The mystery at the heart of music (2)

My original post titled 'The mystery at the heart of music' highlighted 'Surrender', the memoir by Bono, Bob Dylan's 'The Philosophy of Modern Song', 'Faith, Hope and Carnage', Nick Cave's conversation with Sean O'Hagen, and Richard Koloda's 'Holy Ghost: The Life and Death of Free Jazz Pioneer Albert Ayler'. I concluded that, in different ways, these books and the music they describe inhabits the space of genuine mystery and deep yearning that Nick Cave argues is 'at the heart of songwriting.'

To these four, needs to be added, 'Walking Back Home: Deacon Blue and Me' by Ricky Ross. Chris Deerin writes that: 

'Step back, and Ross’s life and trajectory seem ludicrously gilded: early success, Top of the Pops, sell-out stadium gigs, tours of the US, rubbing shoulders with Springsteen and Bono. But this book takes us in closer, to the struggles and the doubts and the losses; to a somewhat repressive upbringing in a Dundee Brethren family; a painful divorce from his first wife; the regrettable explosions of his burgeoning pop star ego; the sudden, unexpected loss of a career and an income; the moments of apparent hopelessness and vanished muse; the tragic death of a bandmate.

Ross is bracingly honest with the reader and himself, and his capacity to learn both from his successes and failures has forged an unusually deep level of wisdom. He is sustained by his religious faith, though is never heavy-handed about that ...

And through it all there has been the music: “The only thing I have ever been fascinated by was the power of a song, and what a song could do to me when it really connected.”'

Paul English in an interview for The Scotsman suggested to Ross that the pursuit of joy, 'whether on stage in front of 250,000 headlining Glasgow’s Big Day in 1990 or visiting slums in Brazil with Christian Aid', was a recurring theme in the book. Ross responded that: 

'It’s the constant search in the book ... I think that’s the search for most people – to realise when you are happy, to realise when life is good. I don’t want to use the cliche of Calvinism, but there is a sense in which sometimes that can dominate our lives, that somehow you deny yourself.

I think you have to allow yourself to celebrate these moments. I talk about a gig we played in Kilmarnock prison, and the chaplain Fr Joe Boland saying to me that where there’s joy there’s God. And that was such a great thing.”

Greg Clarke in an article on Bono, Nick Cave, and their spiritual quests based on their books writes that: 'Submit, surrender, let God be God, recognise a higher power. These are the concluding observations of two of the most famous musicians of the past forty years. It’s not very rock and roll.' 

But it maybe that these five books appearing together indicates that such observations are actually very rock and roll; something that should come as no surprise as rock, soul, and R&B grew from the roots of gospel through artists such as Sam Cooke, who transitioned from gospel to secular music, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and her early rock stylings, and Elvis Presley, who helped expose white audiences to gospel music. Examples of some of the most beloved contemporary pop music of the last 60 years, from artists such as Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, and Ray Charles, illustrate gospel music’s ongoing influence.

Add to these roots: first, the Church's appropriation, beginning with the career of Larry Norman, of rock and pop to speak explicitly about Christian faith; second, a growing appreciation for and understanding of the biblical language and imagery of stars like Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Bruce Springsteen; and third, musicians from After The Fire and Bruce Cockburn to U2 and Deacon Blue, in the words of T Bone Burnett, singing about the world as seen through the light (of Christ) as opposed to singing about the light (of Christ) as CCM artists did. These all take us to a place where the embrace and examination of Christianity in these books is perhaps as rock and roll as sex and drugs have been.

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Deacon Blue - Keeping My Faith Alive.

Top Ten 2022

This is the music, in no particular order, that I've most enjoyed listening to in 2022:

Iain Archer - To the Pine Roots: “Conceived and recorded in a cottage by the Black Forest and imbued with the voices and performances of friends and family, To The Pine Roots … is an ethereal album … The whisper of instantly recalled melodies, the burring of an age-old harmonium, the ghostly reverb of pinewood walls and escapist rhythms teased from an acoustic guitar, distantly recalling a Celtic past. Iain Archer is a songwriter of the forever-enigmatic mould, unencumbered by musical trends and time constraints. From the hazy recollections of childhood he draws vivid the scenes of "Black Mountain Quarry" and "Streamer On A Kite"; with a playwright's gift for characterisation "The Acrobat" and "The Nightwatchman", pertinent metaphors for life and living; and at the album's core "Frozen Lake", a steepling spire of a love song with a fragile voice, buoyed and raised by harmonium and strings.” 

Hurtsmile – Hurtsmile: “Extreme frontman Gary Cherone took advantage of the band's long gap between the recording and touring cycles, and decided to launch his own band Hurtsmile in collaboration with brother Mark Cherone on guitar… Hurtsmile's self-titled debut is a roller coaster ride through a wide range of musical styles, from classic rock 'n roll to modern rock to country rock and even some exotic touches here and there. Half way through it you won't even feel like you're still listening to the same album, such is the diversity. While it's based on rock 'n roll roots, it takes the listener through a different side of Gary Cherone and co, one that's never been brought to light quite like this before.” 

