The Top 100 CCM Albums of All Time - Introduction

That's all I've got.  Just a title.  Well, perhaps a little more.  

I read about Burlap to Cashmere's debut album on someone's top something list and my local library didn't have it.  Sure, I could listen to it on UberTuber but I'm old skool and don't have a streaming service.  "Put that one in the ol' failing memory banks," I told myself.  But a week later I saw a physical CD for $1 at a thrift store.  Why not?

Now this entry isn't about Burlap to Cashmere.  I've only heard it once and I doubt it's going to scratch my sonic itch, but since it is two days away from 2021 it started me reviewing my creative output from (wretch) 2020 and what I might want to do in 2021.  To that end, I decided to make a top 52 list of albums from my CCM collection, one a week to keep me on task.

Except when I started reviewing my nerdy database and this here blog I realized that I had already kind of started it.  Whoops!  At this point in time I have 108 albums that rated a 9, 10, or 11 and I've already reviewed 28 of 'em.  In looking at the list I find myself asking "Where's this album?  Why did I rate that album a 9 and this one an 8?  What happened with my life?" and other things.  So the remaining 80 might get condensed, with a few others sprinkled in.  It will be a surprise for both of us, and if there's anything 2020 has taught us is that surprises are always a good thing.

Music Review - Neal Morse Band - The Grand Experiment

I've grown to love this album even more as time has gone on. It has been a great encouragement to me.

Neal Morse is back with another album, though this time it falls under the moniker of “The Neal Morse Band,” indicating a shift from him being the man in full control to more of a collaborative effort. I’m sure it’s not easy to relinquish control, hence the title The Grand Experiment. Or maybe the “experiment” is to see how much they can sound like classic Styx in the chorus of the self-titled track.

Ah, but I jest. But not about the Styx, because they do and it sounds totally amaze-balls, though the rest of the song is an effective yet straight-forward gutsy rocker with a hint of blues. One thing I noticed in this song, and indeed the rest of the album, is that Neal shares lead vocal duties with bandmates. Sure, he’s got a nice voice on his own but imagine if Paul sang every song on every Beatles album. So the variety is a nice surprise. As are the copious amounts of vocal harmonies which, juxtaposed against the heavier rock setting, are quite reminiscent of early King’s X. “The Call” opens with three part vocal harmonies that bash into aggressive, stuttering guitar rhythms offset by classic rock organ sounds before jumping into a kind of musical overture. Its ten minutes of fairly typical Neal Morse songwriting, which is to say that the ten minutes fly by in a furry of catchy melodies and killer guitar riffs. “Waterfall” contrasts the driving rock of the first two songs, itself being comprised of acoustic guitars and a downright beautiful melody softly presented via three part vocal harmony. If they were trying to emulate Crosby Stills and Nash they nailed it. One thing I like about the music of Morse (and pals) is that he’s not afraid to use unusual sound choices but always tempers any weirdness with solid melodies. “Agenda” is no exception, nimbly hopping from spacy quirkiness to driving hard rock. The homemade video is kinda hokey, though.

At twenty-six minutes, “Alive Again” gets its own paragraph. Few alive can write an expansive prog-rock epic like Neal Morse (and his band), spending the first three minutes building a sweeping orchestral-like overture before switching to a tumbling and forceful rhythm. Still no words for another minute when the bottom drops out, leaving Neal singing over a thin ray of nearly inaudible sunshine that brightens into more lush vocal harmonies singing the chorus. A few minutes of more typical song structures follow before things get crazy in an extended instrumental passage where talk box guitars combat gritty saxophones before the second “song within a song” begins. When this section finishes the album turns classical with piano and string section. Yeah, lots of prog bands include these instruments but this band knows their classical music arranging well enough to make it sound, well, real. This is immediately followed by a pleasant return to the early eighties, complete with an orchestral Deep Purple passage of frogged violins that turns things over to an amazing guitar solo which sounds like a perfect combination of Malmsteen, Vai, and Blackmore. Killer? Oh yeah. A calm “song #3” begins next, eventually flowing into a reprise of the original chorus but seriously, after the heart pumping instrumental section, what’s the point? Oh yeah, song integrity.

If The Grand Experiment is just that, The Neal Morse Band needs to spend time in their musical laboratory on a regular basis.

