NEW MUSIC
Sixpence: Don't Dream It's
Over
Compiled by Jennifer E. Jones
CBN.com Associate Producer
CBN.com
– This week Word Records unleashes The Best of Sixpence None
The Richer, an eighteen-song compilation from the best-selling and award-winning
band. The project encompasses the group’s remarkable ten-year career,
featuring all of the band’s hit singles, several out-of-print songs from
the early years, and three previously unreleased songs. In addition, the retrospective
includes a version of "Kiss Me" never heard outside of Japan.
The first single from the project, “Us,” which along with “Loser
Like Me” and “Too Far Gone,” make up Sixpence’s fresh
creative offerings on the album.
“This project chronicles the extraordinary career of a groundbreaking
band,” said Mark Lusk, senior vice president of marketing for Word Records.
“Over the last ten years, Sixpence None the Richer has made an outstanding
contribution to both art and faith, and this collection provides a complete
portrait for fans of the band, both old and new.”
The story of Sixpence None the Richer begins in 1994, when friends and fellow
Texans Leigh Nash and songwriter/guitarist Matt Slocum released their sleeper
hit, The Fatherless and the Widow. Already, Sixpence found the combination
of wrenching lyrical depth and brave, pixie-like vocals that would captivate
thousands as the band's career progressed.
After 1995’s This Beautiful Mess, Sixpence found a home in
newly-formed indie-label Squint Entertainment, the brainchild of legendary
producer Steve Taylor. With a resolute commitment to introducing people to
the band's music, Squint prepared to launch the momentous album that would
move Sixpence into its spotlight pop center.
First released in 1997, the self-titled Sixpence None the Richer
spent more than a year on shelves before its winsome love song, "Kiss
Me," landed on the soundtrack to the teen hit comedy She's All That.
Seemingly overnight, Sixpence found themselves with the #1 pop song in the
U.S., as "Kiss Me" became the most-played song in 11 countries and
topped VH1's Video Countdown. The Grammy-nominated sonnet appeared
on sitcoms and soaps, including appearances on such major network television
shows as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Saturday Night Live,
and The Today Show.
Sixpence followed that success with its cover of the La's hit "There
She Goes," adding an eleventh-hour recording of the song to its soon-to-be
platinum-selling project. Establishing Sixpence as a legitimate "Breakthrough
Artist," the song became a Top 10 pop single and video in its own right.
Sixpence's final studio album, 2002's Divine Discontent, recorded
the band's struggle to come to terms with the obligations of its commercial
success. Divine Discontent delivered another Top 10 single with its
cover of Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over," and a Top 20 with
"Breathe Your Name," while giving the band a chance to take stock
of its creative journey and reiterate its deep-seated convictions.
In February of this year, Sixpence wrote a letter to CCM Magazine detailing
that the band was retiring. Nash wanted to focus on her new family while Slocum
wanted to pursue other avenues such as traveling and school.
The Best of Sixpence None the Richer says goodbye in the most fitting
way -- by gathering their most memorable tunes into one comprehensive collection.
The project spans across each of the band's studio albums, along with hard-to-find
cuts from various soundtracks and compilations. The track list includes a
cover of the cult pop classic, Abba's "Dancing Queen," and the band's
version of "I Just Wasn't Made for These Times," which commemorates
Beach Boy Brian Wilson. Revealing Sixpence's spiritual bent are such fan favorites
as the Psalmic "Trust (Reprise)" from The Fatherless and the
Widow; the atmospheric, quizzical opening to This Beautiful Mess,
"Angeltread;" and Divine Discontent's "Melody of You.”
This album marks the end of Sixpence None the Richer’s road, and, throughout
it all, they stayed true to the origins of their name, which comes from C.S.
Lewis’ Mere Christianity. Nash explains, "A little boy
asks his father if he can get a sixpence -- a very small amount of English
currency -- to go and get a gift for his father. The father gladly accepts
the gift, and he's really happy with it, but he also realizes that he's not
any richer for the transaction... C.S. Lewis was comparing that to his belief
that God has given us the gifts that we possess, and to serve Him the way
we should, we should do it humbly...realizing how we got the gifts in the
first place."
Purchase The
Best of Sixpence None the Richer.
Visit Sixpence None the Richer
online.
|
|