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss - Raise The Roof: “It seems lifetimes ago that Plant and Krauss released their six-Grammy-winning album of duets, Raising Sand (2007) ... This long-awaited second instalment of enthralling covers is a dose of musical reassurance that, despite the turmoil in which we find ourselves, some things remain constant. Roots music and rhythm and blues have always played a long game in matters of the human condition. What worked a treat then continues to work now: Plant dialled down to a sultry croon or, on Bobby Moore and the Rhythm Aces’ Searching for My Love, to a yearning kind of blue-eyed soul, Krauss’s country tones alternately limpid, frisky or timeworn, T Bone Burnett producing deftly. A superlative band creates nuanced tension or percolates away discreetly as required.” 

Rev Simpkins – Saltings: “’Saltings' is a loving portrait of the mystery and beauty of the salt marsh wildernesses of Essex, and a meditation on the human cost of the wilderness time of the pandemic. Like Rev Simpkins's last LP, 'Big Sea', 'Saltings' is most of all a record of unblinking realism amidst darkness, and of a hope grounded in human experience. The album weaves together tales of the legendary and mysterious figures of the saltings, such as John Ball (leader of the peasants’ revolt) and Saint Cedd (whose Saxon chapel stands at Bradwell), with reflections on the wilderness’s ever-changing tides, skies, and seasons. ‘Saltings’ is an attempt to share the atmosphere and history of this remarkable place in picture and song.” 

Ricky Ross - Short Stories Volume 2: “These Short Stories records have given Ross a whole other outlet. Here he sits at the piano and with a lack of clutter gives us surmises on home and work and faith … as he was conjuring these songs he was also writing his first memoir Walking Back Home. As a result, we get stories of family and loss … Your Swaying Arms … A beautiful song that incorporates all of Ross’s strengths - story, sense of place, romance and little lyrical depth charges … Short Stories Vol. 2 is a slow burn of an album crammed with the finest of songs. Every return brings a surprise of piano melody or poetic line.” 

Wovenhand - Silver Sash: “Powerful, subtle and intensely deep. Uniting the calm and mystic side of the early Wovenhand years with the straight forward yet still magic songs of his latest albums. Over the last two decades, his prolific work in both Wovenhand and the legendary 16 Horsepower has influenced and inspired a generation of musicians throughout the expansive alternative music world. The band cannot be described in traditional terms. Their sound is an organic weave of neo-folk, post rock, punk, old-time, and alternative sounds. All coming together as a vehicle for David's soulful expression and constant spiritual self-exploration.” 

Mavis Staples & Levon Helm - Carry Me Home: “Much has changed, of course, in the decade since Staples and Helm reunited for this set in Woodstock. Less than a year later, Helm died in a New York hospital, losing his battle with throat cancer after 28 radiation treatments. Cancer also took Yvonne Staples—a force of her own, even at her sister’s side—six years later. But the real tragedy and the true impact of this set stem from how current it feels now and how it will likely remain that way. Staples’ odes to faith and survival, as well as her quips about bad politics, are as relevant now as they were then, if not more. “I’m only halfway home,” she sings during “Wide River to Cross,” the big band lifting behind her. “I’ve got to journey on.” It’s a Buddy and Julie Miller song, presumably about heavenly ascendance. But surrounded by family and friends, Staples grounds it here on earth, making it about the push for everyone’s progress. Make no mistake: This is fight music, rendered with soul strong and sweet.” 

Patti Smith – Land: “Her music is religious—not necessarily in any way that’s particularly traditionally faithful, but in the sense that she’s always questioning the universe, hoping and praying for answers yet still basking in the search for them. And Smith still ploughs onward. It was only within the past decade that she released her instant-classic memoir Just Kids, and its follow up, 2017’s M Train, which brought her prolific catalogue of music and poetry to the ears and eyes and hearts of a new generation. On her 2012 album Banga, she wrote songs about contemporary tragedies like the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and the death of Amy Winehouse; this year, her collaboration with the Sidewalk Collective, The Peyote Dance, saw her continuing her exploration of mystical interiority through her interpretation of the writing of French poet Antonin Artaud. Of her few peers left standing, it’s hard to imagine anyone else reinvigorating their career in a way that’s anywhere near as successful and, more importantly, evolved as Smith’s.” 

Ho Wai-On – Music is Happiness: “… produced after I survived cancer for the second time … Music is Happiness is a CD of my music, and a 64-page book written and designed by me (CD cover & book cover design by Albert Tang) containing related stories, poems and more than 200 illustrations. The music is performed by excellent musicians. The Chinese character for 'Music' also means 'Happiness'. In the face of adversity, I have found happiness through creativity. In the eight selected works reflecting my bumpy journey of life, the music is very varied.” 

The Welcome Wagon – Esther: “Much of the impetus for their latest came from Monique’s decision to take up painting again after a decade of inactivity. The collage materials she used were taken from the collection of her late grandmother, Esther, whose readings from the Bible (home-recorded onto cassette during the ’90s) kept her company. As Vito’s tentative new songs gathered shape, with Monique’s accompanying artwork, it became apparent that home, family and faith were the three interlocking themes of what became Esther. Simplicity is key to the Welcome Wagon sound. Vito’s guitar is gentle and politic, allowing for their voices – either trading leads or paired in intimate harmony – to carry the soft weight of these devotional songs … Occasional samples of Esther’s voice provide a kind of narrative thread, linking Vito’s originals to sacred hymnals like “Noble Tree” and “Bethlehem, A Noble City”, while “Nunc Dimittis” is a canticle from the Gospel of Luke in traditional Latin. With subtle embellishments of brass, strings and piano, Esther sometimes resembles the work of The Innocence Mission or [Sufjan] Stevens himself: charming, understated and often very beautiful.” 

