''70 Faces'' is the second studio album by the

Jewish rock Jewish rock is a form of contemporary Jewish religious music that is influenced by various forms of secular rock music. Pioneered by contemporary folk artists like Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach (musician), Shlomo Carlebach and the Diaspora Yeshiva Band, ...

band Blue Fringe, released and distributed by Sameach Music on June 5, 2005. The title is a reference to

Bamidbar Rabbah Numbers Rabbah (or Bamidbar Rabbah in Hebrew) is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletic interpretations of the book of Numbers (''Bamidbar'' in Hebrew). In the first prin ...

, which uses the phrase to explain the multifaceted nature of the Torah.

Style and composition

''70 Faces'' notably departs from the pop and

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

sounds of '' My Awakening'', instead incorporating blues,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

, and funk elements similar to

Shaggy Shaggy may refer to: People *Shaggy (musician) (born 1968), Jamaican American reggae rapper and singer * Shaggy 2 Dope, half of the hip hop, horrorcore band Insane Clown Posse * Shaggy Flores (born 1973), Nuyorican poet, writer and African diaspor ...

and

Jamiroquai Jamiroquai () are an English funk and acid jazz band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in th ...

, as well as

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

influences like

Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

, and Radiohead. Lyrically, the album features more original English lyrics than ''My Awakening'', although Hebrew prayers and scripture are still invoked. "Lo Irah" and "Roll" deal with persecution, while "Modim" expresses thanks to God for life's successes. The R&B-influenced "Shidduch Song", which appeared on the previous album as a hidden track, satirizes the confusing customs of New York's

shidduch The ''Shidduch'' ( he, שִׁדּוּךְ, pl. ''shidduchim'' , Aramaic ) is a system of matchmaking in which Jewish singles are introduced to one another in Orthodox Jewish communities for the purpose of marriage. The practice In the past an ...

scene. The final track, "Hineini", is a dark

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

about the

binding of Isaac The Binding of Isaac ( he, , ), or simply "The Binding" (, ), is a story from Genesis 22 of the Hebrew Bible. In the biblical narrative, God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on Moriah. As Abraham begins to comply, having bound Isa ...

Track listing

#"Lo Irah" – 2:32 #" Av Harachamim" – 3:43 #"Modim" – 5:23 #"Lifnei Adon" – 5:01 #"Generations" – 3:50 #"Shidduch Song" – 4:36 #"Ein Mayim" – 4:14 #" Shir Hashirim" – 6:30 #"Roll" – 3:14 #"70 Faces" – 3:48 #"Hineini" – 5:49

Personnel

;Blue Fringe * Dov Rosenblatt – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriting *Avi Hoffman – lead guitar *Danny Zwillenberg – drums *Hayyim Danzig – bass guitar

References

{{Authority control 2005 albums Blue Fringe albums