HEAVEN ELEVEN FAVORITE RELIGIOUS ALBUMS

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             Once again there is so much good stuff I'm leaving off this list that it is a shame.  And I didn't even touch the great classical religious works.   My list starts at 1950 and ends around 2001.  I have tried to include something from several different categories of music, which means I'm leaving out a lot from each of those categories.   So here are some favorites from my collection:

           Shine On Me (1992) by The Soul Stirrers w/ R.H. Harris-- This is a compilation of recordings made in the first half of 1950, right before frontman R.H. Harris was replaced by the legendary Sam Cooke.  This is acappella black gospel harmony music that was the forerunner of do-wop and soul music.  The performances are impeccable and the song choices are an intelligent, interesting assortment of tunes.  Included is the curious cold-war inspired "Jesus Hits Like the Atom Bomb", which was originally done by Lowell Blanchard and the Valley Boys.  Both versions are included on today's playlist.

                 Performance (1971) by The Oak Ridge Boys-- Before the Oak Ridge Boys went mainstream country they were a long established award winning Southern Gospel group.  These were the first Christian albums I bought back in the early 1970s.  One of my favorites is the live concert album which includes the Larry Norman song "I Wish We'd All Been Ready".  The Oaks were still doing the traditional sounding Southern Gospel music but they were also beginning to experiment with rock and country.  They also started dressing in more trendy stage garb and growing long hair and facial hair.  I didn't care much for "Elvira" and some of the other country tunes they did later, but they sure could sing some good gospel music.

           The Speer Family Collection (1997) by the Speer Family --- A hits collection that covers many of the more popular songs recorded in recent decades by this group which was started back in the 1920s.  Like many Southern gospel groups, the Speers have seen many years in many different incarnations as singers have come and gone.  The songs on this collection cover a broad range of traditional and pop leaning gospel music. Good harmonies and listenable songs.

          In Another Land (1976) by Larry Norman -- Sometimes referred to as the "Father of Christian Rock", Norman was a pioneer in the genre.  In his 61 years on this earth he was enormously prolific in recording and songwriting and has been a major influence on Christian artists who followed.  In Another Land was part 3 of a trilogy of albums.  There is a mix of song styles on the album including Southern Rock, folk rock, and even a vaudeville tune that would have been worthy of Tiny Tim. Larry Norman died in 2008.

             Shotgun Angel (1977) by Daniel Amos -- The genius behind this group is Terry Scott Taylor.  The Shotgun Angel album falls under a category of lavishly produced country rock.  It is a concept album about the tribulation and the return of Christ.  The music is somewhat reminiscent of the Eagles meet the Beatles, among other influences.  It is a classic of contemporary Christian music.  Terry Scott Taylor has been involved with so many different groups and projects that you really can't stick him in any precise category, but when I see his name I can be pretty sure I am going to be dealing with something interesting and of good quality.  Most of his albums could be interchanged as a favorite.

          Soul Survivor (1987) by Al Green -- This is gospel funk by the same smooth soulful voice that gave us hits like "Let's Stay Together".  Having became a preacher and Christian artist, Green still does the same good music except now he sings about God and Jesus and it's all fine.

            20 (1992) by 2nd Chapter of Acts -- This is a 2 disc career retrospective of one of the finest, most innovative vocal groups ever.  The group consists of sisters Annie Herring and Nelly Greisen and their brother Matthew Ward.  All are great vocalists and together the combination is a sheer vocal wonder.  The music is pop, rock, and power pop.  Matthew Ward has one of the most incredible voices around.  The songs are all top-notch and pure music magic.

             West Coast Diaries: Volumes 1,2,3 (1992) by Charlie Peacock -- Originally released as separate albums, the three volumes were later repackaged as a set. Primarily acoustic and small ensemble pieces, the music is jazz, pop, funk, and rock.  Peacock started out as a jazz musician and this shows in much of his music. He creates finely crafted songs and strives for quality production with excellent musicians.  The songs in this collection include alternate arrangements of songs that have appeared on other albums.This collection is guaranteed to get your feet tapping and head bobbing.

             With Abandon (1999) by Chasing Furies --  The only album by this group, With Abandon is a tasty album of psychedelic alternative rock.  Often moody and dreamy, with sometimes distorted guitars, the vocals are beautiful.   Too bad there was not more from this group.

         A Golden Field of Radioactive Crows (2001) by 77s-- This is a Christian rock group that has been around for many years and has put out a lot of good, influential music.  This particular album is my favorite by them.  I think the song "There Forever" is an absolute work of beautiful music.

               Seals and Crofts (1969) by Seal and Crofts --- Yes, this is the same Seals & Crofts who had the multitude of hits like "Summer Breeze", "Diamond Girl", and "Hummingbird".  This early album shows the lovely vocal interplay of the duo that was found in the later pop albums, but with a greater purity and beauty.  These guys had been playing music for a good while before forming their duo.  Why are they in my list of religious albums?  This is not a Christian album.  They were promoting the Baha'i faith which integrates elements of several religions including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.   I saw them in concert in 1971.  They put on a superb concert.  After the concert they invited anyone who wanted to stay and hear about the religion.  I stayed to listen out of curiosity.  They seemed like nice enough guys, but they didn't convince me. But this album is some really nice listening.  The songs are about the religion, but the theology is not persuasive, only the beauty of the music.  The sample of "See My Life" that I have put on the playlist is not the version on the album, but apparently a remix with horns added probably intended for radio release--don't know what the record company was thinking when they botched that one.  I also added selections from a couple of their other albums.

               So there you have it.  It's a very sparse overview of Christian music in the past 60 years and there are huge gaps of missing music.   So just think what will happen next Monday when my list will be twelve favorites from a period covering 600 years or so.  It hardly seems fair to reduce all of classical music to twelve selections, but that's what we've been doing with all of the genres. 