My previous Top Ten's can be found here - 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2012.

My co-authored book ‘The Secret Chord’ is an impassioned study of the role of music in cultural life written through the prism of Christian belief. Order a copy from here.

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Rev Simpkins - For Every Number.

Walking Back Home and Short Stories Volume 2

Never one to shy from telling stories, Deacon Blue's Ricky Ross is now telling his own life story in a new book. But there's also more music too. He says: ‘For all these years I’ve told stories. Sometimes these days I also tell them on the radio. I’ve met some amazing people and their stories need told too."

His memoir, ‘Walking Back Home’, has recently been published. He writes: "In the book I write about growing up in Dundee, my first forays into music and my life with Deacon Blue. I also discuss my relationships with faith, politics, and the ever-changing challenges of being a musician."

His latest album Short Stories Vol2. is also out now: "I’ve always been interested in telling stories. Most of the stories have become songs but some stories take a little longer. A couple of years ago I started to write down some longer memories which didn’t fit as snugly into verses or choruses. I hope people might enjoy the stories as much as I have enjoyed writing them down."

Read his interview with Lorraine Wilson here.

I'm looking forward to seeing Ricky Ross at Emmanuel Billericay on the Short Stories Vol2 tour. Read a review of his performance at Emmanuel on the first Short Stories tour, a gig which I also saw.  

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Ricky Ross - Bethlehem's Gate.

Top Ten 2017

These are the albums I've most enjoyed listening to in 2017:

A Tribute To Michael Been: The Call featuring Robert Levon Been - Robert Levon Been of Black Rebel Motor Cycle Club pays tribute to his late father's music with an unforgettable live performance leading his father's legendary band The Call. After The Call disbanded Michael Been served as sound engineer for his son Robert's band Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. But while working with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at the 2010 Pukkelpop festival in Belgium, Been suffered a heart attack and passed away backstage. Now The Call have captured an incredible live performance, for the first time in over 20 years, with Robert taking over his father's role. He joined Musick, Ferrier, and keyboardist Jim Goodwin at The Troubadour in Los Angeles for this historic and electrifying event. For Robert - who grew up going out on the road with The Call anytime he had a break from school - the performance offered the chance to honour his musical legacy and perform nearly a dozen and a half songs from the band's esteemed catalog. And for the original members, the show allowed the opportunity to honour their friend and their own musical legacy while revisiting a bond they thought was gone forever.

Specter At The Feast: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - The 12 tracks on Specter At The Feast were 'written after the sudden death of their sound engineer, Michael Been – father of bassist Robert Been – and are heavy with loss. Some Kind of Ghost's gospel-voodoo prayer, which has Robert Been vowing, "Sweet Lord, I'm coming home", Been's lost-in-the-woods vocal on Fire Walker, and the funereal organ drone and layered vocals that rise and fall tidally through Sometimes the Light. The dreamy eight-minute finale, Lose Yourself, is a kind of coming-to-terms hymn – a satisfying ending to a fine record.'

Trouble No More: The Bootleg Series Vol.13 / 1979-1983: Bob Dylan - 'Trouble No More practically bulges with irresistibly thrilling performances. For all its other qualities, Dylan’s music has never been particularly funky. That, however, is the only appropriate term to describe the colossal grooves cooked up by bassist Tim Drummond (who used to play with James Brown) and drummer Jim Keltner, certainly the greatest rhythm section this side of The Band’s Levon Help and Rick Danko that Dylan ever shared a stage with. It’s almost impossible to connect the opening double-KO of 1979 live versions of “Slow Train” – lifted ever higher by guitarist Fred Tackett’s stinging riffs - and “Gotta Serve Somebody” with their fine if overly polite studio counterparts on the MOR-hued Slow Train Coming album, nevermind the road-weary, ramshackle vibes of the other two records in Dylan’s Gospel trilogy, Saved (1980) and 1981’s Shot of Love.'

Short Stories Vol 1: Ricky Ross - 'The album, which contains new songs, voice-and-piano versions of two of his greatest works, Raintown and Wages Day, and a lovely take on Carole King’s Goin’ Back, was recorded in Hamburg, with strings added in Glasgow. It continues a resurgence of activity by the band he put together in December 1985. Producer Paul Savage, who worked on Deacon Blue’s last three albums and on Short Stories Vol 1, says, "The thing I always love about what he does, apart from his well-observed lyrics, is the way he chooses a chord and a shift in gears – he's got that down more than most people. Much of the old-fashioned idea of a song is beginning to disappear – there's not a lot of great classic songwriting any more. "You can listen to Ricky's music and the chords, and they'll move you just by emotion, just by the right chord change. There's a drive about him but there's also the talent. Sometimes there's either one or the other but the great artists I have worked with have both." Ross is an under-rated singer as well, says Savage. "I think he doesn't get the recognition he deserves: some of the new songs on the album are incredible."

