In Feast or Fallow

Sandra McCracken
Independent
www.newoldhymns.com

If nothing else, Sandra McCracken's new record, In Feast or

Fallow is the most Christ-focused, God honoring collection I've heard in ages. In an era
where modern worship is often more about the worshiper than the worshiped, it is
refreshing to hear these modern hymns (some reworked texts, some new compositions)
which, ironically, come from a deeply personal well of fear and questioning, yet point to
the perfect balm to combat self-tyranny: the promises of Christ's resurrection, the
liberating freedom of The Holy Spirit, and the comfort of knowing a God who, while not
safe, is very, very good. Agriculture seems to be a “fertile” metaphor for much of the
collection, as humanity all but sprang from dust, and God is often seen as the “Tree of
Life.” The title track richly echoes this theme, comparing life's phases to a crop rotation,
pointing out that sometimes, the seeds for our greatest growth are germinated in barren
times. Producer Derek Webb is the husband of McCracken, and that sacred tie can be felt
in the synergy between artist and producer. Webb's song treatments are experimental,
utilizing many of the tricks he employed on his electronic masterpiece, Stockholm
Syndrome, but in a much more organic manner. Combined with the earthy, acoustic tones
and naturalistic melodic-ism of McCracken, the result is a veritable feast of kaleidoscopic
pop and infectious tunefulness. Highlights include the Jeff Lynne influenced “Justice
Will Roll Down,” adapted faithfully from Amos 5:24; the tender hymn of parental
expectation, “Hidden Place”; the title track, featuring the astonishing vocals of Thad
Cockrell (think Vince Gill with a lump of fervency in his throat) and Webb; and the early
Beatles inspired “Faith's Review and Expectation,” which revives the original verses and
title of the church's most recognized hymn. While hymns have experienced a renaissance
of sorts in this decade, the unfortunate stench of profiteering has rendered much of the
output mawkish and awash in self-promotion. McCracken represents a light in the
darkness for the modern hymn movement, along with small but dedicated collectives like
Red Mountain, Sojourn, Indelible Grace, Sovereign Grace and BiFrost Arts – all of
whom are dedicated to making hymns relevant to today's generation. In Feast or Fallow
and McCracken's first hymns record, The Builder and the Architect, represent the very
best this movement has to offer: accessible, artistically conceived songs that offer the
ultimate answer to questions that have plagued humanity since its fall.

Waterdeep
In the Middle of It
Squint Entertainment

Lori and Don Chaffer continue to expand their musical palettes

with In the Middle of It, a grand experiment of pop-rock genre hopping mixed with
introspective lyrics about redemption and the moral fallibility of humankind. Family is a
central theme (the Chaffer's recently moved to Nashville to spend more time at home
raising their children) and the duo seems to draw wisdom from their own time growing
up, even if the lessons are what to avoid as a parent. “Gimme My Walkman” features this
heartbreaking line amidst a sprightly chorus: "Gimme My Walkman Mom / I need it bad /
That way I don't have to listen to the fights you have with dad." The musical lyrical
dichotomy echoes the ups and downs of family life, even as the joyful music of the disc
appears to be a metaphor for the joys of parenthood and watching one's children grow.

The jammier aspects of early Waterdeep continue to dissipate on the new disc, as Lori
accesses her inner Karen O (The Yeah, Yeah Yeahs) on “Couple Cheap Rings,” while
Don meshes his love for acts like Van Morrison and Neil Young with modern production
tricks on “Haven't You Always” and “Only One Time,” while embracing his musical past
fully on the jaunty folk shuffle of the title cut. Lori really shines on the weary, resigned
“Difference Between,” while the comforting “Easy Baby” features the couple in tandem
giving reassurance to their children that there is a light amidst all the darkness of the
world. There is a depth and creativity to Waterdeep's music that escapes most market
driven Christian acts these days. One listen to the diverse backdrops and insightful lyrics
of In the Middle of It should convince you that this is a record worth owning.

