Description
Testify - P.O.D. / Atlantic Audio CD 2006 / 7567-83857-2
UPC 075678385728
Testify is the sixth studio album by American Christian rock band P.O.D.. It was originally set for a December 2005 release but finally slated for January 24, 2006 by Atlantic Records. This is P.O.D.'s first major-label album not produced by Howard Benson. It was also their last album with Jason Truby on guitar, before he left the band in December 2006.
This album was also available in the Testify (Limited Edition) version with a bonus CD (called Beyond Testify) featuring commentary by the band on every song on the album, as well as four bonus songs and a remix that didn't make the album. The album's first single, "Goodbye for Now," went on to become the No. 1 music video on MTV's TRL and became P.O.D.'s unprecedented 4th No. 1 video. The song also enjoyed heavy play on the radio. Testify became the No. 1 selling Christian album on Billboard for several weeks and, as of May 2006, had been in the Top 25 for a total of 16 weeks. It opened at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 with 58,000 scans and has sold over 210,000 copies in the US and over 500,000 copies worldwide.
Tracklist:
| 1 | Roots In Stereo
Vocals, Written-By – Matisyahu
Vocals, Written-By – Matisyahu
|
4:42 |
| 2 | Lights Out | 2:47 |
| 3 | If You Could See Me Now | 3:07 |
| 4 | Goodbye For Now
Cello – Suzie Katayama
Vocals – Katy Perry
Cello – Suzie Katayama
Vocals – Katy Perry
|
4:34 |
| 5 | Sounds Like War | 3:52 |
| 6 | On The Grind
Vocals – Amy Terrin
Vocals, Written-By – Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., Sick Jacken
Written-By – Glen Ballard, Joel Shearer
Vocals – Amy Terrin
Vocals, Written-By – Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E., Sick Jacken
Written-By – Glen Ballard, Joel Shearer
|
4:24 |
| 7 | This Time | 4:41 |
| 8 | Mistakes & Glories | 3:38 |
| 9 | Let You Down | 4:15 |
| 10 | Teachers | 4:21 |
| 11 | Strength Of My Life
Vocals, Written-By – Matisyahu
Written-By – Glen Ballard, Joel Shearer
Vocals, Written-By – Matisyahu
Written-By – Glen Ballard, Joel Shearer
|
3:37 |
| 12 |
Say Hello | 2:32 |
| 13 | Mark My Words
Vocals – Sick Jacken
Vocals – Sick Jacken
|
3:43 |
- A&R – John Rubeli
- Art Direction, Design – Alex Kirzhner
- Artwork [Atlantic Records Art Producer] – Andrew Zaeh
- Coordinator [Aerowave] – Stephanie Kubiak
- Engineer – William Malina*, Greg Fidelman, Travis Wyrick
- Guitar [Additional Musician] – Joel Shearer
- Keyboards [Additional Musician] – Glen Ballard
- Management – Tim M. Cook, Tim Ottley
- Management [Business] – Mark Kaplan (2)
- Management [International Booking] – Emma Banks
- Management [Legal] – Gene Salomon
- Management [Project Administration] – Anne Declemente, Craig Rosen (2)
- Management [Tour Manager] – Danny "Sir Chill" Hill
- Management [U. S. Booking] – Larry Webman
- Mastered By – Ted Jensen
- Mixed By – Chris Lord-Alge
- Mixed By [Assisted By] – Dmitar "Dime-e" Krnjaic, Keith Armstrong
- Photography By – James Minchin III, The Bigness, John Rubeli, Sir Chill, Kevin Estrada
- Producer – Glen Ballard, P.O.D.
- Product Manager – David Burrier
- Technician [Drum Tech] – Mike Kelley (2)
- Written-By – P.O.D.
Upon release, Testify was met with mixed reception from major music publications. On an aggregate score out of 100, Metacritic gave it 55 based on 11 reviews.[9] Jason Bracelin of Blender gave the album two stars out of five and proclaimed, "On their fifth disc, these 'jah soldiers' run low on ammo" and elaborated that "on the ska-tinged 'Strength of My Life,' they sound like the world’s most polite rude boys, while 'Goodbye for Now' is the kind of listless modern rock that could be bottled and sold as a sleep aid."[20] Rolling Stone's Christian Hoard similarly noted "Testify is not as pompous or overblown as you might think; it just feels tired. . . The most notable aspect of Testify, in fact, is how little P.O.D., or their guitars, have to say."[18]
AllMusic's Matt Collar, however, gave the album 4/5 rating and considered guitarist Jason Truby's work a "truly inspired and technically brilliant performance." He also commended Sandoval's enthusiastic vocals regarded the album as representing "a band reborn".
P.O.D.
- Sonny Sandoval - lead vocals
- Jason Truby - guitar, backing vocals on "Mistakes and Glories"
- Traa Daniels - bass guitar
- Wuv Bernardo - drums
Additional personnel
- Jordan Orava - synthesizer
- Glen Ballard - programming, keyboards, production
- Matisyahu - guest vocals on "Roots on Stereo" and "Strength of My Life"
- Katy Perry - background vocals on "Goodbye for Now"
Jonathan Davis was scheduled to perform backup vocals on the song "Mistakes and Glories" but could not be due to scheduling conflicts. Jason Truby recorded the sections left for Davis in his place.