Cold Snap: Anthony D'Amato - ''Cold Snap' explores the schisms between perception and reality, projection and truth, who we are and how we're seen. Sometimes it's on an internal level—the progressively ominous images of soaring album opener "Oh My Goodness" hint at the costs of living up to (and falling short of) expectations—but elsewhere it's external and political, as on the too-big-to-fail anthem of "Blue Blooded" or the eerie blues of "If You're Gonna Build A Wall," written in the shadow of the current election season but hinting at everything from Ferguson to Flint."What happens when our visions of ourselves or the projections we make onto others start to crack under the weight of reality?" D'Amato asks. "That's the idea behind the album cover, where you're looking into this mirror, but the image is distorted. The fissures between truth and perception are starting to form, and maybe just for a second, you can glimpse both simultaneously. All of the songs on this album take place in moments of realization like that.".'

Songs of Experience: U2 - 'The mounting effect is a charge of dynamic moods and a still-certain mission – the choral-army light of "Get Out of Your Own Way," speared with rusted-blade guitar bravura; the seesaw of punchy-funk riffing and breakneck vocal glory in "Red Flag Day" – set in candid summations of what's been gained, lost and left undone. "American Soul" is a metallic-guitar letter of gratitude to the roots and ideals that drove U2 forward (with a warning-sermon cameo by Kendrick Lamar). Other songs face home and the band's debt to family and fidelity. "I will win and call it losing," Bono pleads through the icy-guitar rain of "Landlady," "if the prize is not for you." Songs of Experience ends like it opens – in a hush; "13 (There Is a Light)" also circles back to Innocence, reprising the chorus of that LP's "Song for Someone." But where the latter was Bono's wide-open love song to his wife, Ali, "13" renews his commitment to the purpose and sustenance he still finds in music, songwriting and performance. If experience has taught U2 anything, it is that a great new song can still feel like the first day of the rest of your life. Songs of Experience is that innocence renewed.'

Lovely Creatures: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - 'Instead of King Arthur or Odysseus, we have Cave, a chain-smoking, gunslinging poet who sees God in the eyes of a woman and bowls of soup; who stalks through Berlin boudoirs with heroin in his veins, daring the devil to take him by the Red Right Hand only to dodge his scythe like a stuntman; who sifts through puddles of blood and piles of money in search of meaning, only to be greeted by the void. “The spiritual quest has many faces–religion, art, drugs, work, money, sex,” he mused, addressing 1998 Vienna Poetry Festival, “but rarely does the search serve God so directly, and rarely are the rewards so great in doing.” *Lovely Creatures presents the definitive display of these anguished labors and sweet fruits they bore over twenty years—an unmovable feast, immortalized.'

The Order of Time: Valerie June - 'Valerie June’s acclaimed 2013 debut, Pushin’ Against a Stone, was a crucial stage in a meteoric rise from selling home recordings from a car to supporting the Rolling Stones and winning a fan in Michelle Obama. Her second album finds the Tennessean again blending genres – folk, classic pop, soul and Appalachian bluegrass – into a cohesive whole, thanks to her top-notch songwriting and sublime musicianship. With her sultry ache of a voice, she could presumably sing the phone book and make it quake with feeling. These are further tales of long lonely roads and men who done wrong, and this set adds African rhythms, spacey soundscapes and guest vocals from Norah Jones. The songs run the gamut from Love You Once Made’s organ-blasting bluesy soul and With You’s Nick Drakeish strings to Shakedown, which is like a country Can. It’s an album bursting with standouts, none more so than Astral Plane, which finds June full of childlike wonderment amid a gloriously ethereal atmosphere reminiscent of Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks. Fantastic stuff.'

Soul Of A Woman: Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - 'Jones’s final album, released roughly a year after her death, is a throwback in all the right ways: a vintage soul record that thumbs its nose at the 21st century in favour of era-specific methods and concerns. Recorded on eight-track, with frisky instrumentalists called, for example, Fernando “Bugaloo” Velez, and taking up just a lean, mean 36 minutes of your time, it is not really one of those albums in which a feted – or fated – singer mulls their approaching end, but a record replete with drama and succour that wrestles with the messy business of being alive. The first half of Soul of a Woman skews hard towards upbeat songs, such as the hand-clapping Rumors, full of backing vocalists gossiping away. The second half pulls in organs, forgiveness, orchestral sweeps and, on the self-penned Call on God, the Universal Church of God gospel choir.'

Damage and Joy: The Jesus and Mary Chain – 'Bands aren’t typically reborn when their members are in their mid-fifties. At a certain point, they tend to tread the terrain they staked out for themselves long ago, occasionally coming within eyeshot of sonic frontiers they once fought back or discovering fault lines running beneath their claim that could potentially shake foundations again, but more often than not turning up old stones to find small nuggets embedded in weathered rock. In the case of the Mary Chain, it’s a vast landscape – one that stretches from sweet melodies strangled by barbed wire and drowned in abandoned swimming pools of feedback to glowing, gloomy pop unrolling across an infinite expanse – that left room for later albums like Automatic and Honey’s Dead to roam freely and explore without ever feeling confined. That landscape remains just as vast and beautiful all these years later for Damage and Joy, only the band, song after song, tread the safest possible steps across it.'

