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Portable Sounds

 
Album Review: Portable Sounds
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Portable Sounds

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  • Artist: Tobymac
  • Rating: StarStarStarHalf Star
  • Release Date: February 20, 2007
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Gospel

Review

Take this any way you want, but the fact is that Tobymac is pretty much the Justin Timberlake of the Christian pop set. A refugee from a successful boy band, he is jaw-droppingly talented, with a gift for both butt-kickingly funky grooves and irresistible hooks. Like Timberlake, he also knows how to distribute his hooks, doling them out carefully so as to keep your attention focused; he also possesses the admirable ability to work in a wide variety of styles without ever sounding like a panderer or a dilettante. On his third solo album, he opens with the fun and funky "One World," then settles into a pretty neo-soul groove on "Made to Love" before jumping into a rock-ish hip-hop mode on "Boomin'," and then lapsing into straight-up rock & roll on "I'm for You." Every one of those tracks feels perfectly natural -- though he does sound a bit too much like a Sting imitator during the reggae interlude near the end of "Made to Love." "Ignition" and the embarrassingly titled "Feelin' So Fly" both invoke the glory days of '70s soul. Almost everything here rises to an almost amazing level of musical quality and pure pop joy; the only flies in the ointment are the between-song sketches (please, someone pass a law against between-song sketches) and the obligatory track featuring his son, TruDog -- who seems like a genuinely nice and even talented kid, but whose appearances on his dad's records are just too cloying to be enjoyable to anyone outside the family. Highly recommended overall. ~ Rick Anderson, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
One World (Lyrics) Toby McKeehan, Christopher Stevens, Cary Barlowe tobyMac, Siti Monroe (3:50)
Made to Love (Lyrics) Toby McKeehan, Aaron Rice, Jamie Moore, Cary Barlowe tobyMac (3:50)
Boomin'/Opera Trip Toby McKeehan, Christopher Stevens tobyMac (4:02)
I'm for You (Lyrics) Toby McKeehan, Aaron Rice, Cary Barlowe tobyMac (3:47)
Face of the Earth/Chuck @ Artist Development (Lyrics) Toby McKeehan, Joe Weber, Christopher Stevens tobyMac (4:38)
No Ordinary Love Toby McKeehan, Dave Wyatt Nirva Dorsaint, tobyMac (3:16)
Ignition (Lyrics) Toby McKeehan, Trevor McNevan, Christopher Stevens tobyMac (3:53)
Hype Man (Trudog '07) tobyMac, Truett McKeehan (1:41)
Suddenly (Lyrics) Toby McKeehan, Joe Weber, Christopher Stevens tobyMac (3:40)
All In (Letting Go)/Mr. Talkbox Toby McKeehan, Christopher Stevens tobyMac (4:33)
Feelin' So Fly (Lyrics) Toby McKeehan, Christopher Stevens tobyMac (3:49)
No Signal (Lyrics) tobyMac (1:11)
Lose My Soul/Afterparty Toby McKeehan, Michael Ripoll, Christopher Stevens Kirk Franklin, tobyMac, Mandisa (6:17)

Credits

Javier Solís (Percussion), David Angell (Strings), John Catchings (Strings), Jesse Chambers (A&R), David Davidson (Strings), Mark Douthit (Horn), Kirk Franklin (Vocals (Background)), George Marino (Mastering), Toby McKeehan (Programming), Toby McKeehan (Producer), Brent Milligan (Bass), Kristin Wilkinson (Strings), Marcelo Pennell (Engineer), F. Reid Shippen (Mixing), Kevin B. Hipp (Digital Editing), Kevin B. Hipp (Mastering), Kevin B. Hipp (Assembly), Jan Cook (Creative Director), Joe Weber (Guitar), Roy Agee (Horn), Tony Morra (Drums), Michael Ripoll (Guitar), David Dobson (Photography), Todd Lawton (Bass), Jason Eskridge (Vocals (Background)), Ric Robbins (Turntables), Jamie Moore (Programming), Donald Lee Woods (Choir, Chorus), Justin York (Guitar), Justin York (Vocals (Background)), Mike Haynes (Horn), Will Sayles (Drums), Tony Lucido (Bass), Paul Moak (Guitar), Paul Moak (Engineer), Brad O'Donnell (A&R), Trevor McNevan (Guitar), Steve Lotz (Assistant), Christopher Stevens (Bass), Christopher Stevens (Guitar), Christopher Stevens (Drums), Christopher Stevens (Keyboards), Christopher Stevens (Programming), Christopher Stevens (Vocals (Background)), Christopher Stevens (Producer), Christopher Stevens (Engineer), Christopher Stevens (Performer), Christopher Stevens (Mixing), Christopher Stevens (Musician), Kene "Ghost" Bell (Programming), Kene "Ghost" Bell (Performer), Cary Barlowe (Guitar), Seth Ready (Vocals (Background)), Seth Ready (Choir, Chorus), Gabriel Patillo (Vocals (Background)), Gabriel Patillo (Performer), Gabriel Patillo (Beat Box), Gabriel Patillo (Assistant), Tim Rosenau (Guitar), Jeremy Lutito (Drums), Ayiesha Woods (Vocals (Background)), Ayiesha Woods (Choir, Chorus), Ayiesha Woods (Performer), Calvin Nowell (Vocals (Background)), Chad Howat (Assistant Engineer), Siti Monroe (Vocals (Background)), Nate Yetton (A&R)
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Wikipedia: Portable Sounds
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Portable Sounds
Studio album by tobyMac
Released February 20, 2007 (U.S.)
Recorded 2006
Genre CCM
Rock
Pop
Hip hop
Length 48:28[1]
Label ForeFront Records
Producer Toby McKeehan
Christopher Stephens
David Wyatt
Professional reviews
tobyMac chronology
Renovating Diverse City
(2005)		 Portable Sounds
(2007)		 Alive and Transported
(2008)

Portable Sounds is the third full-length studio album from Christian pop rock and hip hop artist tobyMac. It was released on February 20, 2007, and debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200. The album features the singles "Lose My Soul", "Made to Love", "Boomin'", "I'm for You", and "One World (featuring Siti Monroe)". This album took a slightly different direction than tobyMac's previous hip hop efforts, having more of a pop sound. When it was released on iTunes, users were able to download a behind-the-scenes making of the album video, a digital booklet, and an acoustic version of "Made to Love."

