Fight the Tide
Encyclopedia
Fight the Tide is the second studio album from Christian rock
band Sanctus Real
, and was released on June 15, 2004 under Sparrow Records
. Most of the album was written within one month and recorded in only four weeks. According to band members, the tight schedule caused them to refine the album's various musical and lyrical elements.
Fight the Tide won a GMA Dove Award for Modern Rock Album of the Year in 2005
and was generally well-received by music critics. It also spawned the singles "Everything About You
" and "The Fight Song
", both of which hit #1 on Christian rock radio charts.
In February 2004, Sanctus Real returned to the studio to record their second album, and nearly all of the tracks were written in the previous month. They only had four weeks to track and record the album in studio, and according to band members, recording sessions were very intensive and tiring. Hammitt said, "If we weren't in the studio laying down tracks, we were at home working on lyrics, melodies, and rewrites. It really felt like a 24 hour-a-day job for about four weeks." He estimated that two months would have been an ideal amount of time to record the album, but that the experience "was cool and it stretched us". Due to the constant guitar playing, especially during the second half of their recording time, guitarist Chris Rohman tried putting nail polish
on his fingertips because they felt so raw.
Tedd T
served as producer for Fight the Tide; it was recorded and mixed at Antenna Studios in Brentwood, Tennessee
.
, such as "Deeds", which discusses the idea that faith
and works are not separable, and "The Fight Song
", which references James' concept about the influence of "the tongue". Interpersonal relationships are another common topic. Hammitt and bassist Steve Goodrum wrote "The Fight Song" together, which was about a conflict between Goodrum and a friend: "I was kind of hurt, but I'm still close to that person ... The song is about fighting over small, unimportant things—the things that divide churches, marriages, and close relationships." "Alone" is a love song
while "Change Me" is written as a prayer
asking for better patience and kindness with others; the latter was written after Hammitt once "lost patience" with his wife: "I felt like less of a person at that point. That hurt me as well as it hurt her, because I said some stupid things when I was angry."
, Seven Places
and Ever Stays Red
.
The album's lead single
, "Everything About You
" was released to radios around the same time of the album's release. The song eventually reached #1 on R&R magazine
's Christian rock chart in September, and held the position for six consecutive weeks.
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands...
band Sanctus Real
Sanctus Real
Sanctus Real is an American Christian rock band formed in Toledo, Ohio, in 1996. The group is composed of Matt Hammitt , Chris Rohman , Dan Gartley , Pete Prevost , and Mark Graalman...
, and was released on June 15, 2004 under Sparrow Records
Sparrow Records
-Background:Sparrow Records was founded in 1976 by Billy Ray Hearn, then A&R director at Myrrh Records. Purchased by EMI in 1992, it is now part of the EMI Christian Music Group, and has been named by Billboard Magazine as "America's Best Christian Music Record Label"...
. Most of the album was written within one month and recorded in only four weeks. According to band members, the tight schedule caused them to refine the album's various musical and lyrical elements.
Fight the Tide won a GMA Dove Award for Modern Rock Album of the Year in 2005
Dove Awards of 2005
The 36th Annual GMA Dove Awards, also called the 36th Annual GMA Music Awards, were held on April 13, 2005 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 2004. The show was held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee and was hosted by Steven Curtis Chapman, CeCe Winans, Rebecca St...
and was generally well-received by music critics. It also spawned the singles "Everything About You
Everything About You (Sanctus Real song)
"Everything About You" is a song by Christian rock band Sanctus Real from their second album Fight the Tide. It was released as a radio single in mid-2004 and reached number 1 on R&R magazine's Christian rock radio format by August...
" and "The Fight Song
The Fight Song (Sanctus Real song)
"The Fight Song" is a song by Christian rock band Sanctus Real from their second album, Fight the Tide. It was released as a single in early 2005, and that year reached number 1 on R&R magazine's Christian rock radio chart....
", both of which hit #1 on Christian rock radio charts.
Background
In July 2003, before the band had prepared songs for Fight the Tide, lead vocalist Matt Hammitt said of the album: "[On Say it Loud] we wrote about every day life or about God but didn't open ourselves up completely and weren't vulnerable to listeners. I hope on the next album we really open up and pour it out."In February 2004, Sanctus Real returned to the studio to record their second album, and nearly all of the tracks were written in the previous month. They only had four weeks to track and record the album in studio, and according to band members, recording sessions were very intensive and tiring. Hammitt said, "If we weren't in the studio laying down tracks, we were at home working on lyrics, melodies, and rewrites. It really felt like a 24 hour-a-day job for about four weeks." He estimated that two months would have been an ideal amount of time to record the album, but that the experience "was cool and it stretched us". Due to the constant guitar playing, especially during the second half of their recording time, guitarist Chris Rohman tried putting nail polish
Nail polish
Nail polish, or nail varnish, is a lacquer applied to human fingernails or toenails to decorate and/or protect the nail plate.-History:...
on his fingertips because they felt so raw.
Tedd T
Tedd T
Tedd T., born Tedd Andrew Tjornhom , is a Grammy Award–winning music producer, songwriter, arranger, programmer, and engineer. He also launched the independent record label Teleprompt Records in 2003 as a joint venture with Word / Warner Music Group. His interest in the music industry began in his...
served as producer for Fight the Tide; it was recorded and mixed at Antenna Studios in Brentwood, Tennessee
Brentwood, Tennessee
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 23,445 people, 7,693 households, and 6,808 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 7,889 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.63% European American, 1.89% African American,...
.
