Album 56: The Grand Design

[Jesus' Princess]

Whit reminds me of Geppetto from Disney's Pinocchio movie in this artwork.

Yes! I just realized that myself. Thats who it was....

[Alyssa]

Yay for Album 55! But, folks, I HAVE A SUMMARY! For some reason, my local Family Christian got a hold of the hard copies of The Deep End early, and in them is the album 56 summary! So, here ya go:

"It seems like everyone in Odyssey is looking for something. As Emily pursues her hopes and dreams, she journeys in the Imagination Station to see Whit as a young boy. Penny goes hunting for happiness but her search makers her miserable. And Jay must figure out a strange program in the Room of Consequence that could lead to an unwanted ending. Through his invention and wise counsel, Whit guides the folks in Odyssey along the right path."

-Aly

[Jesus' Princess]

Whit as a young boy? This should be interesting.

[Mrs Jason Whittaker]

How long do we have to wait to download Album 56? I'm excited already!

[American Eagle]

Thanks for sharing that, Aly! I'm glad to see that we're getting new Imagination Station and Room of Consequence episodes!

[Reddo]

How long do we have to wait to download Album 56? I'm excited already!

Probably September, they still have only recorded 9 episodes for the album, the rest are being recorded next week.

[Sapphire]

Whit as a young boy? This should be interesting.

Yes! I am looking forward to that episode! Thank you, Alyssa!

[Woody]

I'm looking forward to Jay in the ROC.

[Laurie]

I'm looking forward to hearing more about Whit as a young boy.

[CreativeThinker101]

I don't mind the album art... I think it's pretty good. Whit might look a little childish, but, so what?

[Blitz]

The design kinda looks kidish and the imagination station cooler

[Reddo]

from the social shout out

[American Eagle]

Hmm... tithing... I wonder how that will be addressed?

I like the cover a lot!

[whittaker96]

Why doesn't Whit just tell the story instead of showing Emily through the Imagination Station...? But looking forward to this album, especially "Home Again" and the return of Joanne!!! And the cover looks amazing as an extra bonus. So much better than 55.

[AIOCREFan]

http://media.focusonthefamily.com/aio/m ... unting.mp3

Thanks to Thriving Family, we have an episode from album 56 before it releases. This episode is number 720 and is called Happy Hunting.

Penny Wise embarks on a frantic search to find happiness, but in the process she makes everyone around her miserable.

Evan Reedall said on AIO's Twitter that album 56 would come out for download in a couple days.

To get all the info we currently have on album 56, visit the Future page on AIOWiki.

[jesusfreak]

AHHHH!!! The ring is gone in the official cover!!!!!

[jennifertwt]

Anyone else notice the wedding ring? I'm pretty sure that hasn't been in the older pictures of Whit...

Note: I'm not speculating that he is getting married, it just seems odd that he would still be wearing one after all this time - and after dating other women...

That's the first thing I noticed, because I don't remember seeing it before.

Many older people continue to wear their rings many years after the death of their spouses. One of my former volunteers had lost her husband 20 years before and still wore her rings, so did my grandmother. It could be that he took it off if he was actually ON a date, but unless there was a serious commitment made to another woman, which there was not, then there is no reason for him not to wear it. As a side note, many also change the ring to the right hand or wear the deceased spouses ring. I do NOT see Whit with Lucia, but rather Lucia with the former childhood friend mentioned in Never For Nothing. Whit, unlike Jason and Connie, should stay single.

[Laurie]

My mother wore her engagement and wedding rings after my father passed.

[AIOCREFan]

Album 56 is officially available for download:
http://family.christianbook.com/Christi ... DA19120-CP

It will come out in hard copy in October (minus bonus features).

Here is the episode list:
715 & 716: The Perfect Church Parts 1 & 2
717: Great Expectations
718: For Three Dollars More
719: The Bible Network
720: Happy Hunting
721: The Holy Hoopster
721a: BONUS! Extended mix of The Holy Hoopster rap
722: The Lost Riddle
723: Groundhog Jay
724 & 725: Home Again-Parts 1 & 2
726: Push the Red Button
726a: BONUS! Behind-the-scenes of Push the Red Button
Adventures in Odyssey #56: The Grand Design - Digital Booklet

So feel free to discus what you think of the album. And if you must give something away, PLEASE use spoiler tags.

And after you done listening to the album, help us out over at AIOWiki and fill in the episode pages.

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First thing I noticed from the 30 second previews is that they seem to have gotten a new voice for Nelson (which makes him sound younger) and that there is no way that Matthew can still be a 10 year old. (Dave Arnold said this on a recent podcast, but Paul McCusker said that he thinks he is 11. I think he's at least 12. I mean, at the end of October this year, Zach will be 15. ) And a rap on Odyssey ! That hasn't happened since Lights Out At Whit's End. Hopefully this one will stand the test of time better than Communicate did.

Also, the last episode (contrary to what has been on AIOWiki for a while) is NOT the live show and is the episode that Zach talked about being one of his favorite AIO episodes on the AIO Blogcast: http://aio-blog.blogspot.com/2012/06/ai ... -zach.html. It sounds really interesting and I suspect it's the one that has all of the older versions of the characters in it. (If you didn't hear about that, visit the Future page on AIOWiki.)

All in all, this album looks to be a good one and I can't wait to hear it.

Edit: Oops, I just remembered that there was another rap on Odyssey. I don't know what episode, I just remember hearing it on the 500 episode.

[jennifertwt]

aw... I think Tom rapping on Lights Out at Whits End is one of the most hilarious moments in the whole series. Can´t wait to listen to The Grand Design!