11. Isn't Wasn't Ain't

 BACKGROUND:

Isn't Wasn't Ain't can technically be classified as ApologetiX's first album. From 1992 to 1994, Apologetix produced 4 "studio" (that "studio" was a hotel room) recorded cassettes and multiple live cassettes, both of which ApologetiX do not consider canon today. Of those 4 cassettes, only 2 became CDs: Isn't Wasn't Ain't and Radical History Tour. Since Isn't Wasn't Ain't is the older of the two, and ApologetiX don't recognize the rest of the cassettes in the canon, that technically makes Isn't Wasn't Ain't the oldest ApologetiX album. And to think it almost never became a CD! Yes, despite the fan outcry to release all their cassettes on CD, ApologetiX held back, with the exception of Radical History Tour. That would all change in 2003, on ApologetiX's 10th anniversary. In order to celebrate their 10th birthday, ApologetiX offered to the fan club Isn't Wasn't Ain't on CD. It sold like hot cakes. In fact, it sold so well, when ApologetiX turned 12, they re-released a director's cut of Isn't Wasn't Ain't, which added 2 mores songs that was on the cassette but not on the CD and another 2 songs that never made it when Radical History Tour transferred from cassette to CD.

TITLE:

The album gets it title from the open track on the album. That first tracks talks about thinks people believe that cannot be found in the Bible. This track does indeed set the tone for the rest of album. For the rest of the album, ApologetiX devotes itself to teaching its audience what the Bible has to say. Therefore, Isn't Wasn't Ain't makes the most sense for the introductory track to the album and the name for the album.

CRITIQUE:

Before I dive deep into the critique, let me clarify something, which may affect this critique. I personally own the director's cut of Isn't Wasn't Ain't. Therefore, this critique will consider that specific version, which means it counts the 2 parodies on the cassette that did not make it to the first edition of the CD in 2003 and the 2 spoofs from Radical History Tour that did not make the transition from cassette to CD.

In the album description and his journal, lyricist and lead singer J. Jackson vehemently confesses over and over that he knows that the recordings of these parodies are not good and not stellar. Yes, these recordings sound rough, especially in comparison to their most reason studio recordings. I would argue, however, that they are not bad either. Considering ApologetiX, at this time, was just beginning, they did their best with what they had, as little as that may have been. Of course, they would get better with time, as so many do, but getting better doesn't imply that the beginning was bad. Same goes for J.'s lyric writing. Yes, he gets better as the years go by and he learns more about the Bible, but that does not mean the earlier spoofs had bad lyrics. They are still all theologically sound. For this reason (the fact that the instrumentals and lyrics are not bad), this is why when the songs on the album were re-released on other albums, whether as a studio recorded album or a live album, I said it wasn't necessary. All the tracks on this album sufficiently communicate biblical truths while performing adequate music. Don't worry, though, if you really wanted the best top-not performance, a majority, if not most, of these tracks appear on future albums.

Isn't Wasn't Ain't does well with variety in terms of musical decades. It has songs from the 60's, 70's and 80's, even 1 90's song that came out a mere 2 years before this album. Isn't Wasn't Ain't does not do well with musical genre, as most of these songs fall under either classic rock or oldies rock 'n' roll, but that's OK because ApologetiX makes themselves out to be a Christian rock band, even if that's a Christian rock parody band. The problem when it comes to lack of variety has to do with the original artists. Typically, an original artist only appears once per ApologetiX, and in some rare instance, twice, but no more. Isn't Wasn't Ain't has 3 Beatles songs, 3 Doobie Brothers songs, 3 Guns 'N' Roses songs and 2 Led Zepplin songs. Yes, a majority of this album comes from 4 bands. If you don't like any of these 4 bands, you may not like this ApologetiX album. Fortunately, ApologetiX would learn in future years, so this never happens again.

As mentioned in a previous ranking blog post, I will not go over every song, due to the albums getting longer, but I will highlight some tracks. I have a special rule for Isn't Wasn't Ain't, though. I will not go over parodies that get a re-recording later on in ApologetiX history. This is includes everything from studio recorded albums to live albums to compilation albums, everything from better recording of the instrumentals to completely rewriting the parody (which includes the headlining parody from which this album got its name). I will only go over the spoofs that are still exclusive to this album, so anybody who has not get gotten this album can consider purchasing it in the future.

