Going Public

Description

Going Public is the fifth album by the Australian established but US based pop/rock band Newsboys, released on StarSong Records in 1994. The album was recorded by Russ Long at the Dugout, The Saltmine, The Tube, and The Carport in Nashville, Tennessee; with Steve Taylor and band member Peter Furler producing. Additional recording at Quad Studios in Nashville. Additional engineering by Lisa Miller, Martin Woodlee, and Wayne Mehl. Mixed by Russ Long at The Carport.

Newsboys feature John James on lead vocals; Duncan Phillips on keyboards and backing vocals; Jeff Frankenstein on keyboards and (additional) programming; Jody Davis on guitar and backing vocals; Kevin Mills on bass and backing vocals; and Peter Furler on drums and lead vocals (as well as programming). Additional musicians featured on the album: Blair Masters, Danny Duncan, Darrell A. Harris, Dave Perkins, Eric Darken, John Mark Painter, Kenny Greenberg, Kim Keyes, Phil Madeira, Russ Long, Steve Taylor, Vicki Hampton, and Wade Jaynes.

I was pretty shocked when I looked at my ‘Not Asahmed‘ album and realized it has been two years since its release. After sales of approximately a bazillion units (you probably bougth one too, so that’s a bazillion & one), the logical thing to do would be to make ‘Not Ashamed II’ and buy your mother Graceland, right? Wrong, boy-o! If you thought ‘Not Ashamed’ was the best thing since 30-minute pizza delivery, start saving those dollars, because I’m betting you’ll love ‘Going Public’.

The album reunites the production team of Steve Taylor & Peter Furler; John James remains in the lead vocal slot, with the road-tested Duncan Phillips and Kevin Mills on keys and bass, respectively. The newest Newsie is guitarist Jody Davis; he and Mills add a “live” organic feel to the sometimes programming-dominated sound with their creative solos and inventive rhythm work. But where this Newsboys album betters its predecessor is in the lyrical department. The band and Taylor seem to have agreed that what he does best is write intriguing, hilarious and insightful lyrics; what they do best is write killer hooks and melodies.

From the first song on ‘Going Public’, «Real Good Things», you’re assaulted with the Taylor wit. With the church in mind, the ‘Boys sing “All our good deeds don’t mean squat,” while “When we don’t get what we deserve/ That’s a real good thing” could also apply to a broader audience. Building on the themes of their previous album, the ‘Boys continue to exhort and encourage their fans to make their faith visible, with songs like «Shine» (“There isn’t a way to explain the kind of change/ That would make a vegetarian barbeque hamster/ Shine/ Make ’em wonder what you’ve got”) and the title track (“The cross makes him wish/ That his spine was more than a school of jellyfish… / The lines are drawn and clear/ There’s no straddling fences here”).

‘Going Public’ also contains some of the more serious fare the Newsboys have ever featured in their records. «Truth and Consequences» deals with a single Christian girl, who, when rejected (“Dumped on more than a birdhouse shingle”), falls in with a crowd who tries to cajole her into pre-marital sex, for the sake of being accepted. We never learn if she heeds the chorus “Are you really gonna stand for love that waits its turn?” The album’s closer, the cleverly-titled «Elle G», is the melancholy story of a suicide that doesn’t reveal its plot immediately. You’re into the second verse before you’re hit with the line “Did you really assume/ I’d fine solace from the letter in your room?” As the storyteller struggles to understand the death, he prays “A child of the Kingdom/ Still and invalid/ Father forgive her/ She don’t know what she did.”

There are some reflective moments on the album, such as «Let It Rain», where the Apostle Peter looks back on his life with Christ and «Be Still», a pretty, prayerful ballad which reminds us that kneeling is always a good posture from which to receive revelation. But ‘Going Public’ mostly walks a rock/alternative edge – and therein lies my only criticism. I would love to hear less programming and more ‘”live” music that is as challenging as the lyrisc; likewise, it would be great to hear the Newsboys take the Euro dance/fuzzy guitar/brittle drum sound that they’ve been flirting with for two albums and be more aggressive with it, or chuck it for something fresher. The boys have earned the right to experiment and if they keep making albums this good, their audience will follow them. [Bruce A. Brown, CCM, August 1994]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/going-public/724391186)

CD tracklist:

01. Real Good Thing – 2:53
02. Shine – 3:42
03. Spirit Thing – 3:27
04. Let It Rain – 4:18
05. Going Public – 3:31
06. Truth And Consequences – 2:58
07. Lights Out – 3:09
08. Be Still – 3:19
09. When You Called My Name – 4:03
10. Elle G. – 5:13

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by StarSong Records. Remastered for vinyl and re-issued as a Limited Edition 12-inch vinyl LP by Girder Music in 2025, pressed on Metallic Purple Swirl Vinyl. (Released through Limited Run Vinyl/Limited Run Music, limited to 300 copies worldwide. Officially licensed from Capitol CMG.)

Going Public. Remastered and pressed on Metallic Purple Swirl Vinyl, Girder Records 2025.