Music Review - The Choir - Chase the Kangaroo

Somewhere I read that when it came time for The Choir to record their fourth album, and for Adam Again to record their second (Ten Songs By Adam Again) that they went to the record executives with a deal*. Instead of paying some studio ten grand each in studio time, why not give these two bands the twenty grand and they’d build their own studio. After all, Derri had official engineering experience, and probably the same for Gene. Amazingly the studio went for it. What a bargain! Gene went on to start The Green Room and upped the ante on the quality of Christian music while Derri and company hunkered down for six months to self-produce their first masterpiece, Chase the Kangaroo.

Even before you hear a note the album cover tells you that something is different. Christians are “supposed” to be clear and have exact, understandable answers based on thoroughly systematized theology. Instead we get a dark, blurry photo full of indistinct shapes, a perfect representation of the music within. Speaking of, let’s dig in, shall we?

The opening track, “Consider”, was written last because the record company wanted something radio friendly. I can’t imagine this song being played on an of the all-vanilla-praise stations in my town… how far have we fallen? This song has a deep, spongey bass tone, thick sheets of shimmering guitars and an intense, eager drum beat. Even though this was a tip of the hat to “the man” the song is packed with energy, a wonderful blend of shoegazer and melodic rock. In “Children of Time” each piece of the band (drum, bass, guitar and vocals) fit together like a puzzle, stringing together unsettling lines like “The cosmonauts were first in space / To look for God and find no trace” before ending with a brief, wild sax solo. “Clouds” opens with ominous low synth strings and an inventively panned repeated drum part that forms a hypnotic spell before Derri sings “The blood remains as red / That colors our spirits white.” This here is a classic Choir song, an experience and a journey as much as a song, following the darkness of the tone with the unlikely dark lyrics of “Clouds are round about you / Shadows veil your eyes.” Remember, kids, we’re supposed to be the light in a dark world and have all the answers. Umm… yeah. Around the three minute mark the song melts into a froth of reverb, leaving only shadows of the original signals in a glorious artistic display of studio experimentation. Before leaving this song I’d like to comment on the bass line. It’s simple but perfect, like a constant heartbeat holding together the complex interchange of instruments and reverb.

Written in response to a miscarriage, “Sad Face”** is packed with gorgeous chiming guitars, stuttering low guitars and a lovely round drum pattern in the verse that sounds like its being played on a dark and cloudless night on the thin hope that some ray of relief will shine through. There are lots of misty instrumental passages where Derri bounces cascades of guitars off each other to create a most intoxicating listen and then around the five minute mark the song transitions to a passage containing light strings over a reverse vocal section of “Clouds” and someone it works. The guitars on “Cain” sound urgent***, almost dangerous while lyrics like “Love raised a white flag” add complexity to the mix, although the abundance of piano makes me think this song would have fit in well on Diamonds and Rain.

Side two starts with The Choir getting even more experimental with “The Rifleman” where a sparse guitar part plays while whoever walked into the studio speaks lines concerning an old television show, often overlapping, before drums and a fretless bass make their appearance. The chorus is sung, forming a foundation and amazingly the song comes together splendidly before fading into the chorus of “Render Love” from Diamonds and Rain. There’s so much to love about “Look Out (For Your Own)”. There’s the drum part in the verse that switches around the beat, the unusual instrumental mid-section with echoing saxamaphone, and the crazily inventive bass part which is minimalist and so unlike anything I’d heard before. A final capper is Gene Eugene singing background vocals in the chorus… it’s always great to hear his golden voice. RIP, Gene. “So Far Away” is a stark love song about missing those you love while being on the road with artful glimpses of domestic life such as “I saw your note about the pilot light / Didn’t I fix that thing before?” and “I won’t be there to dry your eyes / So please don’t cry /When I’m so far away.” “Everybody in the Band” is a nice little ditty but it’s not fleshed out and never was meant to be. It’s kind of like a demo you get for no extra charge. The album closes with the title track, a song inspired by the fact that Steve had to get a construction job**** in order to make ends meet. Starting with a chuffing beat and eerie backward-like vocals, the song is classic Choir in that it takes mundane events and explodes them into a spiritual analogy, in this case digging deep for truth. Two thirds of the way through they open up the throttle and the song really takes off. And keeps going upward, building in intensity through the chorus and closing with a final melodic instrumental exploration.

In Chase the Kangaroo it seems like that the band knew that were at a turning point in their career where the odds were that they would likely to be sent home packing. So instead they doubled down and gave it everything they had, and then some, and as a result recorded a pivotal album that has inspired bands such as Switchfoot, Sixpence None the Richer and Jars of Clay to make their own musically and spiritually rich music. Their first of several classic albums!

