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The Generous Mr. Lovewell

Mercy Me

INO

Why? This was my response after listening to this Tale of two projects from Christian

super-group, Mercy Me. Knowing that the album carried a concept loosely based on a character namedMr. Lovewell who tried to impact the culture around him by showing kindness in his actions and

compassion in his words, I settled in for, what I thought, would be the most out of the box release of

Mercy Me's career. From the electronica-laced, opening rocker, This Life to cut # 4, the eerie, bassdriven, Crazy Enough - which vaguely resembles fellow Crazy practitioners, Gnarls Barkley and

Seal the record totally lives up to the pre-release buzz, creatively yet simply communicating the joys

of living a life that compels others to seek out holiness. The title cut frames the concept well amidst the

type of sunny, harmony laden pop that ELO and Jellyfish did with such aplomb, while Move tacklesthe age-old fish swimming against the stream theme as it channels the best aspects of mid-70's

BeeGees pop-funk and marries it with the fervency of Maroon 5. After all this eclecticism, it follows

that it would be time for the standard issue Mercy Me power ballad that will be on the radio for mostof the next decade, and the band doesn't disappoint with the majestic pop-worship of All of Creation .

The band begins to get back on the variety-train with a lovely tune of encouragement, Beautiful

which fuses ethereal organic textures with tasteful programmed beats. From this point on, however,they abandon the project's theme altogether and decide to revert to their standing as the kings of

Christian radio play with a bunch of psuedo-worship songs that will, no doubt, play to the Casting

Crowns, Steven Curtis Chapman, Jeremy Camp and Chris Tomlin fans out there. Unfortunately, thissudden shift in direction left me wondering what in the heck just happened here? This is clearly a

band that has the musical ingenuity to make a killer album all the way through....the first 4 cuts fuel

that speculation. Yet, as long as they continue to approach their music with an eye toward convention

and commercial calculation, they will forever be known as a very popular band....just not a particularlyunique or artistic one.

Nightlights

Jimmy Needham

inpop

Thank God for that voice. It is what separatesNightlights from just another Jason Mraz

wannabe album. Since Jimmy Needham insists on wearing that bowler hat and has populated his new

disc with more 'reggae-light' and pop tunes than past projects, the Mraz comparisons are inevitable.Thankfully, Needham has the type of soulful, gritty voice that only comes around once in a great while

(think a somewhat muted Stevie Wonder or Marc Broussard)). That, plus his predilection for classic

r&b (The Reason I Sing, Grace Amazing) gives his music more emotional accessibility than thealmost novelty quality output of his counterpart. Just A Heartbeat is a very credible stab at fab four

style baroque pop and lends the project a welcome change of pace. While the singer's guitar prowess

takes a back seat onNightlights, careful listens will reveal some very tasteful rhythm work throughout.Needham is a very capable artist with a boatload of talent. A little less reliance on his influences will

allow him to reach his considerable artistic potential.

Reunion

Seawind

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www.seawindjazz.com

If you miss the sound of the 70's afforded by such pop jazz groups as Pablo Cruise,Ambrosia and Toto, you will surely be excited to hear the reunion disc by the the estimable Seawind,

the finest group of its kind the Christian market has ever produced. However, these guys made quite a

mark on the mainstream music scene (specifically LA studio session work) over the course of 4decades. As in-demand as any of the previously mentioned groups, Seawind was noted for their in

the pocket grooves, bright, distinctive horn charts and Pauline Wilson's clear vocal presence.Reunion

reveals a band who hasn't lost a step since they last recorded years ago. The grooves are inviting, themelodies indelible and the horns are as cleverly arranged as ever and often add a little grit to the

laconic Island feel of most of the disc. Kept By Your Power Devil is a Liar and Everything

Needs Love are prime examples of the band in full bloom. If you are a sucker for absolutely sick

musicianship, then you will want to pick upReunion right away.

We Walk This Road

Robert Randolph and the Family BandWarner Brothers

After 2 moderately successful records ( "Unclassified" and "Colorblind") that have

positioned Robert Randolph and the Family Band squarely in the Jam Band category, they've

seemed to realize that the studio is not adequately equipped to translate their live energy to the vinyl (ordigital) format. Instead, Randolph has taken a good, hard look at the band's gospel and blues roots,

adding color and groove to a carefully collated group of classic blues, pop & gospel songs as well as a

few originals that share the same creative energy. We Walk This Road has a sound that makes up for, in

vibe and texture, what it may lack in dynamics. You're not going to pop this CD in at a party or blast itwhile you cruise down the street with the top down. It is much more effective listened to with a pair of

really good headphones so you can hear the subtle musical touches and bask in T-Bone Burnett's rich

production. As a guitar player, Robert Randolph has really matured on this album. He can rip off a solothat would shame most axe-men twice his age, yet he knows when to lay back and be a part of the

song, without having to "be" the song. Nevertheless, there are still some jaw-dropping moments

interspersed here and there. Amongst the song highlights are - If I Had My Way, the old ReverendGary Davis chestnut that is given proper reverence, even as it is suitably revved up for modern

consumption A slinky cover of the Bob Dylan cut Shot of Love that is awash in the 'wet' ambiance

that Burnett manages to make so compelling, as well as one of those jaw dropping guitar moments -

