e
Tracks:
- Mighty Good Leader
- Underdog
- Get Down
- Good Life
- Let My Love Open the Door
- Hands and Feet
- Jesus Movement
- DC-10
- It is Well with My Soul
- This Day
- It's Over
- The Houseplant Song
With Burkum and Cissel permanently installed as members, Audio A upped their musicianship and after a couple of years of touring came up with an even stronger album, Underdog. They still played around with samples, hip-hop beats and other assorted samples, but now cranked out heavier rock pieces in the spirit of Bloom. Indeed, Burkum actually starts to sound like a Barry Blair disciple on this one, as his playing takes on much of the Southern-fried tones of the founding guitarist. It's his electric grooves that provide much of the record's spark, as the first six tunes form a solid slab of fun rockers that take the Audio A sound in a few new directions. "Mighty Good Leader" is good opener, with a nice build-up on the verse and pre-chorus a la "Some Kind of Zombie." The title track is also strong, with a decent chorus melody and a sermon excerpt on the break. In fact, the melodic approach on the album is probably the most sophisticated yet, as Stuart and the gang have moved beyond shouted lines and "bah-de-bum-bum" singalongs and really coming up with some decent tunes.
"Get Down" and "Hands and Feet" were the two big singles, and represent the two big themes of the album. The former, based on the title, sounds like an invitation to boogie, but it's really about God's intervention when we "get down" emotionally when facing life's struggles. It's the only song to really carry over the "techno-acoustic" sound of Zombie, with a rhythm riff right out of the Blair playbook. "Hands and Feet" sings of the timeless AA message of missions, and has a more epic feel than most of the songs on the album.
The album also has three cover songs, starting with a tight, fast run-through of Pete Townshend's "Let My Love Open the Door." The author once described the song succinctly with the phrase, "Jesus sings." And while Townshend is hardly a voice for orthodoxy (He's actually much closer to Hinduism in his beliefs), the song represents the next in a long line of Pete's "spiritual" songs that can be interpreted in a Christian context (Such as "Bargain," "Christmas", and even "Behind Blue Eyes"). Audio A's version turns the chorus into more of a rock chant than the original, and what it takes away from its poignancy and heart-felt romanticism, it makes up for in fun and power.
They also cover the classic Horatio Spafford hymn "It is Well with My Soul." The somewhat languid arrangement puts a weird, dark spin on the song, and having Jennifer Knapp echo Stuart on the refrains doesn't make it any easier to swallow. Still, the lyrics pack a deep spiritual punch, echoing the sentiments of "Get Down." More twists are made in their cover of their own "DC-10" from the self-titled album. What started as a blustery hard rock/hip-hop hybrid is now turned into a rockabilly swing exercise, played at a breakneck tempo. Still, Burkum pulls off a decent Brian Setzer impersonation, and again, speed and humor win out over any shortcomings.
It's telling that the band chose to list their names on the cover, as the group was finally beginning to sound like they were greater than the sum of their parts. Still, they have their laughs with the closer, Herdman's "The Houseplant Song," which re-introduces Smooth Steve into the mix. And Underdog manages to maintain a much more cohesive feel than the somewhat discombobulated Zombie.
Tracks:
- Hello Old Friends
- Sometimes By Step
- Everyman
- The Just Shall Live
- Waiting
- To Tell Them
- The Maker of Noses
- What Susan Said
- Growing Young
- All the Way My Savior Leads Me
- Sometimes By Step (Reprise)
A year after its first installment, the second volume of The World was released, and it's tempting to try to compare them side by side and determine which brother is the bigger one. The obvious connection is "Sometimes By Step," the fully-developed version of the "Step By Step" chorus, and like the early version, bookends the album. "Sometimes" is the definitive completion, much more driving and "radio-ready" than the Vol. 1 version, led by the now-standard hammer dulcimer chimes. It's a classic example of Mullins' songcraft, once again drawing on nighttime imagery and connecting the biblical story of Abraham with personal reflections on a life of hard choices made in faith. But it's the emotional power of the melody, punctuated by doleful horns and the ever-sympathetic choir, that draws the listener--and the worshiper--into the song's majesty and wonder.
If there is a theme to Vol. 2, it's of the pilgrim's journey in God's grace, expressed in "Waiting," a song about patience and trust in God's timing. There's also "What Susan Said," an autobiographical account of Rich and Beeker's evangelistic journeys, featuring the apt description of their relationship as "Abbott and Costello meet Paul and Silas." The journey is tied up nicely in a folky rendition of the Fannie Jane Crosby hymn "All the Way My Savior Leads Me," gently plucked on an acoustic guitar, which is featured prominently throughout the album.
Other highlights include "Everyman," Mullins' character sketch featuring a cast of unnamed but well-known bible heroes and heroines; "The Maker of Noses," a neat rebuttal of the worldly wisdom of "Follow your heart/nose/dreams" vs. the heavenly hope of trusting God's unfailing truth; and "Growing Young," which Mullins claims was one of the easiest and fastest of his Beeker collaborations, drawing on the time-worn adage, "Big boys don't cry," but using it to describe the prodigal's broken and penitent return to his loving Father.
