Rich Mullins: The World As Best As I Remember It, Vol. 1 (1991)

Tracks:

1. Step by Step
2. Boy Like Me/Man Like You
3. Where You Are
4. Jacob and 2 Women (The World as Best as I Remember It)
5. The Howling
6. Calling Out Your Name
7. Who God is Gonna Use
8. The River
9. I See You
10. Step by Step (Reprise) 

Back in the late 80s and early 90s, Rich Mullins collaborated and travelled with a musician called Beeker (Christian name: David Strasser), who was something of a Barnabas to Rich's Paul (if Paul were a traveling singer-songwriter instead of Christianity's first missionary and author of half the New Testament).  He was a companion, co-conspirator, and partner-in-crime in Mullins' ministry, and wrote many songs on his own.  His most famous composition, "Step By Step," was a simple chorus that would be the theme for the two-volume The World As Best As I Remember It.  It would bookend both albums and stylistically marks a turning point for Mullins: The singer was now turning against the tide of the popular trends and going back to an "older" sound: Synths and big arrangements were being phased out in favor of acoustic instruments, world music elements, and smaller, plainer background vocals.  More importantly, Mullins was starting to develop a mystical bent to his music, taking on deep personal issues as well as delving into ancient traditions and ideas.  It was almost as if he was already starting to leave the world behind, and thumbing his way down the road for that last chariot ride.

"Beeker's Song," as "Step" was referred to by friends and fans in its earliest incarnation, sets the tone by opening the album with bagpipes (the first of Mullins' nods to his Celtic roots) and a charming boy soprano intoning the chorus.  Along with the children's choir on Winds and the a capella group sing on Never, this forms the third album in a row that Rich has opened with a non-contemporary vocal track.  It's clear that the liturgy at least symbolically informed his approach to his albums, as they were as much worship services (or at least calls to worship) as they were collections of popular songs. Hence these traditional "entroits" into the musical house of prayer.

Next comes another Beeker collab, "Boy Like Me/Man Like You."  Like "First Family" it taps into his Indiana childhood, comparing his experience with that of a young Jesus of Nazareth.  While the line about licking a dog's nose kind of grossed me out, it's another nice portrait of a boy's rural Christian upbringing and how it resonates in the life of the adult: The Father is the father to the child and the man.

"Where You Are" is something of a surprising hit single, as it's an acoustic Caribbean-influenced tumble through Sunday School stories, complete with African-style backup chants and various native percussion instruments.   True to his songwriter's instinct, the "Talkin' Jonah in the belly of a whale" hook propelled the song to the top of the charts, but it's a fun little reminder that the passionate worshiper and singer still had a lighter side.  "Jacob and 2 Women" sports a chorus that provides the album title, but I've always had trouble connecting the biblical story of the patriarchal love triangle with the concept of "remembering" the way of the world.  I suppose on its face, the idea is that as Christians, we don't have to scheme and manipulate our way to find favor, like "the Heel Grabber" and his disparately-loved spouses.  Or maybe it just made for a great tagline, although it always kind of reminded me of Don Henley's "End of the Innocence."  Now that's an odd combination...

"Calling Out Your Name" and "The Howling" both reference the Great Plains that Mullins was calling home at the time, and also his growing fascination with Native American sounds and traditions.  "Calling" is especially powerful, the first song to feature hammer dulcimer as the lead instrument.  He name-checks Nebraska, Kansas, the Dakotas, and pheasants in a tribute to the prairie, using its wildlife as a metaphor for worship--there's the Franciscan influence.  He also uses tribal modes (Whoa-oa-oa-oaaaa...) in the bridge to great effect.   

There's even a lap dulcimer on the earthy "Who God is Gonna Use," one of the best examples of his "testifyin' blues style" compositions.  The penultimate track, "I See You," became one of his anthems, built for concert and worship settings with each line echoed by the backup singers.  It became a live favorite for obvious reasons, and still resonates as a simple worship song about seeing God's glory in all Creation.

World Vol. 1 is where Mullins truly starts heading back to his roots, taking modern music and fusing it with old ideas and traditions and making a new statement.  While he wouldn't have many more hit singles, his songs begin to take on a timelessness that defies ideas like charts and sales.  Like a homespun, well-centered version of Brian Wilson, he was writing child-like, faith-filled symphonies to God.