About.com Rating
The Bottom Line
True musical magic, when everything clicks perfectly, is something rare. Jeff Deyo and the former members of SONICFLOOd had it in body and spirit. The passion was there, as was the awe-inspiring feeling of worship ... that "God is right here, sitting next to me" state of mind. However, since Jeff has gone solo and SONICFLOOd has rebuilt from the ground up, it seems to me that both are a few sprinkles short of magic.
Don't get me wrong here; the music is still good, it's just not "lose myself in it" good. Unveil, in that sense, is more of the same.
Pros
- All original material
Cons
- That depends on your point of view
Description
- Style: Modern worship
- 11 songs
- Released: May, 2007
Guide Review - Jeff Deyo - 'Unveil'
I think that many of the limitions found in "modern worship music" come from the setting that the artists know it will be played in. Musically, worship bands know that they have to go easy on the technical stuff because the praise team at such-and-such church may not be filled with "master" musicians. Lyrically there are similar limitations because they writers want congregations to be able to easily learn and remember all of the words so they can truly participate in the service. As artists grow in their own faith and move to more of a "teaching" position from a "sharing" position, it can be a difficult balance. When they're in the transition period between there and here, the music absolutely shows it.
Personally, I believe that Unveil shows us that Jeff Deyo is leaning more toward "teaching" than "sharing." It seems to me that he has a lot more to say about our Lord, but he's caught in the "keeping it simple" web. The genre itself is keeping him from going as deep into the teaching as his heart is screaming for him to do. Maybe that's why it seems like the passion just isn't 100% there.
If you look at the lyrics of "Unveil," "Glory" and "More in Love" and you'll see what I mean. There is much more there, hiding under the surface for Jeff Deyo. You see glimpses of it in Unveil. Who knows ... maybe in his next release, we'll see a lot more.