R.I.O.T. (Righteous Invasion of Truth) (CD - 1995)

Personnel: Carman (vocals); Scott Lenox, Jason Garner, Tim Putnam (rap); Rose Baker (spoken vocals); Tommy Sims (acoustic & electric guitars, piano, Wurlitzer, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B-3 organ, Moog synthesizer, bass, drums, percussion, programming, background vocals); Rick Will, Dann Huff, George Cocchini, Gordon Kennedy (guitar); Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Nashville String Machine (strings); Jim Hoke, Terry McMillan (harmonica); Kip Kubin (keyboards); Dan Needham (drums); Eric Darken (percussion); Ricky Skaggs, Robin Johnson, Chris Willis, O'Landa Draper & Associates, The Born Again Church Choir, The American Boychoir, Bonnie Keen, Melodie Tunney, Gail Farrell, Dave Williamson, Marty McCall (background vocals).

The One World Choir: Michael Mellet, Nicol Smith, Cindy Morgan, Lisa Keith, Angelo Petrucci, Veronica Petrucci, Bob Carlisle, Lisa Bevill, Lisa Cochran, Tabitha Fair, Micah Wilshire, Lori Whitesides, Peter Penrose, Robert White Johnson, Rodney Lay, Jr. (background vocals).

Engineers: Steve Bishir, Brown Bannister, Martin Woodlee, JB.

All songs written or co-written by Carman and Tommy Sims except "Amen" (Jester Hairston).e

R.I.O.T RIGHTOUS INVASION OF TRUTH: THE MOVIE contains 35 minutes of music video and 25 minutes of action drama.

Personnel: Carman (vocals); Jason Garner, Tim Putnam, Scott Lenox (rap vocals); Tommy Sims (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, Fender Rhodes piano, Moog synthesizer, drums, percussion); Dann Huff, George Cocchini, Gordon Kennedy, Rick "Soldier" Will (guitar); Paul Franklin (steel guitar); Nashville String Machine (strings); Jim Hoke, Terry McMillan (harmonica); Kip Kubin (keyboards); Dan Needham (drums).

Recording information: Dugout Studio, Nashville, TN.

Director: James Litton.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Marty McCall; The American Boychoir; Ricky Skaggs; Chris Willis; O'Landa Draper; Bonnie Keen.

While consistently stronger than many of Carman's releases, R.I.O.T. is about what one would expect from the CCM star. Included in this eclectic album are stabs at industrial rock (the title cut), big band ("7 Ways 2 Praise"), and country ("Step of Faith"). Since it's Carman, you can also expect the ballad ("Whiter Than Snow"), the sermon-song ("There Is a God"), and one for the kids ("No Monsters"). The songs are generally well-written, catchy, and interesting, but Carman tends to copy other artists rather than develop a unique style of his own. This is particularly true of the closing cut, "Amen," which adds nothing new to a song that has been recorded numerous times. ~ Marc Castellani minimize