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In Feast or Fallow

Sandra McCracken

Independentwww.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 isrefreshing 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 notsafe, 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 barrentimes. 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 JusticeWill 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 earlyBeatles 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 renaissanceof sorts in this decade, the unfortunate stench of profiteering has rendered much of theoutput 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 ofwhom 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.

WaterdeepIn the Middle of It

Squint Entertainment

Lori and Don Chaffer continue to expand their musical palettes

withIn 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

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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 thisheartbreaking 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 discappears 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 Loriaccesses 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, resignedDifference 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 lyricsofIn the Middle of Itshould 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.orgwww.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 educationin 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 formthroughout 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, ishighlighted 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 Windowhighlights 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 manythemes 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

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years.

Burning Like the Midnight SunThe 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, itundoubtedly 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 theseexperimental 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 thewonderful 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 topof 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 awhole 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 ofbassist, 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 youngestmember of the band, Marc Byrd, written for his 40 th 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 storyfrom 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 SelmerSaxophone that hed 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

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(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 wastransformed 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 startlingregularity 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. WithBurning Like the Midnight Sun, Hindalong, Daugherty, Michaels, Chandler and Byrdcontinue 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.

Lets hope more of the record buying public will begin to recognize this great band for itscommercial potential, while we true believers continue to hail their artistic genius and

startling transparency.

Alive

Ed KowalczykSoul 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 anthemicuber-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 (seewhat 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 stickysweet 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 Driveand 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.

WonderMichael W. Smith

Reunion/Provident/Sony

For those lamenting the extended vacation of Smitty the pop-

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rock alter-ego of current adult-worship artist Michael W. Smith, Wonderwill 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 likeBig Picture andI 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 bySmith'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 thepoint 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 isanother 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 ofWonderis

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 whereAll 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:Youre everything I cant 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 increasedstrength 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 alast 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 asthose 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 thatSmitty 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

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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 feelingof community that pervades their hymn collection, Redemption Songs. Owing a debt to

event albums like City On a HillorGlory Revealed, the record combines the gifts of

the artists assembled into a wonderfully unified and cohesive collection of sonicallyadventurous 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 creditedwith 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 stirringharmony 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 tocreate 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 mostconsistently creative and interesting worship projects you're likely to hear on a major

market release.

Move

Third DayEssential/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 ofWire,Revolution and Conspiracy #5 and the pop-worship moves of the Offeringsprojects orWherever 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, whichmarries 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,

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Lift Up Your Face is a rocker that marries the heavier production tricks ofRevelation

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 ofpunk-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 guitaristBrad 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 amore 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.