''Move'' is the tenth
studio album by
Christian rock band
Third Day
Third Day was a Christian rock band formed in Marietta, Georgia during the 1990s. The band was founded by lead singer Mac Powell, guitarist Mark Lee (both of whom were the only constant members) and Billy Wilkins. Drummer David Carr was the ...
. Released on October 19, 2010, the album was the band's first after guitarist Brad Avery left Third Day. The band wanted the album to be a departure from the
modern rock
Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music.
Radio format
Mod ...
stylings of ''
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
'' (2008), intending to show more of their
southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar specula ...
roots. Third Day chose to work with producer
Paul Moak
Paul Moak (born July 8, 1979) is an American producer, engineer, mixer, and multi-instrumentalist currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee.
Biography
Paul Greer Moak, III was born in Jackson, MS on July 8, 1979. He learned music at a young a ...
on the album and recorded it at their own studio, feeling it offered them more creative freedom. Primarily a southern rock album, ''Move'' also has significant influence from
gospel music.
''Move'' received positive reviews from music critics, many of whom praised the album's southern rock sound. It was nominated for multiple awards at the
42nd GMA Dove Awards
The 42nd Annual GMA Dove Awards presentation was held on April 20, 2011, at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. The show was broadcast on GMC on April 24, 2011, hosted by Sherri Shepherd from ''The Newlywed Game''.
Nominations were announced on ...
, winning in the Recorded Music Packaging of the Year category. It sold 37,000 copies in its first week of release, debuting at number nine on the
''Billboard'' 200, number one on the ''
Billboard''
Christian Albums
Top Christian Albums is a weekly chart published in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the best-performing Christian albums in the United States. Like the ''Billboard'' 200, the data is compiled by Nielsen Soundscan based on each album's weekly ...
chart, and number three on the ''Billboard''
Rock Albums chart. In the United States, it ranked as the twenty-third bestselling Christian Album of 2010 and the fifth bestselling Christian Album of 2011. The album's four singles met with varying success at Christian radio, all of them appearing on the ''Billboard''
Christian Songs
Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs c ...
chart. ''Move'' has been
certified Gold
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), signifying shipments of over 500,000 copies.
Background and recording
![MacPowellGR2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/MacPowellGR2.jpg)
''Move'' was Third Day's first record without guitarist Brad Avery, who left the band after the recording of their previous album (''
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
''). After he left the group, the band felt they were at a musical crossroads; although they considered replacing Avery, they ultimately decided not to. After playing a few concerts without Avery, Third Day felt they needed to step it up musically.
The band's induction into the
Georgia Music Hall of Fame
The Georgia Music Hall of Fame was a hall of fame to recognize music performers and music industry professionals from or connected to the state of Georgia. It began with efforts of the state's lieutenant governor Zell Miller to attract the music ...
also served as inspiration for the record. Although the band felt that they had previously reined in sounds that were too
southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar specula ...
in sound, they decided to show more of their southern roots in the record.
Bassist Tai Anderson said that although Third Day felt ''Revelation'' was a "career record" for them, they felt they "just couldn't just make 'Revelation Part II.' It needed to feel different".
The band chose to record the album in their own studio, which they felt offered more creative freedom than their previous recording process in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
.
The also opted to work with producer
Paul Moak
Paul Moak (born July 8, 1979) is an American producer, engineer, mixer, and multi-instrumentalist currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee.
Biography
Paul Greer Moak, III was born in Jackson, MS on July 8, 1979. He learned music at a young a ...
, whom the band ultimately developed a good chemistry with.
All the songs on ''Move'' were either written or co-written by Mac Powell.
''Move'' was
produced by
Paul Moak
Paul Moak (born July 8, 1979) is an American producer, engineer, mixer, and multi-instrumentalist currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee.
Biography
Paul Greer Moak, III was born in Jackson, MS on July 8, 1979. He learned music at a young a ...