Live at the Beachland Ballroom, 11/01/08

Glass Harp
Roots of American Music
www.rootsofamericanmusic.org
www.glassharp.net

Speaking of albums that will appeal to aficionados of great guitar

playing, along comes this special live album, culled from a show benefiting the Roots of
American Music Foundation, an organization that helps find funding for music education
in schools across the country. Glass Harp does not play all that often these days, but when
they do, it is an occasion to celebrate. Guitarist Phil Keaggy is, of course, one of the
finest assailers of six strings that this country has ever known. He is in fine form
throughout the album, as the band does several of their old classics, as well as a few
Keaggy songs re-imagined for the live trio. One thing that a live setting does for Glass
Harp is illuminate just how good bassist/songwriter Dan Pecchio and
drummer/songwriter John Sferra are. Keaagy's prowess is well known (and, frankly, is
highlighted on the ten song set), but the inventive, muscular drumming of Sferra and the
pulsating, in-the-pocket-bass groove of Pecchio are an essential ingredient to the alchemy
of the band's music. Keaggy's funk/rock/folk “A Sign Came Through the Window”
highlights each band member at his best, as insistent bass lines, empathetic drum fills,
and Keaggy's fluid yet fiery guitar work transcend the boundaries of genre labels. The
sixteen minute “Beachland Jam” is an impressive freestyle improvisation in which many
themes from past Keaggy numbers are recycled in a hodgepodge that allows each
member to stretch out a bit, but never varies from a central motif. The rest of the album
has just as many highlights and, while not revealing anything new to fans of the band or
of Keaggy, certainly dispels any notion that Glass Harp's chops have diminished over the
years.

Burning Like the Midnight Sun

The Choir
Galaxy 21 Records
www.thechoir.net

I will be a bit more impressionistic with this review than normal

because I have a million thoughts running through my head after listening to The Choir's
first release in nearly five years. The band has been around for almost thirty years now
(formed in '82, first record in '84), and if they had broken in on a mainstream label, it
undoubtedly would have been the 4AD label out of England. So much of their music has
that murky, ambient texture that filled the 4AD roster, which included bands like The
Cocteau Twins and Durutti Column, as well as the commercially successful Modern
English. What makes The Choir transcend these bands is their determination to fit these
experimental urges within a pop song structure, giving listeners a real treat with
eminently listenable songs that have substance. In so doing, they remind one of the
wonderful Australian band, The Church (“Under the Milky Way”), whose guitarists,
Marty Willson-Piper and Peter Koppes, are an obvious influence on Choir git-slinger,
Derri Daugherty. With “Burning Like the Midnight Sun,” The Choir continues to create
deeply personal music with a distinct, original sound. Each of the members is at the top
of their game musically, and I especially like hearing more of Dan Michael's saxophone.
Lyrically, The Choir continues to present issues of faith and relationships in a way that is
not preachy or candy-coated, but rooted in real life. In fact, this album is particularly self-
referential, with no fewer than six songs written either to a band member, family member
or about a friend. The exquisitely beautiful “A Friend So Kind” is a tribute to the life of
recently departed musician, Tom Howard, a valuable mentor and sounding board for a
whole community of musicians, including The Choir. The warmth toward Howard is
especially poignant in the humorous lyric, “You'll be smoking fine cigars at the table of
The Lord.” “Mr. Chandler” is the re-telling of an incident that happened at the expense of
bassist, Tim Chandler, while the band was touring in its earlier days. Oddly, the melodic
line in the chorus where Daugherty sings “Mr. Chandler, Mr. Chandler,” sounds like it is
going to evolve into the chorus of the Lost Dogs classic, “Eleanor, It's Raining Now.”
The song “Legend of Old Man Byrd” is the ironically titled tribute to the youngest
member of the band, Marc Byrd, written for his 40th birthday. The lyric, “Forever
strumming his maple black guitar” references a guitar that drummer/lyricist Steve
Hindalong gave him before he (Byrd) became a member of the Choir. Another story
from the band's past is the psychedelic ballad, “I'm Sorry I Laughed,” in which the
dancing dervish, (Buckeye) Dan Michaels, playing his saxophone with his usual
enthusiasm, somehow fell hard onstage, terminally bruising his precious '63 Selmer
Saxophone that he’d learned to play on. To his credit, lyricist Hindalong gives this
personal tale universal meaning, as it serves as admonition for the human tendency to
delight at others’ misfortune. Giving the track yet more of a feeling of deja vu is the
Michaels’ saxophone solo that was actually lifted from the Chase the Kangaroo album
(an in-between songs blip). The gentle, moody “Between Bare Trees” was a musical idea
that started as a stock pop song (quite reminiscent of Crowded House's “Better Be Home
Soon”); then, when Hindalong's lyric required a slightly more somber mood, it was
transformed into the pensive, tone poem it became, albeit with a lovely verse and chorus.
“The Word Inside the Word”, “Invisible” and “It Should Have Been Obvious” are all
textbook examples of the type of fetching hooks Daugherty writes with startling
regularity and include some of Hindy's most clever and pointed prose. Daugherty and
Byrd add brilliant, yet dense shards of ambient color to give the songs aural depth. With
Burning Like the Midnight Sun, Hindalong, Daugherty, Michaels, Chandler and Byrd
continue to create albums that, while highly artistic, prove commercially viable,
providing a sonically satisfying experience that carries wonderful layers of sound without
losing its center. The music is complex while remaining undeniably human and organic.
Let’s hope more of the record buying public will begin to recognize this great band for its
commercial potential, while we true believers continue to hail their artistic genius and
startling transparency.