* Per Tim Chandler, while some of the money for the album may have gone into Derri’s studio this whole story has no basis in reality. I have no clue where it originally came from although I wouldn’t put it past my brain to have made it up.

** An embarrassing aside… I recall being at home with in college and singing this song to a female friend (nothing more) over the phone. A cappella. It makes me cringe on many levels just thinking about it.

*** As well they should as the song deals with the hurt of personal betrayal.

**** Which to me seems a bit comical in itself because Steve’s build is not big ‘n’ burley.

Classic Album Review - The Choir - Free Flying Soul

The Choir has just released another album, The Loudest Sound Ever Heard so I figure it’s appropriate that the next “Classic Album Review” is of the only Choir album on the list, Free Flying Soul. Those aware of this band are probably scratching their heads as to why my top Choir pick wouldn’t be one of their other albums, and with good reason. Over the course of their career this band has released a surprising number of very solid albums (Chase the Kangaroo, Oh How the Mighty Have Fallen and Circle Slide are all tens) but this album has captured my heart.

After years and years of touring and writing and recording the band was in top form. Coming off their Kissers and Killers album there’s still quite a bit of grit in these songs, which me likey! This aggression is couched in solid songwriting, interesting arrangements and killer melodies. There’s also an animal theme with song titles of “Salamander”, “Sled Dog”, “The Chicken” and others. Considered a dark album, Free Flying Soul is full of inspired and vivid poetry. The eerie, quiet “Polar Boy” is a stark personal revelation of need with lines such as “He’s got his purple nose / Pressed against your icy window / Perhaps you will allow / Polar boy in so he can warm himself / By your fire.” “Away With the Swine” is a rocker that sits easily alongside Kissers and Killers songs… gotta love those fuzzy guitars and that fuzzy bass!

“The Ocean” is a song I’ve skipped for so long I had forgotten it was on here. Listening to it again for he first time in years, well, it’s not bad but it doesn’t seem to fit the album. I don’t think I’ve been missing anything so I’ll continue to skip it. And besides, it’s followed by “If You’re Listening”, another simply amazing song of confession. Once again the song is album more air than it is notes, aching in its delivery. My wife says the song is ruined by the bass but I think the bass makes the song, a sub-octave fuzzed out tone that is almost a subliminal rumbling. The lyrics on this song are simply superb, scathingly honest in their willingness to accept the hurt our sin causes those around us. “If you’re listening to me now / I wouldn’t blame you anyhow for running me / Out of town.” Excellent guitar work on this one as well.

“Slow Spin” is, by every account, an odd yet brief song with spoken sections but it just works, kind of a quick sketch that knows not to overstay its welcome. “Leprechaun” continues the whimsy, capturing the image of a happy walk across the lawn with a big Chandler-written loping rhythm. “Yellow-Haired Monkeys” continue to provide a light breath after the previous heavy album, leading to “Butterfly”, an absolutely gorgeous song about wanting to inspire one’s children to take wing and fly. “You are precious more than I could express / Melody and word are poor at best / You are a gift to me / A treasure from Heaven / You were created to fly / To decorate the blue sky…” I’ve got to stop or else I could end up giving the entire song up as an example. Add to this Tim’s excellent bass line, sometimes slippery, sometimes groaning and Derri’s shimmering guitar tone and you’ve got a winner. Listening again I’m astounded that as the song progresses it just gets better and better. The album ends fittingly dark with “The Warbler,” a haunting midnight song if there ever was one- the song just sounds like pre-dawn after a sleepless of tears and fears. Despite the tone and feel Steve can’t help but to offer up hope in the lyrics “Never mind that drum dirge you hear droning” but instead celebrate despite your circumstances.

It’s difficult to believe that Free Flying Soul was written in 1996, 14 years ago. I didn’t get the album when it came about because I was in my musical abstinence period and thus I missed the chance to see The Choir play in Fort Wayne. BAH! But when the album finally made its way into my head it was exactly what my soul needed - a reality-smudged celebration of faith and family.

Music Review - Phil Keaggy - Lights of Madrid

A decade+ later, this album remains one of Keaggy's career highlights.

In my mind, Phil Keaggy is one of the most inconsistent artists around. His albums range from timeless classics (Beyond Nature, Sunday's Child) to albums so bland they only received a few spins (True Believer comes quickly to mind and just as quickly is forgotten). His latest album, Lights of Madrid, happily falls into the former group with over an hour of compelling, well-crafted acoustic guitar instrumentals that span genres, techniques, and moods. As you may have guessed from the album title, many, but not all, of the pieces show a Spanish influence. Those familiar with Spanish classical guitar will not be disappointed as Phil very capably tackles the legato scales and technical playing required for this genre. Those familiar with Keaggy himself already know that he is a guitar player's guitar player with amazing technical skills, virtuoso skills which often take backstage to the melody and the structure of the song. His best work marries the two, as is evidenced here.