, who also handled
programming and some
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
. The album was
recorded at The Quarry in
Kennesaw, Georgia
Kennesaw is a suburban city northwest of Atlanta in Cobb County, Georgia, United States, located within the greater Atlanta metropolitan area. Known from its original settlement in the 1830s until 1887 as Big Shanty, it became Kennesaw under its ...
and The Smokestack in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
. It was
mastered
Mastering, a form of audio post production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device (the master), the source from which all copies will be produced (via meth ...
by Chris Athens and
mixed by
F. Reid Shippen and Erik "Keller" Jahner. Along with Paul Moak, Andy Hunt and Justin March also handled engineering on the album.
Composition
A
southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar specula ...
album,
''Move'' is also influenced by
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...
music.
As opposed to the
modern rock
Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music.
Radio format
Mod ...
bent and introspective lyrics of ''Revelation'', lead vocalist
Mac Powell felt the end result of ''Move'' was a "down-home, American grassroots record with a lot more gospel elements than
hird Day haveever had before".
Although some songs are set from the perspective of someone outside the Christian church, Powell felt the record's lyrics were a call to put faith into action.
"
Lift Up Your Face", a southern rock song,
displays influences from gospel and
blues music.
Gospel group
The Blind Boys of Alabama
The Blind Boys of Alabama, also billed as The Five Blind Boys of Alabama, and Clarence Fountain and the Blind Boys of Alabama, is an American Gospel music, gospel group. The group was founded in 1939 in Talladega, Alabama, and has featured a ch ...
provide backing vocals in the song, while the lyrics offer a message of encouragement.
"
Make Your Move", which depicts evangelism from the perspective of a non-believer, has a
grunge-influenced
half time chorus.
"Children of God" incorporates a children's choir into what is an otherwise
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
arrangement.
"Surrender" is led by a
dobro and has an
acoustic rock sound,
eventually building up to a climax of
guitars and
strings.
"Follow Me There" has heavy gospel influence
combined with a "rootsy rock" sound.
"Gone", which features vocals from Bear Rinehart of
Needtobreathe
Needtobreathe (stylized as NEEDTOBREATHE) is an American rock band from Seneca, South Carolina. The band is composed of Bear Rinehart (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Seth Bolt (backing vocals, bass), Josh Lovelace (backing vocals, keys), Randall ...
, has an
acoustic rock sound.
"What Have You Got to Lose", a ballad,
offers the plea: "Sin and shame, guilt and pain, pride and your conceit / Here and now lay them down at the Savior's feet".
"I'll Be Your Miracle" has a
country rock sound
and features instrumentation from
banjo and
pedal steel guitar.
"Sound of Your Voice", a
worship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recogniti ...
song, features vocals from guest vocalist
Kerrie Roberts
Kerrie Roberts (born November 14, 1985) is an American contemporary Christian artist. She has released two albums and one EP under Reunion Records. She has also released a standalone single in 2005. Several songs from her self-titled major labe ...
.
"Don't Give Up Hope" has "
Allman Brothers Allman may refer to:
Music
*The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboa ...
-style interplay" between the
slide guitar and
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
instruments.
Singles
Four singles were released from ''Move''.
Lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
"
Lift Up Your Face" was released to
Christian AC Christian adult contemporary, also known as Christian AC or CAC, is a radio format. In the United States, Christian adult contemporary radio stations cater to a mostly adult audience and are similar to mainstream adult contemporary stations in that ...
and
Christian CHR
Christian contemporary hit radio (sometimes abbreviated as Christian CHR) is a radio format that is common in the United States and Australia focusing on playing current and recent music as determined by the contemporary Christian music Top 40
I ...
radio on July 11, 2010.
It peaked at number twelve on the ''
Billboard''
Christian Songs
Hot Christian Songs is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It ranks the popularity of Christian songs using the same methodology developed for the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the magazine's flagship songs c ...
chart
and at number two on the ''Billboard'' Christian CHR chart.
The album's second single, "Children of God" was released to Christian AC radio on January 4, 2011
and peaked at number four on the Christian Songs chart.
"
Make Your Move" was released to Christian CHR radio on January 30, 2011.
It peaked at number twelve on the Christian CHR chart
and number forty-three on the Christian Songs chart.
The final single from ''Move'', "Trust in Jesus", was released to Christian AC and Christian CHR radio on June 11, 2011.
It peaked at number ten on the Christian Songs chart.
Critical reception
''Move'' received mostly positive reviews upon its release, with many critics praising the album's overall sound.
