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Ancient Skies by the Michael Gungor Band has an interesting history. The bulk of the album was initially released last year under the title “All I Need Is Here” but apparently ran into some distribution issues. I’m not totally sure what happened but my guess is that the independent label that was handling the album failed to make the CD widely available. I was fortunate enough to get ahold of a copy last year and was very pleased with what Michael Gungor and company had put together. Thankfully the folks over at Brash Music recognized the quality of the album and have rescued it from obscurity. To add value to the re-release, two songs (”Spotless” and “Heaven’s Song”) have been replaced with three new tracks – “You are the Light”, “Say So” and “White Man”. With a new album cover and title, Gungor’s album is now ready for mass consumption!! Ancient Skies definitely deserves some attention. The songs and the performances are top-notched, full of big choruses and intricate arrangements. Be sure to listen to these songs with some high-end headphones to catch all the subtle instrumental details Gungor slips into these songs. If I do have to nitpick though, I’d have to call attention to the recording quality of the record. Michael Gungor’s previous solo album, Bigger Than My Imagination was recorded beautifully with Israel Houghton at a real recording studio. Sonically Ancient Skies is a step down with it’s overly processed Pro-Tool-ed sound. And with the drums sounding like muffled cardboard boxes, my guess is that the recordings took place at a project studio or maybe even Gungor’s garage. Whatever the case may be, the overall sound quality is the limiting factor on this album. The songs are great but everytime I listen to them, I keep on wishing that they were recorded with Houghton in a nice sounding, high-end studio. But I suppose in this day and age, big recording budgets are becoming quite rare especially in the P&W genre. I would give this album an “A” but I have to take points off for how heavily Pro-tool-ed it sounds. And don’t get me started on Gungor’s use of auto-tune here. The tell-tale signs are evident at various places on the album and it just gets on my nerves. But fortunately, the songs overshadow those technical flaws and are still worth seeking out. My personal favorites include: “Ancient Skies”, “Glory is Here”, “Say So”, “Grace for Me” and “Fly”.

retroGrade: B

Listen to an excerpt of “Ancient Skies”:

Ancient Skies
artist: The Michael Gungor Band
label: Brash Music
released: September 2008
official website: MichaelGungorBand.com

track list:
1. Say So
2. Be Praised
3. Giving It All
4. Never Stop
5. Ancient Skies
6. Prodigal
7. You Are the Light
8. Grace for Me
9. Fly
10. You Alone
11. White Man
12. Glory Is Here
13. Song for My Family

The Michael Gungor Band is: Michael Gungor, Lisa Gungor, Brad Nyght and Brad Waller.

Filed under:
music, reviews by retroDan