The title track is, of course, very Spanish with an upbeat, catchy rhythm, excellent backing percussion, and a memorable melody that is worked into the amazing guitar playing. In stark contrast is the peaceful "A Field of Flowers" which is simply two acoustic guitars, a cello, and a beautifully emotive melody that would have fit perfectly on the phenomenal Beyond Nature. "Allgeria" consists of many layers of guitars, orchestral strings, and keyboards as a single melody is pursued by each. By combining contemporary songwriting with Hayden-era classical, Keaggy wrote the nine-minute "Overture" for acoustic guitar and chamber orchestra. Here the guitarist has created an amazingly mature classical composition with solid pacing and development of ideas, definitely on par or better than any classical piece written by his hero, Sir Paul McCartney. I could listen to music like this all day... and frequently have since this CD came into my possession. The album closes, aptly, with the return of the Spanish-themed "Caliente", energetic dance music with some ripping xylophone!

The huge variety of tone colors, instrumentation, and melody makes this album so much more than an hour of naked acoustic guitar. If you order now, you'll get an enhanced CD that actually makes sense! Embedded in this CD are detailed tablature transcriptions of twelve of the fifteen tracks, complete with lead and rhythm parts with the solos painstakingly written out. Even without this bonus, however, this album is the best thing Phil Keaggy has written in nearly a decade: an instant classic for guitar freaks and lovers of quality music alike.

This review first appeared in WhatzUp, April 2001.

Review - Cindy Morgan - Elementary

Still a very solid album. It turns out that Cindy Morgan co-writes often with Phil Madeira, another writer of dark and beautiful music. Be sure to check out Phil's latest project and help kickstart it.

I first heard the music of Cindy Morgan when a band I was in played her song "Listen." I normally eschew the bubble-gum pop genre of contemporary Christian music (as a rule, almost anything played on WLAB fails to light my spark) but there was something about this music that led me to borrow the CD for a full listen. That CD was The Loving Kind, an album so phenomenally dark and beautiful that I, a lover of dark and beautiful things, fell prey to its enchantments.

When Elementary came out I took the fiscal plunge. My first impression was that it was the doppleganger of her last album, light where there was dark, joy in the place of sorrow. Most of the songs are upbeat with joyous optimism replacing the dark introversion of before, the cause of which being the birth of her first child. Vocally, Cindy is a cross between Sheryl Crowe and Amy Grant, robust and emotive, and although the lyrics are more upbeat than past albums, they are rarely trite and never resort to cliché'.

While the songs are sunnier than her last album, Morgan is unable to shake her dark nature. The more I listen to this album, the more I hear the tears between the smiles, the edge of Tori Amos sandwiched between the intoxicating pop melodies and the classic songwriting know-how of Carole King. The music is stylistically all over the map, Morgan's usual bag of eclectic and sophisticated pop with Morgan penning most of her own material (a rarity in this genre). Of course there's the heavily produced pop fanfare of "The World Needs Your Love" and the dance inducing, synthy "Good Thing" but there's also her trademark sparse, moody piano ballads ("In These Rooms"), edgy Latin pop ("New World"), R&B ("Believe"), jazz combo ("I Love You"), Sesame Street ("Sunshine") and Steely Dan-classic rock ("End of the World").

Forget the latest band of the minute, Elementary is what pop music should be: artistic, instantly likable but challenging enough for multiple listens, and most of all, fun.

This review first appeared in WhatzUp, March 2002.

Review - Daniel Amos - Shotgun Angel Reissue

So, fans of classic rock operas, you think you’ve heard them all, do you? From Tommy to The Wall, you’ve got ‘em all. You even have a special place in your heart for Journey to the Center of the Earth and you’re comfortable admitting it in mixed company. But have you heard the end-times rock opera on side two of 1977s Shotgun Angel by Daniel Amos? That’s right. 1970s era end-times, as in The Late Great Planet Earth. Fortunately the anti-Christ has held off his appearance in anticipation of the expanded collector’s edition release of this unique album.