"God I Like About You" (parody of "What I Like About You" by The Romantics") is begging to be spoofed into a Yahweh-worshipping praise song. In fact, this is so true, J. even keeps the first few lines of the original song in this parody. This is a very affectionate and emotion song, as the singer pours out his heart recognizing how much God loves him and how much he should return God's love. J. admits he probably improvised on the spot the titles for God that follow "That's what I like about you." They fit pretty well. Good thing the Holy Spirit put Isaiah 9:6 in his head!

"Matthew 9" (parody of "I Feel Fine" by The Beatles) is more like Matthew 9:9-13, as it retells Jesus calling the tax collector Levi to make him the disciple Matthew. It kind of sort of works. The opening stanza communicates the Bible story the most, but from there on, it just sounds generic. The only thing that traces it back to Matthew is the fact that Matthew is an author to a Gospel.

"Mrs. Protestant" (parody of "Mrs. Robinson" by Simon and Garfunkel) is just a bunch of Bible verses put to the tune of "Mrs. Robinson." More specifically, those verses are Romans 8:1, 8:10, 10:9 and 10:13, as well as John 3:16. If you ever need or want to memorize these Bible verses, ApologetiX provided the tune for them! At first, I was a little baffled when it came to the title of the song. Was it called "Mrs. Protestant" because that sounded the closest to "Mrs. Robinson"? J. explains in his journal that the title was used to address American Christians, a majority of which are Protestant. J. also goes on to say in his journal that this song was begging to be parodied when it has the line "Jesus will love you more than you will know. I couldn't agree more. I wish, however, J. could have figured out a way to keep that line in there as is. J. did say in his journal that he has rewritten the lyrics for this parody, so we may get a re-recording of this spoof in the future.

"Love (Ain't Nothing)" (parody of "Long Train Runnin'" by the Doobie Brothers) was also just asking to be turned into a spoof, with its repeated phrase "Without love." ApologetiX take that phrase and apply Biblical truth from 1 Corinthians 13. The first verse begins with the beginning of 1 Corinthians 13. Without love, all the sign gifts lose meaning. The second verse jumps to the last verse of 1 Corinthians 13. Love, hope and faith abide, but the one that abides the longest is love, so without, a person is nothing. The rest of the song covers the remaining parts of 1 Corinthians 13, which describe the attributes of love. If you don't like "Long Train Runnin' specifically or The Doobie Brothers generally, you have other options for 1 Corinthians 13, such as "Corinthians" (parody of "In the End" by Linkin Park) on Grace Period or "Brash, Impulsive" (parody of "Brass in Pocket" by The Pretenders) on Doves in Snakes' Clothing, but I think "Love Ain't Nothing" captures 1 Corinthians 13 the best. It's a shame this track didn't close out Isn't Wasn't Ain't because then the album would open and close on a song title with "ain't" in it!

FAVORITE SONG: "David and Goliath" (parody of "Paperback Writer" by the Beatles)

I will admit I might like this song because my high school English teacher played "Paperback Writer" over and over again (go figure), but this is still a quality parody. "David and Goliath" (parody of "Paperback Writer" by the Beatles) retells the story of 1 Samuel 17. ApologetiX must love this story, for it will appear near the top of their next album, too! ApologetiX faithfully retells the story, but the music does not faithfully retell the Beatles hit. Yes, you can make out the melody and the rhythm, but not the singing. J. Jackson admits up front they knew they could not hit the Beatles harmonization, so they didn't even bother to try. Instead, they took a more comedic route by overexaggering the harmony. I still love this song, and I still get excited when it appears in my ApologetiX shuffled playlist.

FINAL VERDICT: 11th

While Isn't Wasn't Ain't is rough and tough at some points, it is by no means bad. ApologetiX did the best they could as a band in its early years. After all these years, the album still has some quality parodies. Even if you prefer the rewrites and re-recordings on future albums, some tracks on this album have not gotten that honor, so purchasing this album still has some value. Once you get pass that rough and tough recording, you'll be both worshipping and learning about the Lord, just as you would with any other ApologetiX album.

11. Isn't Wasn't Ain't
12. Hot Potato Soup
13. Recovery
14. Future Tense
15. Handheld Messiah
16. Apoplectic
17. You Can't Say Euphrates with the 80's
18. Music Is as Music Does
19. Play Nice
20. Easter Standard Time
21. Singles Group
22. Loaded 45's
23. Unconditional Releases
24. New and Used Hits
25. The Boys Aren't Backing Down
26. Chosen Ones
27. 20:20 Vision
28. Hits: The Road
29. Soundproof
30. Apol-acoustiX