music review
New recording projects feature variety
By Robbie Johnson

Jon Foreman
Fall/Winter
Most people don’t recognize Jon’s name, but at the first sound of his voice or the mention of his band’s name, most people realize who’s singing. Foreman, lead singer for Switchfoot, has recorded four solo EPs titled “for the seasons.” The first two, Fall and Winter, now packaged together pick up where Switchfoot’s “Oh! Gravity” left off, continuing the same somber ecclesiastical musings about the pain and frustrations of life. Foreman’s lyrics are very honest and extremely vulnerable, capturing the struggles that we as believers face in this fallen world. “The Cure for Pain” opens the disk describes the pain that the world can bring, and that even though we have a savior, the world still hurts. “White as Snow” is a modern hymn, taken from the words of David. The track that really caught me was “Somebody’s Baby.” This track tells the story of a homeless person and the pain she faces. When I listened to this track, I was running early in the morning in Atlanta. I would pass this little park on a street corner where the homeless would gather to sleep and this song would come on. The song caused me to think about the people to whom Jesus took time to minister that often I just pass by.

What makes these two disks such a gem is the sparse arrangements Foreman uses to emphasize the honesty of his lyrics. There are no blasting guitars or thumping drums here, most of the 12 songs on these two EPs feature simply Foreman, a guitar, some drums, and strings. The simple instrumentation adds such a depth to the honest lyrics. You can almost hear the whistle of the train or steam in the engine as the train moves down the tracks in “Southbound Train.” The only bad thing I can say about Fall/Winter is that Foreman has set the bar high for Spring/Summer. I hope he can deliver!

Steven Curtis Chapman
This Moment
As I started listening to this project, I realized that like many of you, moments in my life can be marked by Steven Curtis Chapman songs. I got married to “I Will Be Here.” My wife and I heard that our country had gone to the first war of my lifetime at a Steven Curtis Chapman concert. He came out with nothing more than a stool and an acoustic guitar, announced to a Memphis crowd that Desert Storm had started and sang, “When You Are a Soldier.” I grieved the loss of a daughter to the song, “With Hope.” As I glanced down at the track listings of this his (depending on how you count it) 19th project, I can already see that there will be more Chapman music to mark the events of my life.

The project opens with the first single “Miracle of the Moment.” Chapman reminds us that “it is time to let go of our if only’s” and “this is the only moment we can do anything about.” As parents, believers, humans, we have things we may regret, but we cannot go back and change the past; we have to live in the right now - “the miracle of the moment.” The 11 tracks (15 if you get the special edition with four acoustic tracks) on this project point believers toward God and his majesty. The most poignant track on the project is the disc’s second single “Cinderella.” From the opening piano line to the first lyrics, you can tell your going to need a couple of tissues. Similar to “Butterfly Kisses” by Bob Carlisle, the song tells the story, from a father’s perspective, of a little girl growingup and getting married. Although perhaps a bit edgier than previous disks, Chapman doesn’t break any musical ground with this project. With two sons now playing in his band, Chapman may be trying to reach a younger generation, but there is nothing here that will alienate his older fans. Having created at least two decades worth of music, Chapman’s music in no way sounds tired or like a rehashing of previous discs. His lyrics make him the artist he is. He keeps writing the soundtrack of our lives.

Mercy Me
All That Is Within Me
As the band Mercy Me was finishing its tour for Coming Up to Breathe, their last project, they realized that they had less than a month before they were due to start recording a new project. After a week to catch their breath, the band loaded their gear into a Sunday school room in their church and started hammering out ideas for a project that was due soon. What came out of that hurried session is a record the band created for the church, a modern worship record.

Recorded with seasoned producer Brown Bannister, the disc can be musically described in one word: layers. Sonically, each track on this project is thickly layered with guitars, drums, strings, keyboards, bass, vocals, and more guitars. The band doesn’t rock anymore than normal, but they deliver a project that has nice textures and depth.

The tracks on All That Is Within Me are focused on God. On “God With Us,” “Time Has Come” and “You Reign” (a song written out of an Ichat session with Steven Curtis Chapman about a song idea he could not seem to finish), the band sings about worshiping the creator, the sovereign, ruling God. On “Sanctified” and “Grace Tells me Another Story” Mercy Me sings about the God who is our redeemer, our life is great, but you can hear the honesty of one salvation, our hope. The disc closes with “My Heart Will Fly” and “Finally Home” two songs about heaven. These two tracks remind us that the finish line, home, is Heaven when we will see finally see God “face to face”.

Matthew West
Something To Say
Imagine being a singer and that your livelihood depended completely upon your voice. Now imagine, after two successful projects, you have written eleven new songs and are ready to record your third project only to find that you have lost your voice and your doctors tell you that you need surgery. Your recovery depends upon you being completely silent for several months and that you may or may not be able to sing again. This has been Matthew West’s story over the past three years. In April of last year, West was ready to build on the success of his previous two projects with Something to Say. The songs were penned and the studio was booked, but West found himself with no voice. After consulting with physicians, it was decided that West would require surgery on his vocal chords and live in complete silence. Armed with a dry erase board, West remained silent for two months to allow his voice to heal. It was through the struggles, fears, and trials of those two months, that God solidified the message of the songs West had already penned.

Vocally, Matthew West has never sounded better, delivering a strong, impassioned performance. West sings “all I know is every day is filled with hope, cause you are everything” in “You are Everything” and “help me hold on, help me be strong ‘cause I don’t wanna move unless you move me, I wanna know how it feels to be standing in the center of your will for me” in “The Center.”