a cheap shirt from goodwill, or the best record of 2008?

BEN SHIVE'S DEBUT RECORD IS NOW AVAILABLE. it's an mp3 download, and it's only $10! what?!? only ten bucks?!??? order it by clicking here then click on "ben shive". you choose. a trip to a fast food restaurant with your sweetie, or owning the best record of 2008. if you don't believe me, check out this promo video back when it was available for pre-order:



can't argue with that. ben shive has played on and/or produced more records than i can list. oh okay fine, i'll list them: this is from his website - http://benshive.com/

p = producer
k = keyboards
a = arranger (strings)
w = writer

Label Records
Andrew Peterson
Love and Thunder (kwa) Essential Records 2003
Behold the Lamb of God (pkwa) Fervent Records 2004
The Far Country (pkw) Word Records, Fervent Records 2005
Appendix A (kw) 2006
Slugs, Bugs and Lullabies (k) 2006

Chris Tomlin
whatever the new one’s gonna be called (k) 2006

Ginny Owens
“Wonderful Wonder” single (k) Rocketown Records 2006

Steven Curtis Chapman
All I Really Want for Christmas (k) Sparrow Records 2005
Musical Blessings (China release) (k) Sparrow Records 2006

Amy Grant
Greatest Hits (k) (played on the new track, “The Water”) A&M Records 2004

Kathy Mattea
Joy for Christmas Day (k) Narada Records 2003

Bethany Dillon
Beautiful (k) Sparrow Records 2004

Erin O’Donnell
Christmas Time Is Here (k) Inpop Records 2004

Ten Shekel Shirt
Risk (k) Sony 2003

Sara Kelly
Living Hallelujah Single (ka) Gotee Records 2004

Compilations
City On a Hill
“The Gathering”: (kwa) (Paul Coleman, Andrew Peterson, Ginny Owens) Essential
Records 2003

Sing Over Me: Worship Songs and Lullabies (k) (Bethany Dillon, Nicole Nordeman, Jana Long, Erin O’Donnell, Christie Nockels) EMI 2006

Christmas Angels (k) (Bethany Dillon, Nicole Nordeman) Capital Records 2005

Wow 2005 (k) (Bethany Dillon) Chordant Records

Wow Christmas 2005 (k) (Bethany Dillon) Chordant Records

In The Name of Love: Artists United for Africa (ka) (Nicole Nordeman) Sparrow Records 2004

Indie Records
Dave Barnes
Brother, Bring the Sun (k)
Chasing Mississippi (k)

Matt Wertz
23 Places (k)
Today and Tomorrow (k)
The New One (whatever it’s called) (k)

Randall Goodgame
War and Peace (pk)

Jeremy Cassella
Faith and Heartache (k)

Eric Peters
Miracle of Forgetting (k)
Bookmark (k)
Scarce (k)

Micah Dalton
These Are the Roots (k)
Advancement EP (k)

Ben Shive
The Ill-Tempered Klavier (pkwa)

Keeley Valentino
The Mechanics of Leaving (k)

James Tealy
Echo (pkw)

Sara Beth
Finding the Reason (pka)

Koo Chung
While We Wait (k)
Parallel (k)

Jinny Kim
Finding Ophelia (k)

Chris Slaten
Under Green Canopies (k) [and the fastest accordian lick EVER!]

Greg Adkins
Lower Than The Angels (k)

JJ Heller
Only Love Remains (k)

with such a long list of people soliciting his musical genius, his own solo stuff has GOT to be amazing. it's just a guarantee. and oh, what's that? that's right! he played on chris' album!! it's a long and wonderful story how that came about. ask me about it sometime. anyway, you NEED this album. chris and i have been listening to it for three days straight, and i keep finding more and more things i love about it, more and more things that move me, more and more things that speak to the deep places. for example:

from Rise Up
Every stone that makes you stumble
And cuts you when you fall
Every serpent here that strikes your heel
To curse you when you crawl
The King of Love one day will crush them all

And every sad seduction
And every clever lie
Every word that woos and wounds
The pilgrim children of the sky
The King of Love will break them by and by


Nothing For The Ache
The world’s a friendly salesman
Blowing down the door
To have is to be happy
What you need is something more

And they charm you with the package
And they bleed you with the price
He can empty out your pockets
Can he fill you up inside?
It’s all a lie

There’s nothing for the ache
The groaning of a heart about to break
You’ll notice when you lie in bed awake
Feeling like you’re falling

And the world’s a pretty harlot
When you’re traveling alone
And a fool can see she’s looking
And a fool would take her home

Cause her love is so expensive
And her flattery is cheap
When you’ve gotten what you wanted
And you’re back out on the street
Then you’ll see

There’s nothing for the ache
The groaning of a heart about to break
You’ll notice when you lie in bed awake
Feeling like you’re falling

And there’s nothing for you here
Your life is like a mist that disappears
Fading like a ringing in the ears
You strain to hear the sound and then it’s gone

How my heart is bleeding
I cry with every beating
Tell me why are we born with these souls inside
That burst and break us open?
Why

If there’s nothing for the ache
No healing for a heart that’s bound to break
And no lover when you lie in bed awake
And not a hand to hold you

With a word that won’t deceive
To bring you in and meet this burning need
In the haven of a love that never leaves
In all your dreams
You were only falling in the arms of God

add some of the most amazing melodies and insrumentation with full strings and harmonies,
and you get some of the best music i've heard in my young 29 years. you can hear one of them on his myspace page - http://www.myspace.com/benshive. so go to the rabbit room and
order it! you will NOT regret it.