MY TOP SONGS, 2023, ACCORDING TO SPOTIFY

Me with David Pataconi of TheoTerran

First Blog of 2024! Excited? And what better way than to look at what Spotify considered my Top Songs for last year!

I first discovered that Spotify formed a playlist of my Top songs based on airplay two years ago. I did notice, though, that there were some songs that I wasn't familiar with. So I had several "Ballot Stuffing" playlists, to see if I could get a "Top Songs" that reflected what I was actively listening to. 

Result? Mission Accomplished! I did have a few songs that I didn't think belonged, but not the way it was the previous years. Next year, though, I'll try to rotate through all my playlists and see what that looks like.

But I'm sure all my musician friends are holding their breath to see how they fared. I'll try to minimize the duration of the suspense. (Hey, doesn't Duration of Suspense sound like a good band name?)

I'm going to include a link to the list at the end, but I'll go through statistics. I figured out that there were 62 different artists on the list. 20 of those appeared more than once. Pardon me, therefore, if I don't list the 42 single entry artists (you can find them on the list mentioned above).

Nine had a pair of entries. One of those was Sovereign Grace Music, which made me smile - one entry was the studio version of "Behold Our God," while the other was the live rendition. Joining them were, in alphabetic order: Margaret Becker, Forsaken Hero, I Am The Pendragon, Rich Mullins, Rusty Shipp, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Soundless Whisper, and Yanni.

How about those who had three entries? I'm glad you asked! These six, again in alphabetic order, feature Franz Berwald (classical composer), Jodie Essex, Felix Mendelssohn, Reclaim The Day, TheoTerran, and Zahna. 

Math time. The number of songs in these three levels, adding 42, 18, and 18, equaling 78, with 22 remaining, Likewise, the artists in each level - 42, 9, and 6 - comes to 57, which when subtracted from 62 leaves 5. So who are those top 5 artists based on entries? Drum roll please. 

In  second place, we have a four way tie between Battled, Divine Martyr, Raviner, and True Revival, with four songs each. And on the top with six songs - Eyes Aflame!

But let me change angles. I mentioned the link will have the list of the 100 in order, but I'll be nice and give you the top 10 songs, recorded by 8 different artists. Ready?

Number 10 - "Remnant"  by Ignescent

Number  9 - "Frontline" by Idle Cure (an old timer on a fairly modern list).

Number 8 - "Sentenced To Life" by Reclaim The Day.

Number 7 - "Not The End" by Eyes Aflame.

Number 6 - "You Chose Me" by Toni LaShaun.

Number 4 - "Underneath" by Zahna.

I hear you all! You're asking about #5. I have a reason. You remember I mentioned there are 8 different artists doing the top ten, and I've listed 6. Are any of the 6 in the remaining 4 slots? Nope. Have the final two artists split those four? Nope. Divine Martyr has filled up three of the top five slots with "Mystique" (#5), "Truth" (#3), and "Fear" (#2).

So who is #1? Come on, you should have it figured out! What band is represented by the gentleman next to me in the picture at the top of this blog? The number one song belongs to "Battle Cry" by TheoTerran!

As promised, below is the full list. Are any of your favorites on it? 

Jeff's Top Songs 2023, per Spotify

 

ALBUM REVIEW - "ONWARD" BY KAYLA CAREESE

 I go through phases of listening to songs on Spotify's "Discover Weekly." I believe that is how I discovered "The Martyr Song" by Kayla Careese (not to be confused with Erick Nelson's classic "Martyr Song"). From there, I started listening to other songs of Kayla, and finally took the time to sit down and listen to her complete album "Onward."

Kayla's music is primarily piano based and easy listening, and very good. There was not a bad song on the 12 song project, with my favorites being the title track, "Faith," "Only A Moment," "My Heart," "Seek God Seek Life," the concluding "Christ Our Anchor" and, as mentioned above, "The Martyr Song."

This album came out in 2017, and I'm looking forward to the next one.

 

ALBUM REVIEWS - CHAMPIONS, HERE & NOW, AND OUT OF THE BLUE BY TRACE BALIN

Trace Balin, photo courtesy of Discogs

 

I remember hearing Trace Balin on the radio in the late '80's, most notably "We Need Each Other" - a trio with Marty McCall (Fireworks, First Call) and Bob Carlisle (Allies, singer of "Butterfly Kisses"). However, I was blown away by her song "Never Let It Be Said," written by producer Jonathan David Brown, which is my all-time second favorite song (only to Steve Taylor's "I Just Wanna Know." 

For that reason, her second project "Here & Now" was added to my collection. I also had the honor of hearing her at a GMA Extravaganza Event and heard her do a four song set, including "We Need Each Other," with Marty and Bob joining her. However, I never broke down and got "Champions" or "Out Of The Blue." For the record, I'm not aware of any other projects. 

Three days before writing this, I turned off the shuffle feature and put on "Out Of The Blue." The next day, I finally listened to "Champions." And after listening, I asked myself, "Why did I wait so long?!"

So I'll review all three of her albums in one setting. 

Her first project was "Champions." I had forgotten the song "Only For You," let alone that Trace was the one who recorded it. I always loved that song. There are other great songs on this like "All I Wanna Do," "We Are An Army," "Rock' These Rafters," "Walk In The Spirit," "I Don't Deserve Your Love," and of course the title track and "We Need Each Other." 

As I mentioned earlier, "Here And Now" is the only album I've heard more than half a week ago. The title song is a great opening track, and has several songs I absolutely love on it: "If I Don't Have Love," "Eye Of the Hurricane," "When The Well Runs Dry," "Well Done," "Just Between You And Me," and her rendition of the classic hymn "All Hail The Power." And I dare not forget the haunting concluding number "Why Me?" and of course the above mentioned "Never Let It Be Said."

Last but not least is "Out Of The Blue." Three of the four songs I heard her do at the above mentioned concert were from this project. All her songs are great musically, but I found the words of this project to be challenging in a positive sense, right off with the opening track "Stranger." It contains another song I forgot about (and again that she did it): "Answer To Prayer." Other good songs include the title track, "Changes," "My Heart Is Set On You," "This Is Where," "Meet You In The Garden," "The Love We Know," "Walk It Out," and the final song "You Were My Last Hope."

If you never heard her, I recommend you check Trace Balin's albums out. You can find her projects on Discogs and on Spotify. You'll see why she's one of my favorite singers.