Contents

Release

Portable Sounds was released on February 20, 2007 through ForeFront Records.[2] It debuted at #10 on the Billboard 200, tobyMac's highest chart position as a solo artist, selling 51,000 copies in its first week.[3] In its second week on the Billboard 200, Portable Sounds fell to #38, in its third week to #47, and in its fourth week it fell to #63.

A Deluxe Edition of Portable Sounds was released on October 23, 2007. The Deluxe Edition includes the original CD, plus a DVD containing all five music videos, behind-the-scenes footage, and remixes of "Ignition" and "Boomin'".

On November 14, 2008 the album was certified Gold by the RIAA.[4]


The tracks "Feelin' So Fly" and "I'm For You" were featured in the video game Thrillville: Off the Rails.

After the abum was put out Toby went on the Portable Sounds Tour.

Singles

  • "Made To Love" reached #1 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs chart. It was also #1 for 9 consecutive weeks on R&R's Christian Hit Radio (CHR) Chart and was the seccond most played song on Christian CHR radio stations in 2007.[5] It reached #3 on R&R's Christian AC Chart.
  • "Boomin" was the only single to have an official music video. This video won a GMA Dove Award. On radio it charted only on the lower half of R&R's Christian Rock Radio chart.
  • "I'm For You" reached #2 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs chart. It also was #1 for 8 consecutive weeks on R&R's Christian Hit Radio Chart and was the third most played song on Christian CHR radio stations in 2007.[5] It reached #10 on R&R's Christian AC Chart.
  • "One World" reached #10 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs chart. It was also #1 for 3 non consecutive weeks on R&R's Christian Hit Radio Chart. It was the seventh most-played song on R&R magazine's Christian CHR chart for 2008.[6] A remix of "One World" appears on the Hip Hope Hits 2009 compilation and features a verse from KJ-52.
  • "Lose My Soul" reached #2 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs chart, and #9 on iTunes.
  • "No Ordinary Love" and "Ignition" were both released as singles around late 2008.[citation needed]

Track listing

  1. "One World" (featuring Siti Monroe) – 3:50
  2. "Made to Love" – 3:50
  3. "Boomin'/Opera Trip Interlude" – 4:02
  4. "I'm for You" – 3:47
  5. "Face of the Earth/Chuck @ Artist Development Interlude" – 4:38
  6. "No Ordinary Love" (featuring Nirva Dorsaint) – 3:16
  7. "Ignition" – 3:53
  8. "Hype Man (truDog '07) (featuring truDog)" – 1:41
  9. "Suddenly" – 3:40
  10. "All In (Letting Go)/Mr. Talkbox Interlude" – 4:33
  11. "Feelin' So Fly" – 3:49
  12. "No Signal" – 1:11
  13. "Lose My Soul" (featuring Kirk Franklin and Mandisa) – 6:17
  14. "Boomin' (remix)" (featuring Shonlock) - 3:36 [Digital Only]
  15. "Ignition (remix)" - 3:57 [Digital Only]

Remixes

A Remix album has not yet been released like his previous 2 studio albums... However 6 official remixes have surfaced from the album 1 made to love (from the CD single 2 one world (from hip hope hits 2009) 3 ignition (from deluxe edition) 5 boomin' (from deluxe edition) 6 lose my soul (from city on our knees CD single)


Music videos

  • "Boomin"
  • "Feelin' So Fly"
  • "Lose My Soul"

Guest appearances

Charts

Chart Peak Position
U.S. Billboard 200 10
Billboard's Top Christian Albums 1

Song charts

Song Chart Peak Position
"Made to Love" Billboard Hot Christian Songs 1
"Boomin'" Billboard Hot Christian Songs -
"I'm For You" Billboard Hot Christian Songs 2
"One World" Billboard Hot Christian Songs 10
"Lose My Soul" Billboard Hot Christian Songs 2

References

  1. ^ John DiBiase (2007-02-17). "tobyMac, "Portable Sounds" Review". Jesus Freak Hideout. http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/cdreviews/PortableSounds.asp. Retrieved 2009-03-31. 
  2. ^ "Tobymac – Portable Sounds". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/discography/index.jsp?pid=468871&aid=828532. Retrieved 2009-03-31. 
  3. ^ Katie Hasty, "Norah Stays Tight At No. 1 Amidst Slow Sales Week", Billboard.com, February 28, 2007.
  4. ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/riaa/index.jsp
  5. ^ a b 2007 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs, R&R magazine, Retrieved January 6, 2008
  6. ^ 2008 Year End Charts/Top Christian CHR songs, R&R magazine, Retrieved January 15, 2009

External links

v • d • e
TobyMac
TobyMac
Solo Albums
Momentum • Welcome to Diverse City • Portable Sounds • Tonight
Remix Albums
Live Albums
Related Articles

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Portable Sounds".  Read more