Audio Adrenaline: Don't Censor Me (1993)

Tracks:

1.  Can't Take God Away
2. A.K.A. Public School
3. Soulmate
4. My World View
5. Big House
6. Jesus & The California Kid
7. Don't Censor Me
8. Let Love
9. We're a Band
10. Rest Easy
11. Scum Sweetheart

Audio A's second album for Frontline Records continued many of the trends of their debut: Mark Stuart was still splitting his time between rapping and singing, Barry Blair supplied the rock edge on his guitars, Will McGinniss carried the rhythm, and Bob Herdman was still listed as the band's keyboard player--which meant they still didn't have an official full-time drummer.  So they still were figuring out the whole rock band thing--at least in the studio.  They still were laying down heavy grooves with their electronics, Blair's playing was growing more diverse and prominent, and the songwriting seems to be moving in the right direction.  

On Don't Censor Me, the band takes multiple approaches with the songs.  As the title suggests, the band opts for a bold, evangelistic message as the general theme.  "Can't Take God Away" boasts that modern culture's ambition to remove God from schools, media, etc. will not affect the singer's personal faith, even if they take away "my life, my land, my liberty."  "AKA Public School" encourages kids to turn classrooms into mission fields, and the title track critiques vulgarity in music as it preaches the Word.  It's a battle of world views, and Audio A is sounding the call to join the band of brothers.

But they don't forget to have a little fun in the field, especially with the BIG hit from the album, "Big House."  The song is a silly, Saturday morning-friendly dance-rock ditty that compares church to a house in the country with a big ol' dinner table and backyard football.  But it's infectious with it's grooves, samples, and Blair's Southern funk licks.  To this day, twenty years later, the song still gets played regularly on Christian radio, and it's become the bane of kids' ministers everywhere.  Another fun number are the somewhat schizoid "Jesus and the California Kid," which combines hip hop verses with a Beach Boys-esque chorus.

The band shows some range with the ballads "Rest Easy" and "My World View", the latter featuring dc Talk's Kevin Max on vocals, in what was a foreshadow of the things to come 20 years on.  Perhaps most interesting is the closer, "Scum Sweetheart," a vampy jazz ripoff that shows a slightly darker side to the otherwise sunny mood of the album, as it deals lyrically with temptation and habitual sin.

Don't Censor Me and its big hit single brought Audio Adrenaline into the main arena of Christian bands, although it would take a little bit longer for them to find the magic synthesis of hip-hop energy, rock power, and solid songwriting.  Still, I dare anyone to not to sing along when they hear, "Come, and go with me to, my Father's house..."