I’ve been noticing that some of the reviews I’ve been doing have been with albums that I used as part of my free shipping deal at www.grassrootsmusic.com. A lot of times I usually log onto the site intending to just buy one or two specific albums, but the free shipping part is so alluring that I end up buying 4 more albums just for the heck of it. Crazy? Yes!
So there I was on the web site and I see an advertisement for Spoken For by MercyMe. Now, this was the first time I ever heard of the band, but when I looked at the description and sampled the sound clips, I decided to take it along with me. It also didn’t hurt that it was on sale for 9 bucks.
So who is MercyMe?
MercyMe is relatively new band that has grown out of the entire worship movement. Spoken For, named after one of the tracks on the album, is their sophomore release from INO records, which is a new record company. Essentially as it is hard to imagine Essential records without Jars Of Clay, MercyMe is the flagship band of INO. The band members are:
Jim Bryson – Piano, Hammond Organ, Accordion, Synthesizers
Nathan Cochran - Bass
Mike Scheuchzer - Guitar
Bart Millard - Lead Singer
Robby Shaffer - Drums
MercyMe’s sound and stylistic use of instruments is reminiscent of SonicFlood version 1, not the current SonicFlood with their punk rock look. I would have to say that MercyMe has more of a pop rock edge to themselves which creates very catchy tunes that can get stuck in one’s head easily. The thing that I like about this band though is that the lyrics themselves are pretty meaningful and deal primarily on the one-on-one aspects of having a relationship with Jesus.
One more thing about MercyMe is that they represent to me a new breed of “Christian groups who do not do “worship” albums, but whose songs can definitely be geared for a worship setting. For example, Chris Tomlin’sNot To Us has songs that are great to listen to in the car and at work, but when placed in a worship setting, it is totally appropriate as well. It’s been pretty interesting to see how groups have been blurring the line between Contemporary Christian music and Worship songs.
Song Reviews: Skip down to get my final thoughts
The Change Inside Of Me - The first track definitely grabbed my attention as I jumped feet first into MercyMe. The Change… employs basic instrumentation with the drums and electric taking lead through the song. Bart Millard, the lead singer, singing is tight and he effectively conveyed the near sense of rebellion that this song is trying to get through.
The Change… focuses on what happens to a person when he/she finally decide to walk with Jesus for life. There is a change that happens within the person’s heart and a dedication that occurs that MercyMe tries to convey through this song. With each new day that believer lives, the change is consistent and new things begin to pop up for the believer.
Gonna raise my voice like thunder
And leave the world in wonder of the change
The change inside of me
All The Above - Without losing a beat from The Change…, we quickly transition into All The Above. Here the instrumentation is kept the same from the last song with just a variation in the electric. This song, in my opinion, has a consistent beat and thump to it that it makes it pretty easy to dance to it. If not dance, definitely your body isn’t gonna stay still as you listen to this song.
All The Above continues the theme started in The Change…, but this time the band takes a look at the spiritual aspect of when a person trusts Christ from heaven’s vantage point. It starts off with how one will come to a realization that this world which we live is pretty nuts, but another realization is how eternal our salvation is. For the rest of the song, it attempts to call out people to remember what it was like in the past to be in close fellowship with God. It’s also to realize that on the spiritual side of things up there, there was a party going on for all those who believed. I really enjoyed how the tone and feel of the song matched the mood and message appropriately.
…The moment you surrendered
The moment you were saved
Life as you knew it forever was changed
Spoken For - After two very energetic songs, we now take it down 5 notches and hit our first ballad type song. We hear an acoustic strumming in the background, with the synth and electric taking lead. Though this song is slower compared with the last two, the tempo is at a pace that it doesn’t make the song drag, which could happen with the feel and message being conveyed. Millard vocals definitely added the needed kick to the song. I think if he didn’t do some of those vocal exercises in this song, the sense of long and power in this song would have been lost in the slower pace of the instruments.
Spoken For is definitely a perfect song for those who wish to be sweep away by the mere emotion of the song. Though I do like this song, I had a tough time wrapping my thinking on the one line that said “Child of the risen Lord”. Essentially I got into a discussion about that one line and for those who know me, I’m very into the Trinity. So yeah, my conclusion is the line means I am a child of God because of what my Risen Lord did for me. Thus, there is a desire, a longing to know Jesus more and more, to never be satisfied with what I have now, but strive for more.
Take this world from me
I don’t need it anymore
I am finally free
My heart is spoken for
There’s A Reason - As we continue on with MercyMe, we hit another ballad like song. I’ve noticed that these guys don’t do too much on the variation of their sound. The subtle differences are hard to hear, but the definite lead instruments are the drums and the acoustic. The acoustic is used for the verse portions of the song, but the drums kick it up a few notches during the chorus portions. I definitely did like the nice touches of the electric chiming in, as though it was just dropping by to say hi.
There’s A Reason is a song that’s purpose is to encourage people to live lives for Christ. The band goes through a little bit of trouble to remind the listeners all that God has done for us. After listening the reasons, we thus have no reason to not continue in our sacred romance with the Savoir and King.
We fall on our knees
To the Son Of Man
The reason we are free
Come One, Come All - After the short moment to catch our breaths with There’s A Reason, the band takes us into an adrenaline pumping techno dance song. Yes, I said dance song. The sounds, the beat, the tempo and the overdrive with the drums and electrics are all combined into a song that one can really break dance to. This song will definitely appealed to those who favor the side of fast and hard rock, especially when one can move one’s body to the groove of the drums.