Andree Farias of
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
gave the album three-and-a-half out of five stars, saying "After a number of career moves attempting to position themselves as the next big thing in
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
, Third Day appear resigned to their place as one of the biggest rockers in Christian music: nothing more, nothing less. Move... reveals that much, as it finds the group embracing, hopefully definitively, that midpoint between spiritual fervor and Southern rock passion that suits them so well".
Chris Carpenter of
cbnmusic.com gave it four-and-a-half out of five stars, opining that "The charismatic
acPowell, along with guitarist Mark Lee, bassist Tai Anderson, and drummer David Carr, have crafted a project that is as musically stimulating as it is lyrically diverse... It's raw, passionate, and track after track is filled with uncompromising truth".
Andy Argyrakis of ''
CCM Magazine
''CCM Magazine'' is a twice-monthly online magazine focusing on contemporary Christian music, published by Salem Publishing, a division of Salem Communications.
History
''CCM'' was first published in July 1978, as a printed magazine. It has be ...
'' gave ''Move'' three out of five stars, noting an overall
southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar specula ...
sound to the album and saying that it "recalls 1999's treasured ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
''".
C. E'Jon Moore of The Christian Manifesto gave the album three out of five stars, saying "In the end, ''Move'' is a good album. It’s not a great album... Some will feel it’s a progression, but I really feel as if this is more of the same from a band who has proven that they are capable of giving us more than the status quo".
Andrew Greer of ''
Christianity Today'' gave the album four out of five stars, praising it as "Magically marrying deep soul with melodic rock throughout the entire twelve-track list" and saying that it "is yet another attractive release in an illustrious discography certain to be celebrated for years to come".
Peter Timmis of ''
Cross Rhythms'' gave ''Move'' nine stars out of ten squares, commenting that " If you like your rock soulful and gospel-tinged then 'Move' is an album you'll want to check out".
Glenn McCarty of
Crosswalk.com said that "As always, Third Day plays to its strength... to craft accessible, interesting
country rock. When it clicks, the result is arm-hair-raising good. Move, unfortunately, doesn't produce that reaction often enough... ''Move'' feels a little too safe, or, said another way, a little too static".
Lindsay Williams of
Gospel Music Channel
UP TV (stylized as UPtv; formerly GMC TV and originally Gospel Music Channel) is an American basic cable television network that was founded to have a focus on gospel music. It has expanded into family-friendly original movies, series, and special ...
said that "''Move'' may not be Third Day’s best effort in their large discography, but it’s certainly a treasure trove of hooky rock. After more than 15 years, this band still has something to say, and they say it well".
John DiBiase of Jesus Freak Hideout gave the album four-and-a-half out of five stars, opining "''Move'' showcases some of the best Third Day has to offer. Whether it's better than ''
Revelation
In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.
Background
Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...
'' or some of their other previous installments (like ''Wire'' or ''
Conspiracy No. 5'') is something to leave up to the listener to decide, but it does feel safe enough to say that Third Day's Move is a dozen tracks of southern rock goodness".
Brian Mansfield of ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
'' gave the album two-and-a-half out of four stars, saying "Whether accompanied by sharp-edged electric or slippery resonator guitars, a kids choir or the Blind Boys of Alabama, Third Day's Southern rock remains grounded in the band's faith".
Accolades
''Move'' won the award for Recorded Music Packaging of the Year at the
42nd GMA Dove Awards
The 42nd Annual GMA Dove Awards presentation was held on April 20, 2011, at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. The show was broadcast on GMC on April 24, 2011, hosted by Sherri Shepherd from ''The Newlywed Game''.
Nominations were announced on ...
.
''Move'' was also nominated for Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year, although it did not win in that category.
"Lift Up Your Face" was nominated for Rock/Contemporary Song of the Year at the 42nd GMA Dove Awards.
Commercial performance
''Move'' sold 37,000 units in its first week, debuting at number nine on the
''Billboard'' 200. It was their third top ten album on that chart.
It also debuted at number one on the
Christian Albums
Top Christian Albums is a weekly chart published in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the best-performing Christian albums in the United States. Like the ''Billboard'' 200, the data is compiled by Nielsen Soundscan based on each album's weekly ...
chart,
number three on the
Rock Albums chart,
and number ten on the
Digital Albums
The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...
chart.