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Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings - Matter of Time.

Anthony D'Amato & Ricky Ross

Great gig tonight at Emmanuel Billericay with Anthony D'Amato and Ricky Ross. Here are two of the best songs from both standout sets: 

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Anthony D'Amato - Ballad Of The Undecided.

Emmanuel Billericay: Beth Nielsen Chapman & Ricky Ross

Emmanuel Billericay is a lively, gently charismatic, evangelical church, which has a very relaxed, informal and contemporary feel with a whole range of activities to cater for people of all ages. Among those activities is a concert programme which this year includes the likes of Beth Nielsen Chapman and Ricky Ross.

Nashville Superstar Beth Nielsen Chapman will play a small intimate gig at Emmanuel, Billericay on Wednesday 26 July 2017 supported by Ruth Trimble as a lead up to her appearance at this year’s Cambridge Folk Festival.

Ricky Ross will play in the intimate surroundings of Emmanuel Church, Billericay on Friday 24 November 2017 supported by Anthony D’Amato as part of a national tour to promote his new album Short Stories Vol 1.

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Ricky Ross - Raintown.

The 10 albums that I enjoyed most in 2014

Here are the 10 albums (in no particular order) that I've got hold of and enjoyed the most in 2014:

Popular Problems by Leonard Cohen is his best since The Future and, as with that album, deals both explicitly and ambiguously with religious imagery and spiritual reflection: 'Word of Words / And Measure of all Measures / Blessed is the Name / The Name be blessed / Written on my heart / In burning Letters / That's all I know / I cannot read the rest.' ('Born in Chains')

Ricky Ross is in a rich vein of inspiration with The Hipsters in 2012 quickly followed by solo album Trouble Came Looking in 2013 and now A New House. Deacon Blue's best album since under-appreciated classic Whatever You Say, Say Nothing, both albums featuring songs centred on Bethlehem: 'I long to be there / As bright as the sky / At Bethlehem's gate' ('Bethlehem's Gate') and 'You got to go back, gotta go back, gotta go back in time / To Bethlehem / To begin again.' ('Bethlehem begins').

Robert Plant's Lullaby ... and the Ceaseless Roar is a wonderfully original melting pot of blues, country, indie and world influences. Somebody There explores a sense of the sublime: 'When I was a young boy / And time was passing by / Real slow / And all around was wonder / And all around the great unknown / With eyes that slowly opened / I set about the wisdom to know / And living out of language / Before one word I spoke / I heard the call / There is somebody there I know.'

Neil McCormick's initial reaction to U2's Songs of Innocence to me seems fairly accurate: 'I wouldn’t put it on a par with their greatest work - Boy, Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby or even the seamless songs of All That You Can’t Leave Behind ... But ... it certainly does the job it apparently sets out to do, delivering addictive pop rock with hooks, energy, substance and ideas that linger in the mind after you’ve heard them.' 'It is, at heart, a highly personal set of songs' with 'no flag waving anthems, no big social causes.' If there is a moral, he suggests, 'it appears in the coda of Cedarwood Road: “a heart that is broken / is a heart that is open.”'

Dry The River have been described as 'folky gospel music played by a post-punk band' (BBC). Their second album, Alarms in the Heart: 'is bold, expansive, confident and cohesive - an undeniable step up in both diversity and volume from their critically acclaimed debut, Shallow Bed (March 2012). Gethsemane, uncovers the spiritual heart of the record, delivering a Buckley-esque narrative: "Excavating down you'd find the drowning and the drowned /And then there's us, babe."' (Rough Trade)

The first Shovels & Rope album, O’ Be Joyful, is 'a delightful combination of knee-slapping, bordering-on-gospel folk tracks and bluesy guitar-driven rock' (Filter). Husband and wife team, Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst, both have solo careers, while Trent is also lead singer of The Films. Together they make: 'Thrilling music rooted in old country with touches of blues and gospel, that can’t help but remind you of Jack and Meg and Johnny and June.' (The Pabst)

The Guardian had an excellent article about the wonderful reissued album Dylan's Gospel: "Conceived by record producer Lou Adler, who admired backing singers so much that he sometimes paid them triple scale, it features 27 vocalists, including [Merry] Clayton, Clydie King, Patrice Holloway, Gloria Jones and Edna Wright, injecting the likes of Chimes of Freedom and Lay Lady Lay with Baptist gusto. It's a righteous, inspiring, beautiful piece of work."

'There are many factors contributing to the uplifting feel of “The Flood and the Mercy,” the second solo effort from ex-Live frontman Ed Kowalczyk. There’s the gently jangling production of Jamie Candiloro; the singer’s spiritual lyrics, rooted in his Christian faith and a synthesis of other beliefs; and the appearance of vocalist Rachael Yamagata and R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck on three tracks: “Supernatural Fire,” “All That I Wanted” and “Holy Water Tears.” (SF Examiner)

'Scott Stapp’s Proof of Life is a poignant snapshot of the artist, showcasing his journey over the past several years. It doesn’t shy away from encountering the dark places that he’s wandered into, acknowledging those missteps nor does it neglect highlighting the faith-filled elements that have helped to draw the artist back into the light. Proof of Life is an insightful and honest record, capturing Stapp at his best lyrically and musically, proving to be a great listen.' (soul-audio)

Linda Perhacs, says Sufjan Stevens, who released The Soul Of All Natural Things on his Asthmatic Kitty label, “has a prophetic voice that speaks beauty and truth with the kind of confidence and hope that has been lost for decades. There is nothing more real in music today.”