Alive
Ed Kowalczyk
Soul Whisper Records
www.edkowalczyk.com

For those not familiar with the name Ed Kowalczyk, just imagine rock
radio in the mid 90's without the songs “ I Alone” or “Lightning Crashes” the anthemic
uber-hits from Kowalczyk's band, Live. Always an act that played fast and loose with
spiritual imagery – a little Christian thought here.....some buddhist leanings there.....their
lead singer/songwriter is much more explicit about his Christian faith on “Alive” (see
what he did there? A Live?). However, the thematic content is hardly explicit and
alternates between Faith-based musings - the album's best track, the rousing, stadium
blare of “Grace”, “Drink (Everlasting Love)” and the bluesy “Zion” - and the sticky
sweet romantic sentiments of “In Your Light”, “Just In Time” and “Drive”. Kowalczyk
has a way with impossibly big choruses and arena rock arrangements, but few of the
songs here add anything new to his modus operandi, instead, often regressing into cliched
musical strokes and clumsy lyrical metaphors like those in the album opening “Drive”
and “Drink (Everlasting Love)” . All this to say that Alive will be nectar to the ears of
Daughtry and Kutless fans, but will probably be dismissed by those that value a more
creative arc.

Wonder
Michael W. Smith
Reunion/Provident/Sony

For those lamenting the extended vacation of “Smitty” the pop-

rock alter-ego of current adult-worship artist Michael W. Smith, Wonder will feel like
water to a dehydrated body......The first 4 cuts of the disc are all full of inventive
keyboard patches and muscular guitar work, reminiscent of early Smitty favorites like
Big Picture and I 2 Eye. Pretty good for a guy well into his 50's! “Save Me From
Myself”, and “Take My Breath Away” are rousing pop pleasers while “Run to You” and
“I'll Wait For You” are more textured, mature slices of understated rock, influenced by
Smith's working relationship with a certain, iconic Irish band. The latter, in particular, is
a wonderfully restrained piece of guitar-rock featuring lyrics, spit out in almost Dylan-ish
fashion, while the tune's spare leanings methodically build from verse to chorus to the
point of a cold stop (nice fake-out, Michael!), followed by the sudden re-entry of a full
gospel choir and squealing Hammond organ. This is quickly followed by the recitative-
like waltz of “Forever Yours” a lovely musical piece that relates the moment when Smith
knew that he would spend the rest of his life with his wife, Debbie. The title cut is
another full tilt rocker that combines the pop instincts of “Lamu” with the experimental
sonics of “Wired for Sound” from the Big Picture album. The subject matter of Wonder is
more introspective than Smith has been in years, with personal reflections on fallibility
apart from God -

If my scars could speak

They would say that grace is my only hope
Grace is showing me the way to where
All my shadows disappear and healing waits for me (“Run to You”)

- as well as his belief in the ultimate healing power of love, reflected in the project's title
and these lyrics:
You’re everything I can’t explain.
You set my heart on fire.
And here I stand amazed.
You take my breath away (“Take My Breath Away”).

