CD Review – Mason Summers – Gain the World
Artist: Mason Summers
CD Title: Gain the World
Style: Punk
Website: www.masonsummers.com/
Myspace: www.myspace.com/masonsummers
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Playlist
1. GoodBye Friend
2. I think I’m alright
3. Downpour
4. Destruction
5. Rock n Roll
6. I Can’t Take The Time
7. Settle Down
8. Underworld
9. I Parasite
10. Scaring You, Scaring Me
11. The Bottom Line
12. Scream
I got to tell you all, this wasn’t a review I was looking forward to, For me Punk Rock is like garlic, cayenne or or another of my favorite spices. A great addition and something that brings a lot of flavor but not something you want to consume straight. Now when I decided to do a review of this CD I didn’t think things through. Still I can say I still enjoy both Mason Summers and Punk as a whole, and perhaps I understand it a little better now than I did before. While I feel that Christian Punk lacks some of the Angst and anger that is the hallmark of traditional Punk Music. Mason Summers stands up well and while I doubt I would listen to whole CD like I did for this review I have found myself playing a couple songs here and couple more there. What can I say I want the spice without being overwhelmed.
Perhaps after reading the paragraph above that you were prepared for a rather negative review but that isn’t the case. What I found when listening to each song separately was that I liked each song and found each of them to be well produced and Mikey Scars has a classic punk voice that fits the music perfectly. The musical performance by the band shows a good deal of talent and has a subtlety that really puts aside the three chord, one drum, one bass-line repetitive stereotype that is so common of punk rock. While I don’t listen to this CD as a whole I really enjoy each of the songs when the come up on my CD in shuffle mode which when I’m not listening to an audiobook is the most common way I listen to music on my player.
Over all I find this a solid CD without any glaring problems and one that enjoy listening to as well as one I have recommended to friends that I know enjoy the punk sound. I have no second thoughts when it comes to including this band on my show and when I look for something with a more punk sound I think of this CD. With rifts that remind me of the Altar Boys, the Choir and the 77’s, Mason Summers and “Gain the World” should become a Christian Punk Standard, if there is such a thing.
I am giving this CD 3.5 out of 5 Mostly for the reason that I am reviewing the CD as whole and while I enjoyed all the songs I found that listening to the whole CD at one time to be difficult, as well as at 12 songs and just over 36 minutes long I felt that it was a little short. Again these are minor problems which is why I have given it as high of a Rating as I have. If you enjoy the sound of late 70’s and early 80’s punk, or if you are a fan of the Altar boys and the 77’s then you could do much worse than to add Mason summers to your collection.