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The Brothers & Sisters - I Shall Be Released.

Pop's holy rollers

The Guardian has an article today on Pop's holy rollers which links Steve Arrington's retrospective‬ Double CD Way Out (80-84), Sheila E's autobiography The Beat of my Own Drum, and Chuck D's The Black in Man. Angus Batey writes that 'Many acts – from Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis to Marvin Gaye, Prince, Madonna and U2 – have struggled to reconcile the sacred with the profane in their art.' He suggests that if 'the musicians-turned-pastors (the likes of Arrington, Little Richard or Al Green) are the most head-turning examples of artists trying to accommodate their faith,' there are others like Sheila E for whom the process is less dramatic.

September has actually been a great month for new albums which explore spiritual themes with excellent new releases by Leonard Cohen, Deacon Blue, Robert Plant and U2.

Popular Problems by Cohen is his best since The Future and, as with that album, deals both explicitly and ambiguously with religious imagery and spiritual reflection: 'Word of Words / And Measure of all Measures / Blessed is the Name / The Name be blessed / Written on my heart / In burning Letters / That's all I know / I cannot read the rest.' ('Born in Chains')

Ricky Ross is in a rich vein of inspiration with The Hipsters in 2012 quickly followed by solo album Trouble Came Looking in 2013 and now A New House. Deacon Blue's best album since under-appreciated classic Whatever You Say, Say Nothing, both albums featuring songs centred on Bethlehem: 'I long to be there / As bright as the sky / At Bethlehem's gate' ('Bethlehem's Gate') and 'You got to go back, gotta go back, gotta go back in time / To Bethlehem / To begin again.' ('Bethlehem begins').

Robert Plant's Lullaby ... and the Ceaseless Roar is a wonderfully original melting pot of blues, country, indie and world influences. Somebody There explores a sense of the sublime: 'When I was a young boy / And time was passing by / Real slow / And all around was wonder / And all around the great unknown / With eyes that slowly opened / I set about the wisdom to know / And living out of language / Before one word I spoke / I heard the call / There is somebody there I know.'

Neil McCormick's initial reaction to U2's Songs of Innocence to me seems fairly accurate: 'I wouldn’t put it on a par with their greatest work - Boy, Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby or even the seamless songs of All That You Can’t Leave Behind ... But ... it certainly does the job it apparently sets out to do, delivering addictive pop rock with hooks, energy, substance and ideas that linger in the mind after you’ve heard them.' 'It is, at heart, a highly personal set of songs' with 'no flag waving anthems, no big social causes.' If there is a moral, he suggests, 'it appears in the coda of Cedarwood Road: “a heart that is broken / is a heart that is open.”'

More on some of these artists and the interplay between faith and music can be found in my co-authored book, The Secret Chord.

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Leonard Cohen - Born In Chains.

Presence: Visualising the Numinous

I will be taking part in the next commission4mission exhibition which is entitled ‘Presence’ and aims to visualise the numinous. It will be held at St Stephen Walbrook, London, EC4N 8BN, from Monday 29 September to Friday 17 October, 10.00 am – 4.00 pm (closed on Saturdays and Sundays).

The opening night event will be on Monday 29 September, 6.30 – 9.00 pm, with Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford and Patron of commission4mission, as guest speaker. All are welcome. commission4mission’s AGM will be held that same evening at 6.00pm.

The exhibition includes work by Ross Ashmore, Ally Ashworth, Hayley Bowen, John Gentry, Clorinda Goodman, Jean Lamb, David Millidge, Janet Roberts, Francesca Ross, Henry Shelton and Peter Webb, among others. In addition to the exciting and varied work of commission4mission artists, visitors to the exhibition can view the splendour of this Christopher Wren designed building with its altar by Henry Moore and kneelers by Patrick Heron. For more information phone 020 8599 2170.



Our Inspire! show at St Stephen Walbrook last year was agreed by all to have been a success and we expect this year’s show to be better yet. The venue presents an excellent spur for the production of stunning new work, and our past experience of the scale of the space available will inform our decisions as to the size and nature of our submissions this year. The title of the exhibition, “Presence”, is a very comprehensive concept. As was the case last year, our original Christmas Cards will be on sale during the exhibition.

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Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters - Somebody There.

The 10 albums that I enjoyed most in 2013

Here are the 10 albums (in no particular order) that I've got hold of and enjoyed the most in 2013:

The Invisible Way - Low: Alan Sparhawk has said that "Music in general has been the fiber of my faith from the beginning.  Everything I know about God was taught to me in songs & the spiritual milestones of my life have almost always been musical experiences. I think the process of writing songs has helped me learn to listen to the spirit, which then testifies of Christ & His Father." 'Holy Ghost' returns the favour, along with the rest of this inspirational album.