Smith's vocals take a pronounced leap forward on the album, as well. As a singer, I've
always considered Smith to be a very good keyboard player, but he shows increased
strength as an interpreter throughout Wonder. Nowhere is this more clear than the stark,
stunning ballad of desperation, “Leave” a dissection of the circumstances that lead one to
thoughts of ending their own life, but with a redemptive twist at the end. Smith sings with
lump-in-the-throat vulnerability as he brings to life the process of crying out to God in a
last ditch attempt to make some sense of a confusing existence. Despite a preponderance
with lumbering ballads in the discs last third, the project is packed with more sure-fire
radio hits than Smith has produced in eons and, in this case, that is not a bad thing as
those cuts are genuinely solid songs and seem to come honestly, with little calculation
toward market concerns. This is a huge relief after several releases that seemed more
about shifting units than furthering his artistic reach. With Wonder, Smith proves that
“Smitty” still has PLENTY of gas left in the tank, while expanding his musical
vocabulary in ways that are both musically pleasing and artful.
The Shelter
Jars of Clay
Grey Matters/Provident/Sony

Despite a long list of guest collaborators, Jars of Clay sounds

particularly focused on their new long-player, The Shelter, a project that blends the sonic
exploration of their “Long Fall From Earth” and “Good Monster” albums with the feeling
of community that pervades their hymn collection, Redemption Songs. Owing a debt to
“event” albums like City On a Hill or Glory Revealed, the record combines the gifts of
the artists assembled into a wonderfully unified and cohesive collection of sonically
adventurous worship songs that hint at the messages of community and human frailty that
were the crux of Jars' last few releases. Predictable collaborators like Mac Powell, Sara
Groves & Brandon Heath are joined by less recognizable talents like Mike Gungor and
Thad Cockrell as well as new artist, Audrey Assad. However, the band must be credited
with never pandering to the talents of the guests, instead integrating them seamlessly into
the fabric of the music. Powell is used to great advantage on the sparkling acoustic
number, “Eyes Wide Open” which also features the inimitable Derek Webb on the type
of folk-pop number that represents his early work to near perfection. Assad's stirring
harmony vocal helps propel the “world” accented title cut, while “Out of My Hands”
represents a perfect melding of accessible arrangement with a genuinely catchy melody.
Leigh Nash and Mike Donehey (Tenth Avenue North) are prominently featured in the
almost fugue-like vocal arrangement, their respective vocal tones complimenting Dan
Haseltine and Steve Mason perfectly as they weave in and out of the intricate counter
melodies and harmonic couplets. This example of sharing gifts and working in tandem to
create a whole greater than the sum of its parts is a perfect metaphor for the unification of
the church body (or family) that the boys so painstakingly seek to convey. To their credit,
Jars of Clay have the compositional talents and musical breadth to create one of the most
consistently creative and interesting worship projects you're likely to hear on a major
market release.

Move
Third Day
Essential/Provident/Sony

Continuing the theme of consolidating the strengths of past work,

Third Day release their latest opus, Move, an assimilation of the band's southern roots
(best represented by their debut and Time), the more rocking dynamics of Wire,
Revolution and Conspiracy #5 and the pop-worship moves of the Offerings projects or
Wherever You Are. Lyrically, Third Day alternate between straight up worship
declarations and songs that exhort and instruct. Highlights in the former camp include -
“Children of God”, a surefire single if ever there was one - “Trust In Jesus”, which
marries a thoughtful and inventive arrangement with trite worship sentiment - “Sound of
Your Voice” another congregational pleaser that features a lovely guitar figure and vocal
harmonies from Christy Nockels. It is the forays into rock and gospel territory that truly
provide the musical movement reflected in the album's title, however. Album opener,
“Lift Up Your Face” is a rocker that marries the heavier production tricks of Revelation
with an insistent, minor key hook and the killer vocal chops of The Blind Boys of
Alabama, while the next track, “Make Your Move” features heavy bass and the type of
punk-meets-southern blues riffs that you'd hear on a Black Keys record. “Surrender” and
“Gone” mix excellent choruses with some serious southern rock swagger, resulting in the
most consistently propulsive moments on the record. With apologies to former guitarist
Brad Avery, his departure might be the best thing that has happened to Third Day as it
has allowed Mark Lee and his heavily roots and blues influenced axe work to become
central to the band's sound, giving the group's last two records a rawness that benefits a
more rural sound. Always a band that has rode the fence between commercial hit
machine and solid blues based rock band, Move represents Third Day's most fully
realized amalgamation of their musical influences in a package that doesn't compromise
their commercial aspirations at all.