Daniel Amos started out as what would be called alt-country, if such a term existed in the mid 70s. This didn’t last for long because by Shotgun Angel, their second album, the band was less and less country (most of it to be found on side A) and more alt. Imagine Firefall or The Eagles morphing into 10cc and you’ll have an idea of the sonic transformation captured on this album. As you might expect, the vocal harmonies are incredible, the melodies indelible. And despite the 10cc influence being contained mostly to the aforementioned Side B, there’s a strong sense of humor throughout many of the songs which would help the country medicine to go down smoother (for non-country fans) if the A.M.-friendly medicine wasn’t so silky smooth to begin with.

As good as the first half is, you know you’re in for a treat when you turn the record over, or whatever it is you kids do these days. “Finale: Beresith Overture” is a true overture, blending in musical themes of every song on side B and played by an orchestra. Yep, cellos, flutes, timpani, woodwinds… the whole shebang. There was a big budget for album and it shows! All the digital scrubbing of the original master tapes doesn’t hurt either, allowing everything to shine through clearly. “Lady Goodbye,” a mournful piano ballad, picks right up after the overture, quickly fleshing out with full orchestral accompaniment to become a grand and gorgeous statement. Ominous sound effects lead the way to the creepy “The Whistler” while the brief, peppy, Beatlesque “He’s Gonna Do A Number on You” gives a break from the heady topic at hand. “Better” picks up the rock theme with loads of sizzling guitar parts injected between the vocals of “Just take my groceries and put ‘em in the sack / No checks, no cash, don’t give me no flack / ‘Cause my little number hasn’t failed me yet.” “Sail Me Away” is pure A.M. radio candy, oozing with strings and vibes and even a harp, a song which is presumably about the rapture. The alt-country element comes back in with the final song, “Posse in the Sky”, bringing the album full circle, just in time for the end of the world, er, the end of 2012, which is nigh at hand!

Review - Jughead

This album lead to the discovery of The Mustard Seeds, another super duper band of Christian heavy power pop. It's been over ten years... how about another Jughead album? Pretty please?

Also, while this album isn't technically a Christian album it most certainly is.  My soul gets fed far more while listening to many of the songs on this album than it does in hearing a typical praise song in church. 

* * * * *

Every now and then, just as I'm slipping into a chronic state of musical ennui, an album comes along to rudely shake me out of my doldrums. The self-titled album by Jughead was just such a musical slap in the face.

When you consider the members of this new band it's no surprise. Ty Tabor, best known for his amazing guitar prowess as part of the legendary King's X, adds his astounding fret skills but in an unusual turn, only sings lead on two songs, although his frequent background harmonies are prominent. And who better to match Ty's impeccable technique except accomplished Jazz bassist Matt Bissonette who adds his impressive vocals to the project. Forming an ultra-solid rhythm section as only symbiotic siblings can, Greg Bissionette plays drums. Together these brothers have played for such luminaries as Joe Satriani, Santana, Steve Vai and David Lee Roth. Adding a tastefully restrained amount of keys is Derek Sherinian, formerly of Dream Theater. With all these progressive and technical credits one would think that the music would be equally esoteric, but one would be wrong. Infusing hints of Beatles and 70s arena rock with the best of today's modern sound, Jughead is quality rock music without pretension, destined to appeal to anyone willing to listen. I can really see this album going over well in Fort Wayne but it would take a station like WXKE (nudge, nudge) to play music not programmed by the radio illuminati.

Many of the songs fall into the "fun, fast guitar rock" category. "Halfway Home to Elvis", "Snow In Tahiti", "Be Like You" and the aptly named "Bullet Train" with it's rich vocal harmonies all satisfy your need to rock hard and fast with each song containing enough combustible energy to make the bedridden attempt the jitterbug. "Promise" is a continuation of Tabor's Safety solo album where he contemplates his broken marriage and a time before "feelings were stronger than a promise." Unlike Safety, this song is neither depressing nor self-indulgent, thanks to buzzing guitars, classic overdriven Hammond organ, and a rollicking rhythm. Capturing the same lonely feel as Zeppelin's "The Rain Song", "Waiting on the Son" contains a wonderfully fun and bouncy bass line along with some tantalizing vocal harmonies. Matt opens "Yesterday I Found Myself" with the lyrics "Yesterday I cried balloons / Rubber tears came out like water on the moon" before a crushing wall of guitars enter, dark, heavy and very reminiscent of classic King's X. If you weren't having fun yet, "Flowers" will most certainly make you smile. Opening with a zooming rhythm and group whistling, the verse contains a strong Spanish influence before charging into the big, bright, happy sing-along chorus of "Today's the day/ I'm on my way / I'm bringing flowers to the girl I love." The final track, "Paging Willie Mays" is Magical Mystery Tour- era Beatles meets Pink Floyd at a Foo Fighters concert with a sedate, hypnotic verse rudely pushed aside by a gruff wall of guitars, all adorned with cello and mellotron.

