What Life Would Be Like sees Big Daddy Weave return to more of an acoustic-driven sound, although the electric guitars haven't been unplugged. It's been a couple of years since I've talked to anyone in the band, but I'm positive that they're still nice guys sharing their faith and life experiences through their music, completely lacking any "rock star" attitude. That down-home feel comes through in songs that talk about the joy of babies or the stresses of domestic arguments and life in general, but always grounded in faith in Jesus Christ.
It was a bit of a surprise to hear the band covers the Phil Collins hit, "Another Day in Paradise," partly because the social justice theme hasn't characterized them in the past that I recall. However, they do a good job of adding a BDW flavor to the song choice inspired by their work with World Vision.
They also perform the classic hymn, "Revive Us Again," a plea for renewal that would fit well with any of the recent hymn recordings we've seen that spice up classics with new arrangments but without losing the feel of the original. Several guest writers contibute, including Don Chaffer (Waterdeep) on "What Life Would Be Like" and Mark Schultz on "From Here."
The album closes with one of the more rock numbers, "Just Like Somebody Else," which features a nice electric guitar solo along with plenty of horns, capping off one of the band's better projects.
All Big Daddy Weave fans will enjoy What Life Would Be Like, and if ou haven't heard them before, now would be a good time to check them out, especially if you enjoy artists like MercyMe or Steven Curtis Chapman.
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