CD Reviews: "The Far Country" and "Stereo: The Evolution of HipRockSoul"

"The Far Country" - Andrew Peterson (2006/01/27)

Andrew Peterson is one of the few musicians and songwriters who helps me learn something new with almost every album. On his latest album, he challenged me to consider death and the afterlife with a new perspective. He wrote the following in the press material for "The Far County":

'God is at home. We are in the far country.'- Meister Eckhart

I read that quote in an Annie Dillard book several years ago and it never left me. Too often we tend to imagine that heaven is a cotton-white cloudscape, a place that doesn't seem desirable to us here in this sometimes beautiful, sometimes horrifying world. We're comfortable here, and the skewed notion we have of eternity is that it's like a never-ending church service, where we'll be standing mindlessly around a throne, singing bad praise songs to a white haired God for the rest of our existence. From what I know about God, what I've read of Him in scripture and what I've seen of Him in what has been made - towering mountains, howling wind, purple budded trees, a baby's touch and a panther's roar - He is not a tame God. The City He's prepared for us is not a retirement home. Zion is not a country club. Death is but the cusp of a great adventure, hinted at in Hebrews 11, 'People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own...they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.' The songs on this record were born out of a longing for that better country, and it's my hope that whoever listens to them will feel that God- given flutter in the stomach that reminds us who we are - and where we're bound. -Andrew Peterson

This idea of heaven is something hinted at in Scripture (the "new Jerusalem" and the "new Earth") and is dramatized in fantasy novels like The Chronicles of Narnia or The Lord of the Rings. Like me, Peterson is a fantasy fan, and to help bring out this theme of longing for God's heavenly country, uses imagery and quotes from novels like "The Havens Gray" and "This is the love of Jesus / So good, but he is not tame, no" (from "Little Boy Heart Alive"). Every song is worth reading through (you can see the lyrics here) for unique takes and new understandings of Scripture passages, with topics ranging from death and the afterlife, AIDS, childlike faith, a song written for a wedding, and others. Musically, he stretches his palette some from previous albums by going beyond just acoustic instruments in a few songs to incorporate more bass and electric guitars, but at its core, it's a tasty blend of acoustic guitar work, piano, tight harmonies and even an occasional accordion/mandolin/hammered dulcimer. Favorite tracks: Lay Me Down, Little Boy Heart Alive, The Far Country, Mystery of Mercy.

Finally, Peterson's writing about the longing for God's country, similar thematically to much of Rich Mullins' work, is something that resonates deeply with me. If nothing else, I'd encourage you to think about and perhaps read through Hebrews 11, to keep this life in perspective: God frees us to live a meaningful life of adventure here, but it is only a shadow and a foretaste of true life and true adventure, which is yet to come.

"Stereo: The Evolution of HipRockSoul" - 4th Avenue Jones (2006/02/03)

For the right price, I'm willing to experiment on styles of music that I don't typically listen to. So, with a $6/CD sale going on at BMG, I decided to take a flyer on this album from 4th Avenue Jones, a new band whose music is a mix of rap, hip-hop, rock, soul, and some other things that I probably wouldn't be able to identify intelligently. It's a fun mix that works quite well - I like the fact that rather than relying heavily on drum loops and synthesized music as many conventional hip-hop acts will do, they have a full band with drums, bass, lead guitarist, and a violinist (!) to provide the backdrop to the rapping and singing by husband-wife duo Ahmad and Tena Jones. It's quite fun to hear rapid, yet smooth switches from high-speed rapping to soulful choruses and electric guitar solos, while rapping and singing about topics ranging from dealing with conflicts in marriage, to materialism, to a call for change in America, "this modern-day Roman Empire.". My primary quibbles with the album are that many of the songs seem to cut off rather abruptly, and they like to have many short snippets of dialogue/skits introducing each song, which breaks up the flow of a continous listen. Overall though, this was a good experiment - the album grew on me with every listen, and I'm starting to notice more nuance, like the Radiohead-like chord progression in "Rush" and the brief mention fo Peja Stojakovic in dance tune "It's Over Now." See here for lyrics. I'd encourage you to check out their website, as they play about 5 songs off the album in their entirety, a few of which are among my favorite tracks: Fabulous Dramatics, Unhappy Birthday, Who's Watching Me, Rush.