I Still Belong to Jesus, which starts out sounding eerily like Fleetwood Mac's Dreams beforeadvancing to a soulful pop chorus that borrows liberally from Back Street Boys I Want it That Way -

John Lennon's lesser known anti-war anthem, I Don't Want to Be a Soldier Mama which, again,

benefits from Burnett's unique textural experimentation as well as the Family Band's uncanny ability tolay down a groove that takes hold of your soul. This cut has the same vibe (and, often, bass line) as

Marvin Gaye's classic What's Goin' On - and, finally, the album closing Salvation a beautiful

ballad that, like most of the record, manages to sound classic and current simultaneously. To that end,Randolph and Burnett come up with an effective tack, segueing from track to track with sprinklings of

classic old blues & gospel recordings. While many different eras of African-American music are

celebrated in the songs and social messages ofWe Walk This Road, they are knit together by a strongthread of devotion, hope and the desire to uplift the spirits of the downtrodden. Some longtime fans of

RRFB are going to miss the guitar rave-ups and extended funk-jams the band is known for in live

performance and it might be wise of the label to release a concert album in the near future. However, as

http://www.seawindjazz.com/http://www.seawindjazz.com/

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far as studio releases are concerned, the more muted, but infinitely more purposeful direction ofWe

Walk This Roadis something the band should continue to pursue.

Out of the Blue

Caleb Quaye and The Faculty

www.Amazon.com

On his second solo disc, legendary Guitarist/songwriter Caleb Quaye (Elton John's well-

regarded 70's & early 80's band as well as notable studio work) trades in his rock duds for the more

understated finery of the 'smooth jazz genre. While that monicker may strike fear in the hearts of someserious music fans, let me assure you that there is enough dynamite in this man's axe to rend those fears

moot. A couple of characteristics separate Quaye from other guitarists in the rock/jazz/blues realm. 1.

His tone is stunning, whether slightly distorted in more aggressive settings like - the final solo on thetitle cut, the carefree groove of Walking by Faith the almost prog-rock frame of Pulling Down

Strongholds - or shimmering as in the lovely acoustic tinged Changing Seasons. 2. He rarely, if

ever recycles riffs he has used before.....he comes up with something new and fresh on virtually everysong. He is also a remarkably empathetic guitarist - that is - his phrasing seems perfect for each mood,

every musical transition his crack band plays, no matter what the feel of the song is. In fact, 'feel' is a

very good term for the type of guitarist Quaye has become, while recognizing that he still possessesastonishing technique. If there are any downsides to Out of the Blue it might be the relative lack of

diversity in the smooth jazz genre, with many of the tempos and harmonic arrangements lacking the

bite of a 'harder' jazz context. Yet, the sheer genius of Quaye's gift offers plenty of meat for any

aficionado of great guitar playing. Out of the Blue is available through iTunes or Amazon.com.

Old Angel

Lost DogsStunt Records/Fools of the World

www.thelostdogs.com

On the Lost Dog's newest opus, Old Angel, the band, following the suggestion of

leader/resident genius, Terry Taylor, write of the thrill, disappointment, discovery and failure of

searching for one's dreams, as played out on the metaphorical Glory Road or Old Angel themythical path to the 'pot of gold at the end of the rainbow' as represented by Route 66, the now

neglected highway that runs from Chicago to the sunny shores of Santa Monica California. Two years

ago, the band headed out on a tour down the old highway and brought their laptops and diaries withthem, taking copious notes along the way. The record is a study in broken dreams and the devastating

loss that befalls those cursed with the human condition. The opening cut, Israelites and Okies,

parallels the journey of the children of Abraham while searching for the promised land with that ofdust-bowl era homesteaders heading out west to seek their own redemption from oppression and

poverty. But instead of being confronted by burning bushes, manna from heaven, plagues of locusts and

the temptation of golden idols, American travelers come in contact with giant jack-rabbit statues

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(Goodbye Winslow), outlaws (Wicked Guns), itinerant migrant worker camps (Dust in My

Bowl, Pearl Moon), waitresses in dive restaurants (Dead End Diner) and the temptation of real

gold. The Dog's musical accompaniment is perfectly suited for the hard-luck characters and often tragic

situations told in the long concept album. The band's blend of American music forms(country/folk/blues) is tempered with very accessible songwriting and a dash of rock flavor in

appropriate lyrical settings, like the acerbic, outlaw tale, Wicked Guns and the beat-poet inspired

jazz/rockabilly raver, America's Main Street which boasts Taylor's spoken word lyric and an hilarioustubercular laugh at song's end, perhaps inspired by heavy smokers, Jack Kerouac, Woody Guthrie and

Allen Ginsberg whose spirits inform the track . Guitarist, Mike Roe does yeoman's work on both cuts,

managing the trick of sounding cutting edge and traditional simultaneously. Old Angelis the secondLost Dogs album to feature Steve Hindalong as a member and he has fully integrated into the group as

he contributes to no fewer than six songs as writer or co-writer. Usually dominated by Taylor's songs,

each 'Dog contributes to the disc and the result is a sound that sounds as organically cohesive as any