               Stay with me the rest of this week as I look at some more Christian music topics, except for tomorrow when I review Tony Hsieh's new book Delivering Happiness.

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All This and Heaven Too

         Today's blog entry has nothing to do with the Bette Davis movie, but the title seemed topic appropriate.  This coming week will be themed around the HEAVEN ELEVEN FAVORITE RELIGIOUS ALBUMS.  Since Tossing It Out has temporarily become mostly music, we have been looking at lists of various favorites in different music genres and then looking into some details about those genres. This past week we talked about country music and in the week to come we are going to be dealing with religious music.

          Originally I had planned on the eleven favorite Christian albums, but then I realized that I could be excluding some who may be listening to the music of other religions and decided to broaden the scope to include anyone who wants to make a contribution.  Even if you've already done your albums on a previous list, feel free to contribute to this new list because maybe there are some who missed your list the first time. Or you can even list some favorites you didn't include on your first list.  All music genres can be included.  I will be primarily focusing my list on Contemporary Christian Music, but I plan to have at least one Southern Gospel, and one non-Christian religious album by a group that you may have not realized was promoting a religion-- and I'm not referring to Scientology.

         On Wednesday and Friday I will have some detailed stories about some of the music.  Of course, Thursday is Debate Day and I will be offering up a topic concerning religious music.  The theme on Tuesday will be a little bit different as I verve away from music.  I will be reviewing a book that is being released this Monday called Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh (pronounced "Shay").  Tony is an internet entrepreneur and currently the CEO of internet company Zappos.com.  I "won" the book from the Optimal Optimist and since it is a new release I thought this would be an optimal time to review the book. After all, the book deals with a kind of corporate "heaven".

          Last Sunday I began a Bible study on the book of Jonah.   I plan to continue this series for several weeks.  If you are interested in the Bible I hope you will join me in this and add your thoughts.  If you are not interested in the Bible I hope you will still join us and add your thoughts as well.  I'd like to hear any ideas about the topics we'll be looking at in this study. 

          If you want to contribute your HEAVEN ELEVEN FAVORITE RELIGIOUS ALBUMS, then please sign up on the Linky list at the top of the page.   On Monday June 14 I will be doing my TIMELESS TWELVE CLASSICAL FAVORITES and hope some of you are willing to contribute to this one -- this Linky list will appear in the middle of next week.  Then on Wednesday June 16th a few of us are planning two top ten song lists of BEST DRINKING SONGS and BEST DRIVING SONGS.  Anyone who wants to join us is welcome cause the more the merrier.   I'll have more details on the song lists later.

          And do not forget the DIRTY DOZEN MOVIE BLOGFEST on Monday June 21st hosted by Alex J Cavanaugh.   A Linky list for this can be found below.

          Lot's coming up--hope you'll join me in the days and weeks to come.

        

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Roots of Country Music

          If one were to trace the roots of the earliest western traditions of music one might break it down into two basic categories--church music and secular music.  It's really not quite that simple, and there was a great deal of cross influence between the two.  The early settlers of the United States who came from the British Isles brought with them the popular music traditions of their respective homelands.

            The early music of Britain, Ireland, Scotland, and surrounding areas descended from the music of the medieval minstrels and troubadours.  As some of the more musically inclined citizenry began developing the various regional styles, they would pass on ballads and chanteys and the like for singing; and jigs, reels, and other instrumental styles for dancing and other festive occasions. This was the music they carried to their new homes in the Appalachians and other regions of North America.

            Eventually this traditional music began to be influenced by the music of the black slaves who added influences like the African banjo.  Also, the French musical influence of the Acadians from Canada eventually found its way into the newly developing American fusion music.  The music of the Americas, like music so often does, continued to draw upon other styles and branch out to create new unique sounds.

         As the country opened up and transportation networks were vastly improved, musical innovations were spread more quickly to all parts of the country.  Like the roving troubadours of medieval times, new bands of minstrels toured the country popularizing new songs that were combinations of the many styles of white and black America.  Publishing sheet music became a big business as those who were trained in music wanted to be able to play the popular songs in their own homes.

           With this emerging music trend came the first American music superstar--Stephen Foster.  He started out writing traditional parlor pieces that were romantic and sentimental.  Strongly influenced by the black music and the music of  the traveling minstrel shows, he began writing songs in a similar vein and they were received with an overwhelming enthusiasm.   His "Oh, Susannah!" became the biggest selling piece of sheet music of the era and the popular song could be heard being sung from coast to coast by blacks and whites and people of all classes.  Unfortunately, the new music publishing industry afforded little protection for songwriters and Foster eventually died penniless, leaving a legacy of some of the most beloved songs of America.

           The latter half of the nineteenth and the early twentieth century brought the influences of cowboy music and early jazz and blues styles.   With the advent of the phonograph record, the new recording industry was hungry for different styles of music to market to the public.  The style of music that we now call country was released as "hillbilly" or "old-time" music and maintained a niche in the output of the recording industry.

            Country music has continued to merge with other styles and has branched out into several subcategories.   The genre of modern country is hugely popular and is a multi-million dollar industry.  The older styles like bluegrass, cowboy music, and other forms that fall under folk categories also have loyal fanbases.  Country covers a wide range of sounds and now one person's country music may sound totally different than another's.

               Remember that next Monday June 7th will be the HEAVEN ELEVEN FAVORITE RELIGIOUS ALBUMS which you can read about here.   If you'd like to participate, add your name to the Linky list at the top of the page.   On Monday June 14th I will be posting classical favorites.   Then on Monday June 21st Alex J Cavanaugh is hosting the Twelve Favorite Movies list-- a Linky list for that one is at the top portion of this page.

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