It spent two consecutive weeks atop the Christian Albums chart following its release and spent an additional week atop the chart in February 2012.
''Move'' spent one week on the
Catalog Albums chart in 2012, debuting and peaking at number nineteen.
In the United States, ''Move'' ranked as the twenty-third bestselling Christian album of 2010.
It was also ranked as the fifth bestselling Christian album of 2011 and the forty-first bestselling rock album of 2011.
It has been
certified Gold
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
by the
RIAA, signifying shipments of over 500,000 copies.
[ Note: User must input the artist name to attain the cited data.]
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from the Deluxe Edition liner notes of ''Move''.
Third Day
*
Mac Powell – vocals
*
Mark Lee – guitars,
resonator guitar
A resonator guitar or resophonic guitar is an acoustic guitar that produces sound by conducting string vibrations through the bridge to one or more spun metal cones (resonators), instead of to the guitar's sounding board (top). Resonator guit ...
,
banjo,
mandolin,
Weissenborn
Weissenborn or H. Weissenborn is a brand of lap slide guitar manufactured by Hermann Weissenborn in Los Angeles in the 1920s and 1930s.
These instruments are now highly sought after, and form the base for most non-resonator acoustic lap steel ...
* Tai Anderson – bass
* David Carr – drums
Additional musicians
*
Paul Moak
Paul Moak (born July 8, 1979) is an American producer, engineer, mixer, and multi-instrumentalist currently residing in Nashville, Tennessee.
Biography
Paul Greer Moak, III was born in Jackson, MS on July 8, 1979. He learned music at a young a ...
– acoustic piano,
Hammond B3 organ,
Mellotron,
Chamberlin
The Chamberlin is an electro-mechanical keyboard instrument that was a precursor to the Mellotron. It was developed and patented by the American inventor Harry Chamberlin from 1949 to 1956, when the first model was introduced. There are several ...
, programming,
harmonica,
pedal steel guitar, backing vocals
* Scotty Wilbanks – acoustic piano,
Wurlitzer electric piano
The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is concept ...
,
clavinet, Hammond B3 organ
* Will Sayles – percussion
* Claire Indie – cello (3, 4, 8, 11)
* Tracy Silverman – viola (3, 4, 8, 11)
* Zach Casebolt – violin (3, 4, 8, 11)
* Elenore Denig – violin (3, 4, 8, 11)
* K.S. Rhoades – string arrangements (3, 4, 8, 11)
* Nickie Conley – choir
* Jason Eskridge – choir
* Missi Hale – choir
*
The Blind Boys of Alabama
The Blind Boys of Alabama, also billed as The Five Blind Boys of Alabama, and Clarence Fountain and the Blind Boys of Alabama, is an American Gospel music, gospel group. The group was founded in 1939 in Talladega, Alabama, and has featured a ch ...
– backing vocals (1)
* New Hope Academy Children's Choir – choir (3)
* Teena Boone – choir director (3)
*
Bear Rinehart
William Stanley "Bear" Rinehart III (born September 6, 1980; also known by the stage name Wilder Woods) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who is a founding member and lead singer of the rock band, Needtobreathe. In 2019, he ann ...
– backing vocals (7)
*
Kerrie Roberts
Kerrie Roberts (born November 14, 1985) is an American contemporary Christian artist. She has released two albums and one EP under Reunion Records. She has also released a standalone single in 2005. Several songs from her self-titled major labe ...
– backing vocals (11)
Production
* Paul Moak – producer,
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...
* Andy Hunt – engineer
* Justin March – assistant engineer
* Seth Bolt – vocal engineer (7)
*
F. Reid Shippen –
mixing at Robot Lemon, Nashville, Tennessee
* Erik "Keller" Jahner – mix assistant
* Chris Athens – mastering at Sterling Sound, New York City
* Terry Hemmings – executive producer
* Blaine Barcus – A&R
* Beth Lee – art direction
* Tim Parker – art direction, design
* David McClister – photography
Chart positions
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Singles
Certifications
References
{{Authority control
2010 albums
Third Day albums
Essential Records (Christian) albums
Southern rock albums