"The
Passion" as a movie was an event. Even the atheists went to see it. There
was a sort of social pressure to see it. Not here. This CD has its own life, without
the subsequent pressure from a media frenzy. It came out unannounced, and that's
too bad. It is a superb collection of folk-blues songs that ask the same questions
of the movie.
The
movie's premise was simple: A man is killed because he claimed to be the Messiah
in a culture which expected someone more grandiose and less humble. In the end,
that man rises from the dead. The movie's implicit question was not complicated:
is the story in the movie true? This CD carries that question forward, repeating
it through songs of varied intensity.
Holly
Williams introduces the CD with a song beguiling its author, her grandfather Hank
Williams. It is reminiscent of the delicate piano found in the soundtrack to the
"The Mission" and "Chariots of Fire." 'How Can You Refuse
Him Now?" asks the obvious, that after acknowledging Christ's sacrifice,
what stops us from following him.
"Stranger
In A Strange Land" by Leon Russell steps us back to the Jesus Movement, when
great musicians like Larry Norman gave us blues rifts and graveled voices in the
midst of music about Christ. Russell's classic is charged with the energy and
spiritual excitement of the 1960s.
Billy
Graham is in top form as he answers the question, if he's absolutely sure he's
going to Heaven, then returns that question to his massive audience. Ricky Skaggs
turns to the fold again, poignantly posing the similar thought, "Are You
Afraid To Die?"
"Please
Carry Me Home" is a country song, sung by Jessi Colter & Shooter Jennings.
As life is troubled, and we are tired and torn apart by the daily moments, she
wants to go where her savior is.
Any
Catholic will know "Ave Maria." Dolores O'Riordan of Cranberries fame
does it as well as any version out there.
"Why
Me?" sung by Lee Ryan is not asking, "What did I ever do to deserve
this pain?" but, "What did I ever do to deserve your grace?" A
slight guitar is played in the background, but never takes over the song.
Nick
Cave's steady vocals points out that Christ wasn't about public opinion, nor should
we be. "Darker With The Day" is joined by the The Bad Seeds in chorus,
with a drum modulating the pace. In a single song, Cave is soulful, like David
Bowie, Greg Brown, Bob Dylan, Joe Cocker and Lyle Lovett all at once, but with
more direct melody.
Elvis
Presley is usually enough. His gospel work transcends the best of his songs. "Where
No One Stands Alone" resonates with strength, brought to life in solid Presley
style, but without losing sight of the message, asking God to take his hand, in
that place "where no one stands alone."
"Harm's
Way" by The Ghost Who Walks is a tough follow-up to Elvis. It is the weakest
song, with vocals sounding like Freddie Mercury (lead singer of Queen), minus
the range of Mercury. Later in the song, the singer comes to life, in a neo-George
Michael style. It never meets the mark, despite some decent lyrics.
Raspy,
hiding, tremulously invigorating in his understatement is Leonard Cohen in "By
The Rivers Dark." The mystery of Christ, and his power against the darkness
which oft-pursues us paces this careful song.
"Precious
Lord" by The Blind Boys of Alabama might be one of the best songs I have
heard in a long while. Like Ray Charles in "America," they find something
very big in simplicity. With a piercing guitar, they sing a heart-breaking devotion
to their Lord.
Bob
Dylan's Christian era seemed to be long over by the time "Not Dark Yet"
was released in 1997 on "Time Out of Mind," but Dylan's music has never
been spiritually shallow. It closes an album that left me numb with introspection
and spiritual curiosity.
I
fully recommend "Songs Inspired By The Passion of the Christ."
Anthony
Trendl
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