Lyrical themes
There are several themes on Fight the Tide, although its lyrics are mainly centered around various aspects of the Christian faith. Lead vocalist Matt Hammitt noted how some of the tracks were based on the Biblical epistle of JamesEpistle of James
The Epistle of James, usually referred to simply as James, is a book in the New Testament. The author identifies himself as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ", with "the earliest extant manuscripts of James usually dated to mid-to-late third century."There are four views...
, such as "Deeds", which discusses the idea that faith
Faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
and works are not separable, and "The Fight Song
The Fight Song (Sanctus Real song)
"The Fight Song" is a song by Christian rock band Sanctus Real from their second album, Fight the Tide. It was released as a single in early 2005, and that year reached number 1 on R&R magazine's Christian rock radio chart....
", which references James' concept about the influence of "the tongue". Interpersonal relationships are another common topic. Hammitt and bassist Steve Goodrum wrote "The Fight Song" together, which was about a conflict between Goodrum and a friend: "I was kind of hurt, but I'm still close to that person ... The song is about fighting over small, unimportant things—the things that divide churches, marriages, and close relationships." "Alone" is a love song
Love song
A love song is about falling in love and the feelings it brings. Anthologies of love songs often contain a mixture of both of these types of song. A bawdy song is both humorous and saucy, emphasizing the physical pleasure of love rather than the emotional joy...
while "Change Me" is written as a prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
asking for better patience and kindness with others; the latter was written after Hammitt once "lost patience" with his wife: "I felt like less of a person at that point. That hurt me as well as it hurt her, because I said some stupid things when I was angry."
Promotion and release
In September 2004, Sanctus Real embarked on their first headlining tour, the Fight the Tide Tour. The tour covered over 25 cities and featured guest bands Hawk NelsonHawk Nelson
Hawk Nelson is a Christian rock band from Peterborough, Ontario. The band has become very popular in the Christian music scene and was voted "Favorite New Artist" by CCM Magazine in their February 2006 Reader's Choice Awards. In 2006 Hawk Nelson won a No...
, Seven Places
Seven Places
Seven Places was a Christian rock band founded in 2000. Seth Gilbert was the main songwriter and vocalist for Seven Places which was signed to BEC Recordings. The group amiably disbanded in 2005 to pursue other projects....
and Ever Stays Red
Ever Stays Red
Ever Stays Red was an American christian rock and pop band created in 2002 by a group of four friends who have been striving to create high-energy rock music with one purpose: to use their music to change the world...
.
The album's lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
, "Everything About You
Everything About You (Sanctus Real song)
"Everything About You" is a song by Christian rock band Sanctus Real from their second album Fight the Tide. It was released as a radio single in mid-2004 and reached number 1 on R&R magazine's Christian rock radio format by August...
" was released to radios around the same time of the album's release. The song eventually reached #1 on R&R magazine
R&R (magazine)
R&R was a weekly music trade publication that followed the radio industry and tracked the monitoring of current songs by format, station and audience cumes...
's Christian rock chart in September, and held the position for six consecutive weeks.
Track listing
- "Everything About YouEverything About You (Sanctus Real song)"Everything About You" is a song by Christian rock band Sanctus Real from their second album Fight the Tide. It was released as a radio single in mid-2004 and reached number 1 on R&R magazine's Christian rock radio format by August...
" (Rohman, Hammitt, Goodrum, Tjornhom) – 4:06 - "The Fight SongThe Fight Song (Sanctus Real song)"The Fight Song" is a song by Christian rock band Sanctus Real from their second album, Fight the Tide. It was released as a single in early 2005, and that year reached number 1 on R&R magazine's Christian rock radio chart....
" (Hammitt, Goodrum) – 3:39 - "Alone" (Rohman, Hammitt) – 4:19
- "Things Like You" (Hammitt) – 4:02
- "Closer" (Rohman, Hammitt) – 3:54
- "Change Me" (Hammitt) – 4:12
- "The Show" (Rohman, Hammitt) – 3:56
- "Message" (Rohman, Hammitt) – 3:31
- "Deeds" (Rohman, Hammitt) – 3:08
- "You Can't Hide" (Rohman, Hammitt) – 3:39
- "Where Will They Go" (Rohman, Hammitt) – 3:26
- "Say Goodbye" (Rohman, Hammitt, Tjornhom) – 8:47 (Includes 5 Minutes of Silence)
- "Everything About You (Alternate Version)" – 6:22
Personnel
- Tedd T. – production, mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
- Christopher York – executive prouction
- Allen Salmon – track recording
- Richard Dodd – masteringAudio masteringMastering, 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 source from which all copies will be produced...
- Jan Cook – creative direction
- Benji Peck – art direction, design & illustration
- Kristen Barlowe – photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
Charts
- Album
- BillboardBillboard (magazine)Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
's Hot Christian AlbumsHot Christian AlbumsChristian Albums is a Billboard chart of the best-selling Christian music albums of the week.-1980 number one Christian Albums:-1981 number one Christian Albums:-1982 number one Christian Albums:...
– #23 - Billboards Top HeatseekersTop HeatseekersTop Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical...
– #38
- Billboard
- Singles
- "Everything About YouEverything About You (Sanctus Real song)"Everything About You" is a song by Christian rock band Sanctus Real from their second album Fight the Tide. It was released as a radio single in mid-2004 and reached number 1 on R&R magazine's Christian rock radio format by August...
" – #1 on R&R magazineR&R (magazine)R&R was a weekly music trade publication that followed the radio industry and tracked the monitoring of current songs by format, station and audience cumes...
's Christian rock chart - "The Fight SongThe Fight Song (Sanctus Real song)"The Fight Song" is a song by Christian rock band Sanctus Real from their second album, Fight the Tide. It was released as a single in early 2005, and that year reached number 1 on R&R magazine's Christian rock radio chart....
" – #1 on R&R magazine's Christian rock chart
- "Everything About You