'Dogs release sinceLittle Red Riding Hood, featuring the dear, departed Gene Eugene. One really coolfeature of the disc is that the lyrical voice alternates between modern narration and the colloquial

language of the song's characters. The stunning Pearl Moon (Hooverville Camp 1933) falls mostly in

the latter camp, but rides the strength of one of Taylor's finest poetic lyrics in the service of a sad tale ofa family's failure to escape the hopelessness of one of the mid-west's migrant work camps. Also

affecting is the lovely Desert Flowers a true tale of witnessing the heart of God in the native

American children of the Navajo tribe at the Red Sands School just north of Winslow, Arizona. The cuttakes on a Peter Gabriel-like world flavor thanks to stately percussion and native American lyrics as

part of the chorus. In the Tricks Dogs play department, the band offers up Dead End Diner a pop-

rock masterpiece as engaging as anything you'd hear on the radio, currently. Near the end of the album,the song takes place near the apex of Route 66, in California and the music mirrors the sound of the

Santa Monica sun and surf (the band are HUGE Beach Boy fans and this song proves it) as it tells the

tale of a waitress who is so resigned to her fate in life, that when she is shown some attention by a fella,

she notes that he is sorta handsome in an ugly way and she's almost sure that he ain't gay. The bandgets clever as they place the waitress, Dinah, in the kitchen and then sing Hey, its fee fie fiddly-i-ay

Fee fie fiddly-i-o, echoing the main verse of the American classic I've Been Working On the

Railroad, effectively, if humorously connecting the present with the past. The cut is rife with classicDaugherty/Roe/Taylor harmonies, Roe's best 'Brian Wilson' falsetto and an insanely melodic bass line

that sounds distinctly like the work of Tim Chandler, who does guest on the album. Carry Me is a

song of resigned surrender at the end of the journey as Roe beautifully emotes:Carry meIm too proud to crawlCarry me

Im too tired to runCarry me

Over MojaveUnder the Navajo sun

Carry me

Old Angel, then, is about life and the aging process, dealing with progress and loss while the

progressive (IE more conventional) threaten to push the more experienced aside, leaving the maturity

and wisdom of the past to the few who continue to seek out the beaten paths or the off-roads'. Witheach repeated listen, the record appears to be a metaphor for the Lost Dogs own journey in the

Christian music business. Each member of the band (and, again, especially Taylor) has had an

enormous influence on the whole of Christian music, but especially the Christian alternative scene,which would, arguably, not even exist without the trails these guys blazed in the 70's and 80's with their

bands, Daniel Amos (Taylor), The 77's (Roe) The Choir (Derri Daugherty and Hindalong) and Adam

Again (Gene Eugene). Back in November of last year, CMS Enterprises (of which this magazine is a

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branch) held it's annual Christian Musician Summit in Woodinville, Washington. It features many of

the current scene's best and brightest musicians, especially in the field of worship music. The 'Dogs

happened to be in Washington doing some shows and called because the promoter of their Saturday

night show bagged out on them. A few 'Dog fans made an appeal to the promoter (Bruce Adolph) andhe gladly helped us make room for them to play on a side stage right at the dinnertime break when

people were milling around between the day's events and the big concert event at night. I went around

the huge Overlake Christian Church to spread the word about the appearance and then went to find theother performers at the event to tell them that The Lost Dogs would be playing at the end of dinner

break. I was astounded to learn that none of these performers really knew who the band was. I had to

tell them that the drummer (Hindalong) was one of the writers of the worship song God of Wondersbefore a sliver of recognition even crossed their faces. I suggested to Daugherty that he mention the

same thing during the show. When he did, the whole crowd suddenly lit up and you could hear grunts

of recognition echoing through the hallway. This perplexed and saddened me. I say none of this to

diminish the artists or the participants at this conference. Truth be told, if the industry did a credible jobof honoring their forefathers, this would not be an issue. Mainstream music doesn't have this problem.

Elegant repackaging of classic albums or Box Sets of past artists are released every month. Watch the

Superbowl sometime. They prominently feature 60 year old rockers almost every year. The Rock &Roll hall of fame inductions are well publicized and even have spawned a best selling video collection.

Giving credence to the musicians that paved the way for the current crop of youngsters CAN be done in

the Christian market but, it simply isn't....and that is a shame. Especially when listening to amasterpiece like Old Angeland realizing that these guys are still making music as vital as anybody out

there as the Lost Dogs with their own bands (The new Choir album is the next review you will be

reading) - and solo in the case of Roe and Taylor. Taylor has been plying his trade in the CCM industrysince the early Jesus Music days of 1975, if not earlier. If you ask musicians who today's greatest

living songwriters are, the chances that his name will come up are better than you'd imagine. As a lyric

writer, Hindalong is nearly as respected. Daugherty and Roe are no slouches either and Roe would dent

more than a few best guitarist lists. Why these guys have to toil in relative obscurity while peoplewith an eighth of their talent dominate Christian radio is beyond my comprehension. OK...Rant over.

Now, go buy the recordings of these musicians and show them how grateful you are.