What's the story behind New & Used Hits: The Best of ApologetiX Vol. 1 & 2?

The ninth official ApologetiX CD, "New & Used Hits: The Best of ApologetiX Vol. 1 & 2" will be in stores in time for Thanksgiving Weekend 2004. You can also order it on this website right now. Here's the link:

http://www.apologetix.com/newandused/

When we embarked on "the quest of the best of," it was difficult to determine which criteria to use. What is "the test of the best of?" The biggest hits? Best performances? Best lyrics? Fans' favorites? Band's favorites? We decided early on to make it a two-CD set. Forty songs seemed like a nice goal, too. However, with 11 tracks making their debuts on this ApologetiX album, that left only 29 songs to represent the eight ApologetiX albums already in stores (and each of those albums contained 18-22 songs).

Our goal has always been to make each album better than the one before it, yet each one has its shining moments, and we wanted this collection to represent the entire span of the band's career. We also wanted to show the scope of styles we've spoofed, including rock, pop, alternative, metal, rap, new wave, progressive, oldies, latin, adult contemporary, country, disco, etc. They're all here on this CD. Furthermore, it's always been very important to us to reach out to multiple generations, so the era of music covered on this CD stretches from the 1950's to today. No artist or group is spoofed more than once.

The mission of ApologetiX is twofold: to reach those who don't know Christ and to teach those who already do. The mission of this CD is also twofold: to give first-time listeners a sampler of ApologetiX through the years and to give long-time fans a look at ApologetiX now -- with new studio tracks and new "live" versions of some old favorites. In order to start everyone on common ground, this CD begins with brand new material that will be fresh for new and old fans alike. Then we gradually look back from our newest albums to our oldest, inserting the "live" tracks in the sections that contain songs from the album on which they originally appeared, so even our oldest fans can't say they've heard it all before.

Maybe you feel you've heard it all before when it comes to the Bible -- Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, Noah & the Ark, Samson & Delilah, David & Goliath, Jonah & the Whale, Daniel & the Lions Den, blah, blah, blah. It is our hope that these little parodies will change your mind and make you want to read the full accounts of those true stories in the Bible and discover all the other wonderful things that await you there ... most importantly, a personal encounter with Jesus Christ.

For a complete track listing, please see the FAQ titled "What's on 'New & Used Hits.'"