There's nothing startlingly new or innovative about Jughead's sound or songwriting structures, it's just eleven hyper-kinetic, mind-melting, huge sounding, colorful, uber-melodic rock/pop/power pop songs in the vein of Foo Fighters and Stone Temple Pilots. Buy this album now!

This review first appeared in WhatzUp, October 2002.

Classic Album Review - Steve Taylor - I Predict 1990

I Predict 1990 was one of the first Christian albums I owned, definitely one of the first ten. God’s hand was most certainly a part of this. The music was quirky, intelligent, varied, humorous and just plain good. This album soaked into my thirsty brain, probably causing irreparable damage and if that Steve Taylor had any money I’d sue the pants off him. But instead I’ll give it another listen. Or watch. The album came with a video album with a video for almost every song. He ran out of money before he ran out of songs. I should dig out that VHS tape and … wait… it’s probably all on YouTube!

Anyway, the album starts with “I Blew up the Clinic Real Good”, a saxophone-packed rocker about an ice cream truck driver that blows up abortion clinics so that we won’t run out of “youngsters” so he won’t be out of a job. During the late 80s there were some big fights about abortion in evangelical Christianity and this song hit hard. Now the sub-culture has, for the most part, come to terms with this atrocity, this plank-eye unfortunately included. “What Is The Measure of Your Success?” is another hard hitter, a kind of whispy rocker with an amazing bass line and 80s synth tones. Speaking of synthesizers, while present on the album this is definitely a guitar rock album with touches of keyboards, unlike Taylor’s earlier albums which were much more synth-heavy. “Since I Gave Up Hope I Feel A Lot Better” was one of my favorites. It’s got a great bass line, a kind of frantic, tumbling feel, steel drums (probably fake) and a crazy fiddle going completely insane. The lyrics hit home because I was just heading off into the belly of the beast: a secular university. The video was of Taylor walking around with multiple cameras on sticks strapped to himself so that he was captured by a dozen angles. These were all smashed together somehow. See for yourself! Okay, so maybe there were only four cameras but in the late 80s it seemed like a dozen.

After three scorchers they show things down with “Babylon.” This one was never a favorite but it’s got plenty of 80s atmosphere and some gosh darned good lyrics. “Jim Morrison’s Grave” is another killer track, taking a critical view of our hero worship with lyrics of “I get weary, Lord I don't understand / How a seed get strangled in the heart of a man / While the music covers like an evening mist / Like a watch still ticking on a dead man's wrist / Tick away.” “Svengali” features another nervous rhythm, saxophones, and quite a bit of that late 80s vibe. Don’t get me wrong, it still sounds good, though. “Jung and the Restless” was just okay with a funny spoken word bit in the middle and subdued electric guitars elsewhere. “Innocence Lost” had more sax (oh yeah… the era!) and a spacious, slightly creepy while “A Principled Man” merges in Celtic influences, urging, challenging and encouraging the listener to stand up for your beliefs. The final track, “Harder To Believe Than Not To,” is one of the best. Opening with operatic vocals singing a line by Rachmaninoff (who the liner notes credit to something like “I’d dead so I can sue you”, even though by the time his widow would probably have had recourse) this fragile song of shimmering strings and flutes is completely unlike anything else on the album. It’s pretty much unlike any other song I’ve heard, chamber music of a sort, I suppose. This song was a great encouragement to my early years, warning against those who “tossed away the cloak that [they] should have mended.” I Predict 1990 is an album that is greater than the sum of its parts, arriving in my life with exactly what I needed at exactly the right time. Thanks, Steve!

Classic Album Review - Phil Keaggy - Find Me In These Fields (1990)

Time for another Classic Album review! There are only nine of these “perfect 11” albums left and since two of these are Phil Keaggy albums, I thought I’d chip one off the list.