One True Vine by Mavis Staples: "From album opener 'Holy Ghost' (Alan Sparhawk), to the new [Jeff] Tweedy composition 'Jesus Wept,' the gravity in Staples' voice is transfixing, heavy with burdens but blessed with the promise of true redemption that shines through on the deft and driving 'Far Celestial Shore' (Nick Lowe), Can You Get To That' (Funkadelic), and Pops Staples' uplifting 'I Like The Things About Me.'"

Moyshe Mcstiff and the Tartan Lancers of the Sacred Heart by C.O.B.: "It's Middle Eastern, it's contemplative and it's about quite serious subjects." It has a "sad, faintly religious atmosphere" supplemented by C.O.B.'s innovative use of drones created through their invention of the dulcitar. Mick Bennett is a poet with an "amazingly powerful voice" who "contributed a huge amount to the atmosphere and spirituality of C.O.B.'s music."

Jericho Road by Eric Bibb: “The title refers to the road between Jerusalem and Jericho where the Good Samaritan, a traveler of a despised race, stopped to help a stranger in need after better-off religious leaders had passed by and done nothing. On April 3, 1968, the night before his death, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King urged us to follow the example of the Good Samaritan, saying:  ‘Ultimately, you cannot save yourself without saving others.’  If this record has a theme, that’s it in a nutshell: have a heart.”

Trouble Came Looking by Ricky Ross is a modern Celtic folk album written as the wheels started to fall off the economy. On the album Ricky captures the sense of helplessness we all felt as governments signed off billions to protect the banks and institutions, and then sat back and watched as normal people lost everything.

Meet Me At The Edge Of The World - Over The Rhine: Linford Detweiler and Karen Bergquist say: "... we try to write music that in little ways helps to heal the wounds that life has dealt us or the wounds we’ve dealt ourselves. We try to write songs that can hum joyfully at the stars when something good goes down. We try to write tunes capable of whispering to a sleeping child that in spite of everything, somehow, all is well. We try to write words that help us learn to tell the truth to ourselves and others."

Monkey Minds In The Devil’s Time by Steve Mason, with a title referring to the Buddhist term for an easily distracted brain, " is air punching, proletariat mobilizing, insurrection-pop of the highest calibre." "Lonely soars with melancholic-gospel-ennui, Oh My Lord is Sweet Home Alabama on a Bontempi keyboard, and Fight Them Back – arguably Mason’s finest piece of song-smithery since Dry the Rain." (BBC Review)

The Relatives’ sound bridges the gap between traditional Gospel, Soul and Psychedelia. In the early 1970’s, they recorded three obscure singles and a previously unreleased session—all of which are compiled on the acclaimed 2009 anthology, Don’t Let Me Fall. The release of the anthology brought The Relatives back together as a band, planting the seeds for their 2013 Yep Roc release, The Electric Word.

The Memory Of Grace by The Children is a volume of unconventional spiritual songs dedicated to the Most High; a poetry and music rooted in English lyrical ballads; in Bob Dylan, and the sons and daughters of Bob; in Ezekiel, Matthew and the Psalms; in cultural reggae and the gospel blues.

Bill Fay's classic Time Of The Last Persecution displays empathy in the face of apocalypse. Fay's songs are simply astonishing - simple and melodic yet with unusual imagery and insights (both whimsical and surreal bearing comparison with Syd Barrett and Nick Drake) delivered with gravity and grace.

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C.O.B. - Solomon's Song.

A very Tory Christmas: Trouble came looking

Martin Rowson's cartoon, from Monday's Guardian, on a very Tory Christmas accurately sums up this quote from Ricky Ross in the liner notes to Trouble Came Looking:

"I realised there was a malevolence around which sought to punish ordinary people for the mistakes of a few. In older days it also seemed as if there would be a great debate across the country but this time there was little or no sympathy for people who couldn't keep up."

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Ricky Ross - Trouble Came Looking.

Music update

The first single from the album ... “Now” ... shows that Paramore is back in full force. "It just feels like the perfect way to start this new journey we are embarking on not only as a band but as a movement," the band wrote. "To show people that you can lose battles but come back and win full-on wars. You can rise from ashes. You can make something out of even less than nothing. The only thing you have to do is keep moving forward."

"My grappling with spirituality is … I’m not a church going person. Any first year divinity student could debate circles around me with religion. But I’m not talking about religion, I’m talking about spirituality. It’s important to me to try and understand what my perspective is on a higher power, and to understand what role that sort of belief might play in my life. It’s critical to me to think about this stuff – a lot." (M. C. Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger)

The Relatives’ sound bridges the gap between traditional Gospel, Soul and Psychedelia. In the early 1970’s, they recorded three obscure singles and a previously unreleased session—all of which are compiled on the acclaimed 2009 anthology, Don’t Let Me Fall. The release of the anthology brought The Relatives back together as a band, planting the seeds for their 2013 Yep Roc release, The Electric Word, which was recorded and produced by Jim Eno of Spoon.

