Jennifer Knapp - “Live” (1/24/06)

Edgy, raw, energetic, playful, still, intense, creative, literate, amazing, are a few adjectives that come to mind after a couple of listenings to the new release from Jennifer Knapp, “Live”.

Jennifer Knapp was a “rocker chick” sold out to Christ who offered her listening audience amazingly literate, poetic lyrics and folk-rock, guitar driven music which she delivers with emotion and grit in this “Live” release.

Mark Lee Townsend (guitarist/producer) has this to say in the liner notes of the CD:

“I’ll never forget Jen at the press conference sitting there after Sheryl Crow made some comment on the Reverend Falwell and then a reporter asks Jen if she was taking heat for being at the festival (Lilith Fair). She simply said that every artist there was asked to play and share their beliefs through their music, so why should she be any different, even if she sang about Christ. It was a simple and poignant statement that hit home with everyone there, myself included.”

This “Live” CD came to be in a rather unique way as Townsend explains that he was himself in the process of moving from being a guitarist to producing during the spring of 2001. During the “Back Forty Tour” Knapp headlined that spring, Townsend recorded a handful of shows with the intention of mixing in his studio for the band members as a memento. After the tour ended and he returned home, he had left the tapes behind with the thought that he’d catch up to them later. However, when he returned, the tapes were missing. It was no great loss because they were only intended for private use so nothing much was made of it.

In the fall of 2005, as God would have it, the tapes were found buried under cartons of t-shirts in a storage facility. Townsend then went through the tapes, picked the tunes out that he thought best represented that tour and fans of Jennifer Knapp can now enjoy the energy, enthusiasm for God, and gritty music of “rocker chick” Jennifer Knapp.

This reviewer was blessed to see Jennifer Knapp perform as co-headliner with Jars of Clay later that year, in the fall of 2001, so hearing this CD brings to mind those moments of excitement and zeal for God that is amplified through the music Knapp wrote and performed so well. I also was able to meet her and talk with her, and that is a moment I won’t ever forget.

The CD contains all the radio hits and fan favorites: “Romans”,”Lay it Down”, “Whole Again”, “When Nothing Satisfies”, “Usher Me Down”, “The Way I Am”, “His Grace is Sufficient”, “Martyrs and Thieves”, “Fall Down”, “Refine Me”, “A Little More”, “Into You”, “Undo Me”.

The songs on these CDs were not taken back and worked up in the studio. What you hear is what was played at the show. Sometimes things are a little “off”, little intonation problems most likely only noticeable to a trained ear, and at times you can hear that Knapp is a little out of breath, but this is LIVE music…warts and all! I like it! You get to hear her work the crowd and their response to her performance is enthusiastic and even in venues that had thousands in attendance, the songs like “Refine Me” could quiet them in prayerful reverence. This CD really takes you there, to that place, to that time, to that moment.

Another thing I do like about the production of this CD is that these tunes are snatched from recordings of a number of different shows and dates, yet they are woven together in such a way that there is consistency and it is almost as though what you are hearing is all from the same show, and you are there. The segue between tracks is smooth and hardly noticeable.

A favorite for me is “Undo Me” because the band added something new and creative to the beginning and end of this song. It is a psychedelic, blues-rock vamp, heavy with lead guitar that Knapp improvises verses of “Undo Me” over. “I messed up again” is what she cries out in desperation, in a Janis Joplin style. It is heart-wrenching, literally.

When Jennifer Knapp walked off the stage at her last performance years ago, she left a gaping hole in the hearts of her fans and in Christian Music in general. Fortunately, her music is her legacy and for now, we are all still able to enjoy it. I can’t deny that this “Live” album has stirred up more curiousity in me as to where she is, and what is she doing. Fans have been praying for her, praying she is living in God’s Grace, because “His Grace is Sufficient” with the hope that someday we will hear a new melody, a new verse from this talented “rocker chick”. I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to see her perform live in 2001 and got to meet her face to face to tell her “you rock!”.

Currently Knapp is still signed with Gotee Records and is officially on sabbatical.

Visit these sites for more information:

Gotee - Knapp’s record label
JenniferKnapp.com - Jennifer Knapp’s Official Website (relaunched) - they’ve got great information on this new disc, including a “song stories” which provide insight about the songs on this new live CD. Interesting stuff.
JenniferKnapp.net - This is the unofficial Jennifer Knapp forums page that has been maintained very professionally over the years. A great place for Knapp fans to hang out and meet each other.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 25th, 2006 at 8:14 am and is filed under , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.