Against the Grain

Description

Against the Grain is the fourth album by the American alternative rock band Altar Boys, released on Frontline Records in August 1987, distributed by The Benson Company. Also licensed and distributed in Europe by Kingsway Publications. The album was recorded and mixed at 3-D Studios in Costa Mesa, California; with Terry Taylor of Daniel Amos fame and the band producing. Mixed by Doug Doyle and Rob Watson. All songs written by lead singer Mike Stand except tracks A5 and B1 co-written with bassist Ric Alba, as well as track B2 written by Alba only.

Altar Boys feature Mike Stand on guitar and vocals, Ric Alba on bass, “piano etc.”, and background vocals, and Jeff Crandall on drums and background vocals. The album also featured Al-x (Alex MacDougall of Daniel Amos fame) playing “tambourine and other instruments.”

The boys are back… and boy, do they rock. Mike Stand & Company probably had to reassemble the studio nail by nail after sending out this seismic shock wave. Even a couple meandering keyboard solos from producer Terry Taylor (Mike should have slapped his hands!) couldn’t take the fire out of ‘Against the Grain’.

And for those who have complained in the past over Mike’s lyrics – a false charge of triteness – Mr. Stand has written some of the most articulate lines on any Jesus rock LP, period. Dealing with an alienation epidemic on both an individual and societal scale, ‘A.T.G.’ offers the Answer only in context of the real questions.

«Where’s the New World?» points two directions as it looks back at America’s lost roots and forward to Someone’s return. An absolutely forgettable hook energizes «Hearts Lost in Nowhere», while the album’s best cut, «Human Sound», tears the callouses off one’s physical/emontional/spiritual being. Steady artistic growth, majoring in simply staying together as a band, is something California’s Christian music scene usually does without. The Altar Boys go against the grain on that one, too. [Jon Trott, Cornerstone Magazine, 1987, Vol 16 Issue 84]

Before hearing ‘Against the Grain’, Altar Boys’ fourth LP, I had begun to believe that they would never match the gusto and impact of their eponymously-titled debut from 1984. While ‘When You’re a Rebel‘ and ‘Gut Level Music‘ evinced «Talkin’ About Religion» and «You Are Loved», greater instrumental prowess and an all-around better sound, neither album made a large step beyond such fine seminal tracks as «Oh, Oh Nancy» and the mainstay rant «I’m Into God». Here, Boys’ Mike Stand, Rick Alba Le Blanc, and Jeff Crandall encapsulate and eclipse their previous works, making ‘Against the Grain’ a very big statement indeed.

While the themes of being a rebel for Jesus, a militant, sold-out faith in Christ, and straightforward evangelistic pleas are still central to Altar Boys’ purpose, here they seldom fall into the in-house language of Churchianity (the inclusion of the word “transgressions” in «Broken» is the only blatant faux pas), relying on common language to communicate the message of God’s grace and acceptance. Even more striking is the empathy and understanding that underlies «Hearts Lost in Nowhere», «Where’s the New World», and «Human Sound». Not only do the Boys grasp a broader social ethic but they speak without judgment (yet without endorsement) of troubled youth in «Kids on the Run». «Shout Louder» takes them beyond the kind of cheerleading one might have found to be quite annoying on some songs, by pointing out that actions speak louder than words.

These steps alone would be laudable, but Altar Boys have also made major steps musically to ensure success. This is easily their most aggressive effort, and their most musical. Alba’s bass lines are seamless and melodic, while Crandall’s relentless rhythmic surges consistently move from crescendo to crescendo. Stand, at last, plays and sings with enough confidence and skill to give the Altar Boys an approximation of early Who combo playing in the classic three-boy-band tradition. While still a bit short of rock reformists Husker Du, Replacements, and X, Altar Boys have made a big pitch for credibility, and it has paid off. Out to reach those kids on the run, ‘Against the Grain’ deserves a hearing ’cause the kids are all right. [Brian Quincy Newcomb, CCM, November 1987]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/against-the-grain/385036669)

LP tracklist:

Side One
A1. “Fallen World” – 4:05
A2. “Kids Are On The Run” – 3:48
A3. “Hearts Lost In Nowhere” – 4:01
A4. “Broken” – 3:56
A5. “Where’s The New World?” – 5:18

Side Two
B1. “Against The Grain” – 2:28
B2. “Human Sound” – 4:21
B3. “Take Control” – 3:11
B4. “Shout Louder!” – 3:33
B5. “Count On Love” – 4:27

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette, 12-inch vinyl LP, and CD by Frontline Records. (Matrix / Runout (Side A): RⒶ-9023A “Y.R.U. READING This?” 24139(2). Matrix / Runout (Side B): R0-9023-B “BiggeR HeARTS, SmAlleR MouThs” 24140(2).) (The European vinyl edition features a slightly different track order on side 2 of the LP.) Re-issued on CD (together with Gut Level Music) by KMG Records in 1998, as a part of the label’s Classic Archives Series – Music Value Pak.