We even get yet another appearance of Soul Brother Rich, only this time, he manages to pull off a believable version of white urban gospel. "The Just Shall Live" is a straight-up sanctified church revival, complete with choir, Hammond organ, and soulful shouting. Somehow, there's an earthiness to the proceedings--probably because the lyrics read like a sermon right out of Habakkuk chapter 2 (and quoted several times by Paul in his letters). This keeps the awkwardness and congestion that marred his previous attempts at bay, and lets the listener enjoy the man having church. Kevin Max makes yet another guest appearance on "To Tell Them," a piano-driven soul stirrer that feels a little weirder than "The Just," but the call-and-response singing makes it enjoyable enough.
Generally, while the production and arrangements hearken back to Never Picture Perfect in spots, the organic spirit of Vol. 1 is still strong throughout the record. On these two collections, Rich Mullins has become a true artist: a singer-songwriter who can get cozy with a guitar or dulcimer, be worshipful and poignant with a keyboard, or raise the roof with powerful and almost dignified anthems with choirs and full bands. And yet, even with this grand project under his belt, his greatest work was yet to come.
Tracks:
- Woody
- Smiley Smile
- Phony Eyes
- Kites Without Strings
- Happy Roy
- Deep End
- The Rain Kept Falling in Love
- Holy Hold
- Look
- Nuts for You
- Pray Naked
- Self-Made Trap
The Seventy Sevens Mark Three line-up seems to have come together almost by alchemy rather than chemistry. Roe managed to bring back the ever-reliable "A-Train" Aaron Smith (who strangely is not featured in any of the group photos and is credited with "pounding and thrashing" as opposed to "drums and percussion"), but also brought in members of the rock group Strawmen: bassist Mark Harmon (no relation to the St. Elsewhere and NCIS star, thus bringing in another TV celebrity namesake) and guitarist David Leonhardt. The result of this weird Sacramento Stew is an album that could be the most schizoid (and therefore one of the most compelling) in the Sevens' catalog: What do you get if you formed a super group with Roger McGuinn, Jimmy Page, and Dick Dale? Three old guys hiding behind Mike Roe, Dude!
The schizophrenia starts with the title itself: Pray Naked was submitted to Brainstorm Artists International, but in a move right up there with the skittish response to Vigilantes of Love's "Love Cocoon" single, the label shipped to retailers with the album and song title wiped out, thus becoming the second record named The Seventy Sevens (At least there wasn't 77s on the cover to add further confusion). Seems believers don't like the two words together, even though it's a rather cool concept, being "naked prey" in one's relationship with the Almighty.
The title track is indeed typically off-kilter: we have a voice message from an unknown Hindu translating the words into Urdu, then the standard 3-minute intro, featuring trippy Eastern modes, fast Latin rhythms, and shrieking riffs, followed by an eight-line vocal section sung to an almost sappy pop melody, then a scorching rockabilly-meets-Zeppelin solo, leading into a crazy call-and-response spelling lesson/victory chant, ending with a frenetic rock raga. Think "Mystic Eyes" on acid, drenched in patchouli oil. The result is one of their greatest hard rock workouts.
The other great rocker is the opener, the enigmatically-titled "Woody." Lyrically, it's another "Fell-on-my-butt-before-the-Lord-and-cried-out-Mercy, Mercy" confessional, but that's not where all the fun is: it's in the Nugent-esque riff that Roe cranks out, along with Harmon's ponderous bass and Smith's echo-laden but leaden drums, that turns the pop rock band of the 80s into the light heavyweight metalheads of the 90s. The song ends after seven minutes in a cacophony of grinding riffs, swirling beats, and feedback, cutting away suddenly into the quiet organ meditation "Smiley Smile," which indeed sounds like the long-lost title track from the Beach Boys' 1967 album.
If one were to listen to the beginning and end of the record, one would think this was a hard rock album. But that would be missing the jingle and jangle of the indie pop chestnuts in between. Through a half-dozen folky rock numbers--several of which were recycled Strawmen tunes--Roe & Co. channel the Byrds with clean, ringing guitars, breezy melodies, and shimmering harmonies. And it's here that the true pathology of Pray Naked's multiple personality disorder is manifested. On one side, we have the vaunted headbangers who crank out heavy riffage and bludgeoning rhythms, on the other side heartfelt singers of pretty power pop like "Phony Eyes," which could just as easily have been recorded by any number of female-led college rock bands of the 80s. Or "The Rain Kept Falling in Love," an even mellower pop gem with a big chorus; or "Happy Roy," with falsetto notes and almost child-like melodies.
This two-sided coin could be a drawback with a lesser band, but with the chameleon-like 77s, it's really business as usual. It's just that the variegation of the styles that have been more streamlined on previous efforts is so bipolar on this album. It comes off as two different bands fighting for one stage, but the common denominator is the same as always: Mike Roe's sharp but smooth guitar riffs and pop sensibilities bring the whole jambalaya together. Still, I find the sparkle pop somewhat disappointing. The driving power of "Woody" and the mad panegyrics of "---- -----" (the record company's rendering of the title track on the back cover) make me want to hear more of the heavy stuff, but I have to trudge through the jungle of jangle and chime to get there. Still, it's pretty scenery all along the way...