Come One, Come All is a spin on what the Gospel message is to those who are looking for a place of refuge and acceptance. It’s a call to those who can hear the words to come and place their feet on holy ground and come into the presence of God. If this song was in a different tempo and less drums, I can see this as one of those songs you would hear at an evangelistic rally. Of course, in this post-modern culture, this might still do.
Come you who are searching
Come you who are saved
Embrace the gift of mercy
Embrace the gift of grace
Crazy - This song marks what I think is the start of the more mellow side of MercyMe. After Crazy, the listener is treated to a slower, more ballad-like singing from the band with the exception of two more songs. Here in Crazy, the primary instruments are the drums and the synths set to a string ensemble sound. It definitely sets up a more reflective mood and the tempo allows the listener to hear the words very clearly.
MercyMe with this song drives home the reality that to be a real practicing is insane. There are a lot of people who go to “church”, but don’t live like Jesus on the other 6 days. With this song, the band is fleshing out the truth that each person who has honestly placed his/her trust in Christ for this life and the next is to live in a way that is counter-culture. Sure, we may look odd, we may sound strange, but the end effect is suppose to be lives that have the fragrance of Christ, the fragrance of Grace & Love. If that’s not Crazy, I’m not sure what else is.
I have not been called to the wisdom of this world
But to a God who’s calling out to me
And even though the world may think
I’m losing touch with reality
It would be crazy to choose this world over eternity
Word Of God Speak - We continue on with the ballad-feast as the piano slowly plays with Millard’s vocals following along. Though strings and a few other effects are added to the song, the tempo is kept in place with the piano. With a few vocal stretches by Millard, this song is pretty consistent from start to end. Word Of God Speak is a beautiful song, lyrically and musically.
Word Of God Speak is sung from the perspective of a man who has come to his wit’s end. The only thing that this man is seeking is for God’s Word to wash over his life and clean him up. The experience of the character of the song is typical for many believers who have come to realize that God’s Word was what they needed in the first place. When everything has come tumbling down and they can’t make sense of what’s going on around them, it’s finally the Word of God that gets them to finally open their eyes and see for the first time.
Oh Word Of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see Your majesty…
Your Glory Goes On - We return to a faster groove for a short time with the entrance of this song. With the use of a dirty electric and quirky sounding synth sounds, MercyMe creates a circular sounding song. What I mean by this is the sound is consistent to the point that there doesn’t seem to be end in the play. Honestly, I am glad that this particular song is pretty short, playing for about two and half minutes.
Your Glory Goes On in its quirky way addresses how God’s glory is eternal and will not fade away from view. This song, besides the sound it produced, has descent lyrics. Not many artists have addressed the preeminence of God’s glory much unless they are part of the Passion movement. It’s a subject that confuses many people because it’s such a churchy word that no one seems to pause and ask what the heck is it. It’s nice to see that MercyMe tried to tackle a not so talked about aspect of who God is.
Lord I tremble with the truth
That You think of me
There’s no end to what You’ll do for Your Glory
The Love Of God - If I’m not mistaken, I believe this is actually a hymn. Besides the big hint that the primary instrument on this song is a piano, but even the wording has the feel of a hymn. Either way this song is a great case to showcase Millard’s vocal talents as a singer.
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song
Go - We return one last time with the fast paced songs that MercyMe seems to be really great at producing. In God, we are treated with the standard instrumentation such as drums, bass, and electric. The nice touch to the song is the right use of vocal reverb. Since they wanted to emphasize the word Go, it was quite appropriate for them to let that word echo off a bit. It is a minor detail, but it really goes a long way in increasing the gut-power of the song.
Go is a dedication song that states that the singer will not allow himself to be restricted in regards to sharing the good news about Jesus with others. He acknowledges that there is still a lot of work to do, but that will not discourage him from doing his share in God’s kingdom. Quite an appropriate song from a worship band I think, as the ultimate end of these weird Christian things we do, is to ultimately point people to Christ, not ourselves, not matter how much we would have to give up in order to do it.
I can’t keep you to myself
My heart is just too small
There’s so many left to tell…Use me
All Because Of This - MercyMe finally closes their second album with a short ballad song. The band seem to written this song to specifically address the reason why they exist. They don’t exist just to make Christians feel happy and good. The exist because of the Savoir and Lord that they all have met. If anything about why they do all this stuff with music and singing, it must come back to who Christ is and how He has changed their lives.
It’s all because of this
We’ve tasted love, tasted hope, tasted holiness
And they wonder why, we do the things we do
Concluding thoughts
I was quite pleased to have stumbled upon this band. Many of the songs, especially the electric driven songs appealed to me obviously. However, the messages behind these songs are also a great plus. It’s hard to find a band these days that are not ashamed of the fact that they are known as a Christian band, but allow the audience to judge whether their music is worth listening to.
Another thing I enjoyed about this album is it isn’t technically a worship album. The songs and the and overall style of the album goes along with the normal releases that artists have down in the past, but it definitely has a touch of the worship phase that we’ve been seeing lately. As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, MercyMe’s album here is an example of the blurring between the lines of worship and normal Christian music. It will be interesting to see the changes coming later as we see more bands and musicians like MercyMe make an impact the industry today.
Feel free to leave comments/feedback. Improvement is a group process.
On their sophomore release, MercyMe follow up on the success of their debut with another batch of finely crafted worship pop songs, including \Word of...More at Christianbook.com
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