, Scheuchzer, Bryson, Shaffer, Kipley) | Frederick M. Lehman | 3:33 |
10. | "Go" | 3:27 | |
11. | "All Because Of This" | 1:37 |
Personnel
Credits adapted from the album liner notes.[6]
Additional performers
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Production and Technical
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Charts and certifications
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References
- Notes
- ^ In November 2013, Billboard changed the methodology of the Christian Songs chart, incorporating streaming and sales numbers as well as mainstream radio airplay into the chart's rankings. Christian airplay rankings were split into the separate Christian Airplay chart, and both the Christian Songs and Christian Airplay chart share a common history prior to November 28, 2013.[22]
- ^ "Spoken For" was released before the Christian Songs chart was created.
- Footnotes
- ^ a b "Christian" (PDF). Radio & Records: 14. September 20, 2002. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ a b "Four in a row" (PDF). Radio & Records (1501): 109. April 25, 2003. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ a b "Going for Adds". Radio & Records. May 2, 2003. Archived from the original on June 29, 2003. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Price, Deborah Evans (October 19, 2002). "MercyMe has 'Spoken' on its 2nd album" (PDF). Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. p. 16. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
- ^ Salem Publishing: 36. Archived from the original(PDF) on December 29, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
- ^ INO Records. 2002. p. 4,7.)
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Breimeier, Russ (October 19, 2002). "Spoken For". Christianity Today. Archived from the original on October 26, 2006. Retrieved October 22, 2012.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b c d e Cummings, Tony. "Spoken For (Cross Rhythms)". Cross Rhythms. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Bartenhagen, Marcia (November 25, 2002). "Spoken For - Music Review". CCM Magazine. Crosswalk.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
- ^ a b Hambrick, Melissa (June 23, 2004). "Song Story: "Word of God Speak" by MercyMe". Crosswalk.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f Nentwig, Wendy Lee (October 29, 2002). "Pick of the Week: Spoken For". Crosswalk.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
- ^ AllMusic
- ^ Trias, Mike (May 2, 2003). "Artist Activity" (PDF). Radio & Records (1502): 59. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
- ^ a b c Harms, Tim (January 8, 2003). "MercyMe, Nichole Nordeman, Bebo Norman stood out in 2002". Baptist Press. Archived from the original on February 21, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Lloyd, James (October 11, 2002). "Records". Dayton Daily News. p. 64. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ a b "Billboard 200". Billboard. October 19, 2002. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
- ^ a b "Christian Albums". Billboard. October 19, 2002. Archived from the original on November 9, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Billboard Charted Singles" (PDF). Mikecurb.com. Curb Records. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2011.
- ^ "'I Can Only Imagine/Word of God Speak', MercyMe, Music CD Single – Barnes & Noble". Barnes & Noble. Archived from the original on October 31, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
- ^ Trust, Gary (July 1, 2014). "2014 Hasn't Been Half Bad". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 23, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
- ^ Asker, Jim (March 7, 2019). "MercyMe Makes Record-Extending 'News' at No. 1 On Christian Airplay Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
- ^ "Billboard Christian & Gospel Charts to Get a Consumer-Focused Facelift". Billboard. November 25, 2013. Archived from the original on November 28, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
- from the original on 24 August 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
- from the original on 17 August 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
- ^ "Top Christian Albums (January 3, 2004)". Billboard. January 3, 2004. Archived from the original on May 5, 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
- ^ "Top Christian Albums (September 18, 2004)". Billboard. September 18, 2004. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
- ^ "MercyMe Spoken For Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
- ^ "Billboard 2000" (PDF). Billboard. April 26, 2014. p. 48. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
- ^ a b "Top Contemporary Christian Titles". Billboard. December 27, 2003. Archived from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
{{cite magazine}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b "Top Contemporary Christian Titles". Billboard. December 25, 2004. Archived from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
{{cite magazine}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b "Decade-end Christian Albums (2000s)". Billboard. 2009. Archived from the original on August 25, 2011. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- ^ a b "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Retrieved April 9, 2016.
- ^ a b "RIAA - Certification Criteria". Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- ^ Price, Deborah Evans (May 5, 2004). "It Only Gets Better For Gospel Group" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 116, no. 20. pp. 3, 83. Retrieved April 14, 2016.
- ^ a b McNesse, Kevin (2008-01-30). "Spoken For by MercyMe". New Release Tuesday. Archived from the original on June 11, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
- ^ Bowers, Brian (November 2, 2002). "New generation of Christian musicians finding commercial success". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ^ MacCorkle, Laura (January 14, 2003). "34th Annual Dove Awards Nominees Announced - Jan 14 News". Crosswalk.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
- About.com. The New York Times Company. Archived from the originalon August 7, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2011.
- ^ "Catalog Albums". Billboard. December 11, 2004. Archived from the original on November 9, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.