Third Day: Come Together (2001)

Tracks:

1. Come Together
2. 40 Days
3. Show Me Your Glory
4. Get On
5. My Heart
6. It's Alright
7. Still Listening
8. I Got You
9. I Don't Know
10. When the Rain Comes
11. Sing Praises
12. Nothing Compares

After reinventing themselves as a rock and roll worship band (which is kind of the reverse to the "worship band>rock and roll band" way groups like Delirious? and Sonicflood did it), Third Day take the next step and try to start a worldwide ecumenical revival.  Or at least an American version of one.  With Come Together, Mac & the boys are determined to bring Christians together in the common bond of Christ-centered worship, brotherly love, and serving the gospel.  It's a noble concept, and in reality, it would be Third Day themselves that would serve as the common ground for a lot of brothers and sisters coming together.  

The band have purged the last vestiges of their grungy period and are now acting like grown-up, 21st century rockers with a strong 70s retro vibe.  Mac's longer hair, the band's love of t-shirts and denim, and the groovy branding and graphics ring out like a distorted power chord.   But they're also mixing the new with the old:  For every fuzzy tone and thumping groove, they have plenty of pulsating synth parts and electronic flourishes.  Still, the production doesn't get in the way of the songs, which go in different directions and show a mature diversity and, more importantly, a personal angle that is novel for the band.

The title track is the call for God's people to gather in the marketplace, and it's a nice blend of the aforementioned styles, with probably the most remarkable thing a strange "ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-wee-ooh" vocal part courtesy of Brad Avery that harmonizes with a processed guitar part, so that it sounds like neither.  Avery also pitches in with his first song credit ever, the power poppy "My Heart," in which Powell sings in an unusual style, mimicking Avery's bouncy delivery.  It's a nice little diversion from the rest of the album, and gives the lead guitarist a chance to stretch himself a bit.

Another direction the band goes into is a kind of mystical, grandiose kind of sound that evokes broad landscapes and wide open skies.  The two songs that exemplify this the most are the worshipful "Show Me Your Glory" (a quote of Moses from the thirty-third chapter of Exodus) and the closer "Nothing Compares."  The former is a prayer from a believer looking out at a night sky and communing with his heavenly Father.  The latter is an emotional song in which Mac confesses he's "seen all the glory/tasted all that's fine," but no earthly pleasure or treasure can equal the love of Jesus.  These follow in the footsteps of "King of Glory" with their emphasis on the deeper side of the spiritual life.  

Other songs, like "It's Alright" and "I Don't Know" take on a personal level that could apply to human relationships just as easily as the heavenly.  "When the Rain Comes" is a sweet song by Mark Lee about comforting his wife through bad times and sorrow, and flashes a vulnerability that hadn't been seen before.   And "Sing Praises" is a carryover from Offerings that uses Caribbean styles to lead listeners to do what the title says.

Probably the most interesting song on the album could be its most derivative: "Still Listening" is a song about listening to God even when He is silent and trusting His lead.  The song is an homage to Exile on Main Street-era Rolling Stones and, more closely, the aforementioned Black Crowes, with Mac slurring his phrases in classic Chris Robinson style.  Still, it's a fun and tasty tribute to the band's roots, and shows the band at their best, preaching the gospel using Southern Rock as the medium for the message.
   
On Come Together, TD manages to balance old styles with new finishes, praise and worship with ethereal splendor, and "church music" with sounds that connect with the world at large.  For me, this was their peak, when they synergized the finger-lickin' good sound with the Hallelujah spirit and the romantic underpinnings of their material.  In other words, it did indeed come together at the right time and at the right place.