Men As Trees Walking – 1518
Category: Music, Stuff
A little while back I was contacted by Alan Aguirre, vocalist and leader of the Men As Trees Walking clan, and asked if I would be interested in reviewing their latest CD 1518. About a year ago I reviewed the EP Revelation Radio by Men As Trees Walking and gave it a favorable going over. So I thought ‘why not,’ after all I have listened to the afore mentioned EP many times in the last year.
The Men As Trees Walking website describes them as “a prophetic worship ministry of musical Levites and psalmists that desire to capture the sound of heaven and bring it down to earth.” This is as close a description as you could ever wish for to describe this talented bunch of God worshipers.
As I write this I am listening again to the CD and I have to say I have goosebumps. This music humbles me before my Creator. It’s very rare that music affects me in such a way, and as I listen I cannot help but envision the priests and prophets of old with their hands raised to the Heavens worshiping their Creator. And it causes me to want to worship in such a way myself.
Enough of my banter, let’s walk through the CD:
The CD kicks off with the amazing call to worship There’s a Sound which sounds very much like a Celtic hymn, always a good thing in my book. The female vocals reminded me of an early Sarah McLachlan with said vocals beginning softly and almost whispered building to a frenzied and impassioned plea to worship. The first time I heard this track I had to stop what I was doing, close my eyes and just listen. It’s a beautiful yet haunting song that remained with me long after the song ended… in the fact most of this album is like that!
Next up is the ‘priestly’ sounding House of the Lord followed by one of the CD’s standout tracks Listen with Me, both of which appeared on last years EP Revelation Radio. Last year when I reviewed Revelation Radio I made the observation that Alan Aguirre’s vocal work was similar in many ways to an early David Bowie… and this is something I continue to stand by. I love the emotional range, the obvious passion, and the honesty in his voice, something that compliments the beautiful and stirring music very well. In this day and age of over produced music it is refreshing to listen to such honest worship and awe inspiring songs.
Song of Moses comes next and changes the pace a little. With a soft and warm Reggae sound (not hardcore Reggae, but more of a subtle pop/Reggae in the vain of UB40) with touches of middle-Eastern overtones, this song, which again appeared on last year’s EP, has become my favorite track from the Revelation Radio CD over the last year. I love that Men As Trees Walking have a varied and almost eclectic sound as it will hopefully help to gain them more of a varied following, not just the typical Christian praise radio crowd.
Psalm 116 is a new song and for some reason reminded me of something that could have been included on the Peter Gabriel Last Temptation of Christ soundtrack. Maybe it was the drums or the song arrangement, but this song had a BIG feel to it and is made even more awesome when the volume is cranked up a little.
So far, so good. Then comes the track I was waiting for, but not in a good way. For years I have had a hate/hate relationship with what I call ‘1960’s inspired elevator jazz muzak.’ On last year’s Revelation Radio a track appeared that pretty much fell into this category (Seal Upon My Heart) and every time I hear it I have visions of shopping at a big box store and that dreaded journey in the elevator to get to the next floor… dreaded because of the terrible music being played. Thankfully Men As Trees Walking haven’t yet written a track quite that bad, but the next track Come Away comes very close. Sounding like something that wouldn’t be amiss in a 1960’s movie starring Michale Caine this track is one that I will be skipping through in the future. Note: All reviews are relative to the reviewer and this is no exception. Point in case, a friend of mine absolutely loves this track, but then he does play in a four piece jazz band 
The songs Prayer of Cherith, Baruch Atah, The Pearl, and Hunter’s Song, which come next are back to form with plenty of BIG acoustic guitars, bongo drums, and haunting vocals – each track delivering something new, but not altogether different, something that Men As Trees Walking do very well.
Then comes Seal Upon My Heart, the elevator jazz classic taken from Revelation Radio (again my jazz playing friend loved it) followed by Lion’s Roar another really good light Reggae track.
Apart from the two ‘elevator jazz’ tracks I would say that this album is something that any self respecting lover of music or God (or both) should get their hands on. Every track sounds somewhat familiar, yet at the same time there is something new on offer in each one. This is not your typical praise album and I applaud Men As Trees Walking for recording an album that will no doubt become a classic, and one that will hopefully inspire more musicians to play what’s in their hearts instead of selling out.
Over the past few weeks I have played this album over and over (minus the mentioned tracks) and have yet to tire of it. However, it is the final track Adonai is He that has had the most airplay in my car and office. By far my favorite track, Adonai is He stands out because it seems to weave together all of the best parts of this CD into one final song. Dominated by a middle-Eastern sound this is the track I would play to interested people to show them what Men As Trees Walking is all about – what they sound like and who they sing for. Honestly, I would have picked up this CD just for this track alone… if you don’t believe me this is something I have done on occasion with other artists releases (Lifehouse - You’re All I Want for example).
In summation: Two thumbs way high… way, way high! Needless to say I this is a CD worth checking out. I highly recommended Revelation Radio last year and I very highly recommend 1518. In fact I would love to see (maybe that should read experience) Men As Trees Walking live because that’s what this CD is, an experience… an experience in passionately played and sung music, and an experience with Adonai. What more could one ask for?
Click here to visit the Men As Trees Website and order this CD.
Chris St John
July, 2010
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I found them via Come&Live and I am blown away by their style of music. I haven't heard anything like it before. I encourage everyone to check them out!