Underdog is the fifth studio album by the Christian modern rock band Audio Adrenaline, released on September 14, 1999 by ForeFront Records.
Underdog's sound is more of a combination of their two previous albums, Bloom and Some Kind of Zombie. Lyrically, Audio A's songs focus more on missions and
the word of God being spread on tracks like "Hands and Feet" and "Jesus Movement." According to guitarist/songwriter Bob Herdman, the title of the album comes from the belief that Christians are usually seen as "underdogs" or
"weak...but we're not. We're just the opposite. God's empowered us because we've become less for Him."
The album includes two covers and a rerecording: the well-known hymn "It Is
Well With My Soul" featuring vocal assistance by singer - songwriter Jennifer
Knapp, a cover of Pete Townsend's 1980 hit "Let My Love Open the Door" (#9
Billboard Hot 100) and a new recording of "DC-10" (originally appeared on their
self-titled debut album). This new recording has more of a swing sound. Herdman sings lead vocals on the album's final track "The Houseplant Song."
The lyrics were inspired by a story Herdman read on the Internet about the effects of music on plants. It features a number of pop culture references, including a line that says "the second one you play that Petra or that Megadeth," and the closing line which says "we listen to Audio Adrenaline, cranked to eleven," in reference to a line from the film This Is Spinal Tap.
The band produced the majority of Underdog with eight songs with musician -
songwriter Charlie Peacock and Todd Collins of The Gotee Brothers each
producing two tracks. The album gave Audio A their first number one on the
Billboard Top Christian Albums and debuted and peaked at number 76 on the
Top 200 Albums charts. In 2000, the band won a Dove Award for Rock Recorded
Song of the Year for the track "Get Down" at the 31st GMA Dove Awards and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Gospel Album. A year later at the 32nd GMA Dove Awards, the title track was nominated for Rock Recorded Song of the Year. In December 2022, Underdog was reissued by ForeFront Records on vinyl for a limited time with only 500 copies pressed. It was only available thru donation to the Hands and Feet Project.
In addition to the band, additional musicians were involved in the making of
Underdog, including Peacock providing additional vocals and arrangements on
the two produced tracks, "Good Life" and "Hands and Feet" plus Dan Spencer and
Darren Mettler of the Christian ska band The O.C. Supertones provide horns on
"Jesus Movement" among others musicians.
Track listing
1. Mighty Good Leader (Audio Adrenaline) -3:15
2. Underdog (Mark Stuart, Bob Herdman, Will McGinniss, Tyler Burkum) -3:31
3. Get Down (Audio Adrenaline) -3:16
4. Good Life (Mark Stuart, Bob Herdman, Will McGinniss, Charlie Peacock) -3:53
5. Let My Love Open the Door (Pete Townsend) -2:35
6. Hands and Feet (Mark Stuart, Bob Herdman, Will McGinniss, Tyler Burkum,
Charlie Peacock) -4:09
7. Jesus Movement (Mark Stuart, Bob Herdman, Will McGinniss, Tyler Burkum)
-3:19
8. DC-10 (Swing Version) (Mark Stuart, Bob Herdman, Will McGinniss, Barry
Blair) -2:27
9. It Is Well With My Soul (featuring Jennifer Knapp) (Horatio Spafford, Philip
Bliss) -5:13
10. This Day (Mark Stuart, Bob Herdman, Will McGinniss, Tyler Burkum) -3:26
11. It's Over (Mark Stuart, Bob Herdman, Will McGinniss, Tyler Burkum) -3:58
12. The Houseplant Song (Mark Stuart, Bob Herdman, Will McGinniss) -4:05
Personnel
Audio Adrenaline:
Mark Stuart -lead vocals, backing vocals, harp on track 7, foley artist on track 12
Will McGinniss -bass guitar, backing vocals
Tyler Burkum -lead guitars, backing vocals, foley artist on track 12
Bob Herdman - lead vocals, acoustic guitar and foley artist on track 12, guitars,
keyboards, backing vocals
Ben Cissell -drums, drum overdubs on track 7, foley artist on track 12
Production credits
Audio Adrenaline -producers (tracks 1 -3, 5, 8, 10 -12)
Charlie Peacock -producer (tracks 4 and 6)
Todd Collins -producer (tracks 7 and 9)
Accolades
Dove Award -Rock Recorded Song of the Year ("Get Down")
Radio singles
1999 "Get Down" -#1 Christian CHR for 4 weeks
2000 "Good Life" -#3 Christian CHR
2000 "Hands and Feet" -#1 Christian CHR for 2 weeks, #7 Christian AC
Previous release: Some Kind of Zombie (1997)
Next release: Hit Parade (2001) (compilation album)
Watch the music video of "Get Down" here:
Watch the music video of "Hands and Feet" here:
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