Ricky Ross will be releasing a new solo album ‘Trouble Came Looking’ in April and touring Scotland, Wales and England in April – May to support it. Ricky began writing ‘Trouble Came Looking’ as the wheels started to fall off the economy. It’s a modern Celtic folk album about the helplessness we all felt as governments signed off billions to protect the banks and institutions, and then sat back and watched as normal people lost everything.

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Hiss Golden Messenger - I've Got A Name For The Newborn Child.

Northwood & Northwood Hills Art Stns (2)

My 'Stations of the Cross' meditations are being used, for the second year running, by the Northwood and Northwood Hill Art Stns.

This community art project involves a trail of artworks exploring some of the events in the final hours of Jesus' life. The artworks include paintings, photographic exhibits, drapes, metal sculpture and collages and will be displayed (from Friday 26th March - Friday 2nd April) at Holy Trinity Northwood, London School of Theology, Northwood Library, Northwood Methodist Church, Brisa Cafe, Northwood Bookshop, Northwood Station, St John's Northwood, Emmanuel Church Northwood, Hillside School, Northwood Hill Library, and St Edmund the King, Fairfield Church. Each artwork will be accompanied by one of my meditations and an explanation from the artist.

From Saturday 3rd - 12th April, all the artworks will be displayed together at Fairfield Church. The Northwood and Northwood Hills Art Stns are part of a passion for life. Admission is free. Check website for opening times. Contact Rachie Ross on 01923 824306.

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Gillian Welch, David Rawlings & Ricky Skaggs - By The Mark.

Northwood Hills stations

Holy Week in Northwood Hills is to see a public art event featuring artworks exploring some of the events in the final hours of Jesus' life. As with last year's Hertford stns project, these artworks are also accompanied by my meditations on the fourteen Stations of the Cross.

Stroll between local venues and enjoy the various art on offer. The artwork has been produced by local artists and community groups to explore some of the events in the final hours of Jesus’ life. The art work includes photographic pieces, drapes, paintings, metal sculpture and collage. Each station is accompanied by an explanation from the artist and a poem by myself.

When?

• Saturday 4th April to Fri 10th April as listed below.
• Sat 11th to Sun 12th all artwork will be gathered and displayed in Fairfield Evangelical Church, Windsor Close, NorthWood Hills.

Where?

• Art 1, Fairfield, Windsor Close, NW Hills (01923 827198) - Jesus is condemned
  by Hayley King. Vocals by Anna Wilcox.Opening times: Tues - Thurs 10am-noon, Fri 10th service at 10am, Sat 11th 12-5pm, Sun 12th service at 10am.
• Art 2, St Edmunds Church, Pinner Road, NW Hills (0208 866 9230) - Jesus takes up his cross by a group of friends from Fairfield. Artwork OUTSIDE.
• Art 3, Northwood Hills Library, Potter St, NW Hills (01923 824595) - Jesus falls for the first time by year 6 pupils from Hillside Juniors. Opening times: Mon 10-7, Tues 10-5.30, Wed Closed, Thurs 10-7, Good Friday Closed.
• Art 4, Hillside Infant School, Northwood Way, NW (01895 671959) - Jesus meets his mother by year 2 pupils from Hillside Infants. Artwork OUTSIDE.
• Art 5, Emmanuel Church, High Street, NW (01923 845200) - Simon helps Jesus carry his cross by ‘Edify’ (a group of local inter-church youth). Opening times: mon-thurs 10-3pm, good friday service 10.
• Art 6, The Northwood Bookshop, Maxwell Road, NW (01923 826999) - Jesus falls for the second time by students from Sunshine House RNIB school.Opening times: Hanging in the window.
• Art 7, St Johns, Hallowell Road, NW (01923 829166) - Jesus meets women of Jerusalem
  By Sadie Thompson. Artwork OUTSIDE.
• Art 8, Northwood Station, NW - Jesus falls for the third time by Steve Carey & Rachie Ross. Opening times: 6am-midnight.
• Art 9, Brisa 36, Green Lane, NW (07946857606) - Jesus is stripped by Martin Wilson. Opening times: Mon – Thurs 8-6. Good Friday half day.
• Art 10, Northwood Library, Oaklands Gate, NW (01923 826690) - Jesus is nailed to the cross by Michelle Barnes. Opening times: Mon 10-5.30, Tues 10-7, wed Closed, Thurs 10-5.30, Good Friday Closed.
• Art 11, Methodist Church, Oaklands Gate, NW (01923 840633) - Jesus dies on the cross
  by Miriam Kendrick. Artwork OUTSIDE.
• Art 12, London School of Theology, Green Lane NW (01923 456000) - Jesus’ body is taken down by Susy Champniss. Artwork OUTSIDE.
• Art 13, Holy Trinity Church, Gateway Close, NW (01923 822990) - Jesus’ body is laid in the tomb. Two pieces. One by Alice Simpson and Miriam Kendrick and the other by pupils from Holy Trinity School. Opening times. Mon-Thurs, Friday.
• Art 14, Jesus is risen, join the Easter Sunday celebrations at a church of your choice.

For opening times check http://www.nhec.org.uk/ or ring Rachie Ross on 01923 824306 or pick up a flyer from some of the venues.


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Gram Parsons & Emmylou Harris - Love Hurts.