The Man In Black

When searching for music that exemplifies country at its roots (drinkin’, shootin’, southern hospitality, workin’ for your family) I know where I can turn–Johnny Cash.
I’m not greatly knowledgeable of Johnny Cash and the first time I heard him, I have to admit, I didn’t know exactly why he was so popular.  After time, though, he grew on me a little.  Johnny Cash has one of those voices that you hear and you can tell that he was born to sing.  It isn’t flashy or energetic but impressive all the same.  His deep rough baritone voice adds to his tough appearance and compliments the subject matter of his songs of having a hard life but getting through it by being tough and stubborn.
I remember hearing Hurt for the first time.  While his voice in this song isn’t what it used to be, it is still powerful and full of emotion, partly because the topic of the song is looking back on your life and proclaiming that you would have done it differently if you started over again.  He is accompanied by an acoustic guitar like many of his songs and then a piano joins in towards the end of the song.  For me, the acoustic guitar symbolizes simplicity and encourages reminiscing, many times bad memories.  But even if they are bad it is still somehow beautiful.  This instrumentals are very simple in Hurt but powerful.  The piano notes are sharp and strong and the acoustic guitar creates a melancholy tune.  This meshes very well with his voice.
Johnny Cash’s music is typical of country music.  So what makes his music so memorable?  I believe it is because of his authenticity.  Many times listeners know if a singer is a poser.  When a singer from a big city starts singing about hard times on the farm no one really wants to listen to him.  And I don’t blame them.  Listeners want singers to have experienced the music they sing.  If this is the case then there is more emotion and less show in the music.  Johnny Cash actually grew up in rural Arkansas and had a tough childhood.  This carries over to his music and the listener can tell.
The way he sings is also unique to country.  He doesn’t have the hard twang characteristic of country.  He rather creates a smooth sound with many slides.  This adds a unique element that could be considered more gospel or soul but he puts it in a country element.  By doing this he spans different genres and brings in a diverse audience.  He almost has a rock and roll feel to some of his music with a wild boy appearance in his concerts (I think we’ve all seen the clip of him busting light bulbs with his feet in the middle of a song).
His music, although very different from much of the country today, is still popular among country fans.  His style somehow has lasted and this can be testified by his popular song Hurt released a few years ago.  Unfortunately he has passed away, but his music will always be with us.

Heart’s Cry

As I was looking through my music to try to choose an artist/band to critique I went through many of my favorites but then I came across an artist that I rarely listen to but I’m not sure why.  Maybe because I am not terribly familiar with him, but as soon as I play a song from him my body loosens and my mind clears.  It isn’t that his music doesn’t have a message; far from it.  He actually has a very powerful message, but the way he presents it is calm, soothing, attractive, and peaceful.  His songs are bold to claim the truth but gentle in its presentation.  I believe this largely has to do with the message that he is presenting:  the message of Christ and his death and resurrection.  But as many of us know this message can be butchered by the messenger, which we’ve seen far too many times.  Webb’s music, however, is graceful.

Webb accomplishes this by only having an acoustic guitar backing up his voice.  It is simple yet raw.  Raw not because it is tough or harsh but because it is unprocessed.  This is partly because the CD I have is a live CD.  It is only him and his guitar playing music that hasn’t taken hours of several people practicing to get everyone on the same page.  Not that he hasn’t practiced.  I’m sure he has, but being a lone singer creates a spontaneity to the concert; almost like a group of friends that have been relaxing and enjoying one another’s company and someone just happens to pull out a guitar to play a little music.  It’s genuine.

Then there is his voice. His voice lacks a lot of projection but this would create more of a forceful attitude in his music.  His voice is soft and smooth but not lacking a hint of urgency signaling his passion in his message.

It is this message that I love so much.  This is possibly the most impressive part of his music.  His lyrics are symbolic, colorful, and fervent.    “I’m a prodigal with no way home/I put you on just like a ring of gold/and I run down the isle/I run down the isle to you.”  These lyrics from “Wedding Dress” are full of imagery.  The language is largely picturesque.  His message is a Christian message but it isn’t presented in a common way.  His lyrics seem to portray Christ’s heart which in my life is always beautiful.  It is the same message of the reality of sin in our lives followed by a message of grace and love that we have all heard but because the lyrics do not spare any politically incorrect words it is honest which may seem harsh but it is realistic to this artist.
With all these elements of the solo guitar, a smooth voice, and a strong message a raw, gentle, and passionate song is created.  Because I am a Christian this artist is just for me.  It’s is often hard to find music that expresses your heart’s cry but I can find it in Derek Webb.

Bring The Rain

The last CD I bought was actually two CD’s by the same band at Winter Jam.  They were both by Mercy Me which is a band I haven’t exactly followed much.  Both are Gospel/Religious.  I havn’t had time to listen to all the songs on both of the CD’s so I will talk about the CD I have listened to most.  That would be Coming Up To Breathe.  I always find they title of albums interesting and I find myself thinking about why they called it that.  I guess often it is from one of the more popular songs on the album but I like to think that the title portrays a common theme throughout the album.  I hate to say that I couldn’t really find that theme I was looking for in this album.  The songs approach a broad range of topics and so it would be hard to group them all in one category.

One thing I do like about this album is the worship songs.  Some Christian bands don’t have many worship songs, which I enjoy more than any othere kind of Christian music.  The difference I am pointing out primarily has to do with the audience.  In worship music the audience is God.  The song is directed towards him and could almost be considered a prayer.  Other Christian songs may simply be about God rather than to Him.  While I like these also, they could never be as enjoyable as a worship song.

Bring the Rain is possibly my favorite song on this album.  It is a worship song that talks about many of the topics in my Christian walk that I have been thinking on, specifically the struggles that come in our life and how by the grace of God the struggles actually are to be used for His glory.  I love this because often I don’t know how to put my thoughts into words and these songs do it in a brilliant way.  My favorite line, “And I know they’ll be days when this life brings me pain, but if that is what it takes to praise you, Jesus bring the rain,” gives me chills every time I sing it.  It speaks so much and is such a bold proclamation to Christ, and it is one I long to make.

One thing I look for when I am searching for Christian artists to listen to is that anointing that only comes from Christ.  I just recently heard Mercy Me in concert and I can say that that anointing is there with this band.  The Spirit of God can be felt with many of the songs and this very important to me when I choose songs to praise my God.