My first experience with Phil Keaggy was when my ol’ pal Roger Shuman gave me Keaggy’s Sunday’s Child album. Being a Beatles aficionado it was right up my alley. In my “why, yes, I AM a dork” music database I have that album rated as a 10. Great stuff there, especially for the new Christian, letting me know that there was good Christian music with heartfelt, honest, non-cheesy lyrics out there and not everything was Carman and Degarmo & Key. However it was the follow up, Find Me In These Fields, that really spoke to me. Freed from the confines of having to sound like a 60s album Keaggy let loose with a string of amazing songs, ranging from rockers to soft confessionals. This album was produced by Lynn Nichols and had much of the same “all-star” supporting musicians as Sunday’s Child and their cohesiveness shows. This album is another shining example of the importance of matching the right producer with the artist, someone who knows how to push them in just the right way to get them to reach beyond their usual abilities. Keaggy, while an amazing guitarist and songwriter, needs such a producer. His self-produced albums run the range from bland to very good but his albums where he is produced by someone else are often outstanding.

Listening to the album again I can’t put my finger on exactly why the album is so good. The songs are all solid and amazingly performed with various nods to The Beatles and other influences but nothing so overwhelming as the previous album. I think the main thing that resonated with me were the lyrics in that they are very affirming and comforting, just what I needed at the time. For a new believer who had plenty of hang-ups and garbage and hurts these words were like balm for my soul, echoing my longing to be free from the past. “This Side of Heaven” is a prime example of how Keaggy managed to wrap this longing into a timeless and upbeat song, throwing in some very intoxicating vocal harmonies amid lyrics such as “Why settle for less here at the wrong time? / There are better worlds yet to come.” And when the chorus arrives? Sheer bliss! This song was followed by the vulnerable “Find Me In These Fields”, a gorgeous song featuring acoustic guitars and a cello. The times this song ministered to my aching, lonely heart are legion. Likewise “Calling You” is another song of yearning, feeding kindling to my newly ignited soul to dig deeper for more of God in my life.

With a nice combination of fiery rockers and earnest ballads but lyrics that seemed tailored for my life, Find Me In These Fields was just what I needed. The entire album exudes a confident maturity, both in the music and the lyrics, that is a rare find. Twenty-plus years later I can still put this album on and enjoy every song. What more can you ask?

Classic Album Review - Galactic Cowboys - Space In Your Face (1993)

When Galactic Cowboys came onto the scene they were touted as the heavier cousins of King’s X. As I was a huge King’s X fan at the time I immediately latched onto them. It took me a while to get into their debut album because it truly was much heavier than anything I’d been listening to and to this day I still find this album sonically sludgy. Their second album, Space In Your Face, cleaned up this sludge and gave the whole mess a nice polish. It retained the heaviness, much to the chagrin of my roommate at the time who couldn’t understand how I could switch from this mass of metal to Keith Green.

This second and finale Cowboys album to be produced by Sam Taylor, the same guy who produced the first four King’s X albums, spent over a year in my CD player. Say what you want about this guy, he can bring out the best in musicians. After this album they, like King’s X, dropped their producer and much of the progressive element from their sound and went more power pop. Good stuff but not the greatness of Space In Your Face.

So what’s so great about this album? I was hoping you would ask.

The title track introduces the album, 1:38 of twisting molten metal that effortlessly and playfully mangles the meter before jumping into a jazzy mid-section sure to puzzle all die-hard metalheads. Then comes “You Make Me Smile” with more non-conformity to 4/4 time signatures and an extremely aggressive speed-metal-like riff. But when the song gets to the chorus it’s all four-part vocal harmony candy. It’s also the first exhibition of their melodic prowess… this stuff is stick-in-your-head-for-weeks catchy! And not just in the vocals… the bass and guitars each lay down lines that refuse to leave your head. “I Do What I Do” is another vocal masterpiece, this time contrasting even stickier, sweeter vocal harmonies against an edgy, spooky verse. And let’s not forget the vocally intricate lead up to the chorus…. WOW! Pick a part and sing alone, will ya? And then, like in “Smile” there’s the lengthy instrumental passage at the end full of crazy chicanery. “Circles In The Fields” is a smiling poke at the then oft-reported incident of crop circles, complete with jack hammer sound effects and call/answer vocals. “If I Were A Killer” takes unique aim at abortion and abortionists. “Blind” is packed with gorgeous vocal harmonies so rich and lush that you want to eat them, contrasting softer passages with heavy crushing guitars. But ya know, I don’t think the harmonies stop once. Lyrically the song is a modern version of “I once was blind but now I see,” one of many Christian themes that run through the album.

