CD: 4/5
DVD: 4.5/5
At the end of this year Audio Adrenaline will be performing together for the final time. Lead singer, Mark Stuart, has developed nodules on his vocal cords, which means he can no longer sing.
To wrap things up and keep fans happy, Audio Adrenaline has released a greatest hits album, ‘Adios’. I was lucky enough to get the special edition, which also features a DVD filled with interviews, music videos and photos.
The ‘Adios’ CD is good. It features all of the major radio singles by Audio Adrenaline. Starting from their first radio single (1993) Big House, and finishing with their final 2006 single Starting Over. It also includes three new songs made as a ‘thank you’ to fans. In all the CD is a good brief overview of the musical journey Audio Adrenaline has been on. The only thing lacking is some of their better songs that never made it as radio singles, well known songs such as Underdog, American Band, Undefeated and Losing Control are all missing. But for a CD that contains 18 songs and has a running time of 70 minutes, you can’t complain too much.
The DVD in the special edition is well worth the extra money. The main feature of the DVD is an hour long interview with the boys from Audio A. They talk about how the band was founded and their journey through the past fifteen years. Rather than just being a standard Rockumentary, the boys include some very funny stories and even includes some video footage of the boys goofing off.
The feature also has interviews with some of today’s other leading Christian artists and how Audio Adrenaline have impacted them. Seeing everyone from the punk of Relient K to the hard rock of Pillar and the worship of Jars of Clay talking about how Audio Adrenaline has impacted them is a fitting tribute to a great band.
The DVD also features eight music videos from Audio A. My favourite is the video to the 1997 hit Some Kind Of Zombie, which I had not seen in New Zealand before. Finally, the Photo Montage is a fitting way to see out a band that has made such an impact upon the Christian music scene.
I still find it surreal that such a major player in Christian music over the past two decades is no more. However, ‘Adios’ is a great way for a great band to end. It is an album that the band will be proud of and fans will cherish for years.