Typical of CDs at the time, the band hid a couple of tracks. I’d read that their label only wanted nine songs and they had eleven so these were tucked away, one after ten tracks of silence and one in the negative space before track 32. It is to this final track, “Still Life of Peace,” to which I now draw your attention. Simply put, this song is astounding! It’s like nothing else I’ve ever heard and I love it, which means that most everyone else probably hates it and likes that it’s easy to skip. But where else can you hear a sitar and tabula battle against a cello? NOWHERE! Yes, sitar and tabula open the song while the boys do their vocal magic in the verse and then the song smashes into a prog-metal romp with six tons of low end. A brief instrumental passage occurs after verse two where the cello and the sitar lay down melodic solos and the song takes a brief divergence into ¾ territory before returning to the metal riff, this time with the cello joining in. They jump back and forth between ¾ land and the metal riff, sometimes only for half a measure just to keep you on your toes, and then introduce a speed metal riff into the mix. The cellos are front and center for verse three, sliding and gutsy in a manner that is not befitting a proper orchestral member.

I should mention that while I use the terms "progressive" and "prog" that's not really the focus. Yeah, the flip the beat around and have longer songs and somewhat complicated song structures, but they're no more progressive than early Metallica albums. That is, the songs and melodies are the focus and the technical flourishes are extras thrown in at no extra charge.

Past Reviews - Neal Morse - Lifeline

I still listen to this album now and then, which is a good sign that it's good. Good? What a silly word. Goooood. I think I prefer the album he did before this one, Sola Scriptura, which is a bit more "metallic" and is about the life of Martin Luther.




It’s not that I bear any grudge toward Neal Morse for abandoning one of the best melodic progressive rock bands of the last century for a solo career. I mean, a man has to follow his muse and if for some reason he is unable to create the music in his heart with his current band then it’s time to move on. Except that this man needed that band to flesh out his music, making it more diverse and interesting. Since going solo Neal Morse has yet to create an album of the scale and grandeur that was Spock’s Beard but with Lifeline he finally comes pretty durn close.

The opening title track goes a long way toward Morse re-earning his status as one of the best writers of progressive rock. Tight breaks, complicated arrangements that remain easy on the ear, a few odd time signatures and emotional melodies rule the day, slowly starting with a pensive solo piano before slamming into a big Spock’s Beard-type instrumental overture. Four minutes into this dramatic orchestral song vocals finally see the light of day before gusty guitars and heavy riffs take over again. You’ll be amazed at how quickly these cheerful thirteen minutes fly by, a testimony to Morse’s songwriting prowess.

The other overtly progressive song is “So Many Roads”, coming in at a massive twenty-nine minutes. This dramatic masterpiece is broken into six different sections, the centerpiece being focused on the lyrics “’Cause there’s so many roads to nowhere / So many places I could try / … / Maybe it’s time for me to fly / And search for the on that will save me / That will lead me in the light.” Of course these lyrics cannot convey the melody to which they are attached, one which pulls at your heart without wallowing in maudlin emotionalism. Highlights include a five minute section of acoustic guitar and jazzy saxophone and pretty much every drum smack put to tape. As on most of his solo work the drums are handled by Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy and this recording proves why he is considered a living legend. Wowee zowee! Bass duties are compliments of Randy George of Ajalon and once again he is able to lay some pretty massive and complicated grooves while always keeping one foot firmly humbly planted in melodic phrasing.

“Leviathan” is perhaps the heaviest thing Morse has ever recorded. Opening with spooky synths and dark choir you can easily imagine the Vikings out at sea on a dark night, evoking an image that intentionally just manages to keep from teetering into Spinal Tap territory. From there rhythm section bass kicks in on this monster of a song, leading to a horn section, a stomping, playful chorus and a xylophone solo. Yes, I said “xylophone”… trust me… you’ll like it. If you’ve been wondering when you’d hear the next quirky “21st Century Schizoid Man” you need look no further.

The four remaining songs are much less progressive, often sounding like modern versions of Kansas or Styx. “The Way Home” is a passionate seeking for comfort with chiming guitars, mellotron flutes, and an eventual buildup into a lush string orchestra. Visions of Yes are found in the hopeful “God’s Love” before jumping into “Children of the Chosen,” a bright acoustic-based song with a chorus that would not seem out of place in many churches. Decent songs but not as strong as the first three mentioned or the final song, “Fly High”, a powerful and invigorating song of beautiful piano and gorgeous strings that slowly build to an amazing guitar solo by Paul Bielatowicz that is as melodic as it is technically impressive.

With Lifeline Neal Morse has been able to convey his Christian faith with a boldness and artistic integrity that is rare to find. While revisiting the power-pop prog rock that was a mainstay during his time at the helm of Spock’s Beard Morse was able to retain the song-oriented format of the many classic progressive rock bands mentioned above, forging an impressively strong album that is his best in years.