It's beautiful. These folksy arrangements hit home in unexpected ways and, I think, really capture the spirit of these pslams. A

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Product Description

13 Original songs taken from selected Psalms from The Voice scripture project.

Artists and Songs:

1. Sandra McCracken - Call Him Good
2. Sara Groves - As If That Were Not Enough
3. Derek Webb - Let The Name of God Be High
4. The Robie Seay Band - Go Outside
5. Don Chaffer - Sing With Great Affection
6. Jami Smith - Remarkable Things
7. Jill Phillips - Much You Have Made
8. Christena Graves - He Will Not Rest
9. Various - Those Who Walk The Fields To Sow
10. Lori Chaffer - Please, Don't Make Us Sing This Song
11. Seth Woods - If You Had Not Been With Us
12. Don Chaffer - Oh, That You Would Be
13. Derek Webb & Don Chaffer - Overwrought

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #739925 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-12
• Formats: Audiobook, Compilation, Unabridged
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Audio CD

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Customer Reviews

Actually Quite Good
I normally hate things like this. Basically this is a compilation CD where music artists give their interpretations of several of the psalms. While I agree in principle this is how the pslams should be done, normally it results in fluffy pop garbage. I expected to hate this CD. I didn't. It's beautiful. These folksy arrangements hit home in unexpected ways and, I think, really capture the spirit of these pslams. Artists like Derek Webb, Don Chaffer, Sandra McCraken, Sara Groves and others lend their talenst and gifts to this beautiful interpretation.

Adventurous but uneven--trying too hard to be cool?
This is a first impression:

The words, based on a retelling of the Psalms by the "Ecclesia Bible Society" (who need to get themselves a website, IMHO) are fresh, expressive, lyrical. I wish I could be as enthusiastic about the music, which never seems to find a tone appropriate to the words being set.

Much of the music is languid and melancholy, a kind of grainy lethargy ubiquitous to the indie-rock ethos. This style works well for the title track: "Please don't make us sing this song / It used to be happy / When we were free and home" (from Psalm 137). But when "Let the name of God be high" is sung with a melancholy drone of background vocals, and "Gather round with those who love and sing / He is our king" (Track 4) is set as a melancholy ballad, it makes me wonder if the artists are too stuck on being indie-rock cool.

When the album does go for a change of pace, it's poorly executed. One particularly egregious example is "As if that were not enough," which sets the text awkwardly and mechanically to such banal music I'd expect it to underscore a circus clown act (there's a whistle solo). This to the words: "He reached down and drew me / From the deep dark hole where I was stranded." If I didn't know better, I'd think this was a parody.

It's not a complete disaster, though. If you like the indie-acoustic-rock-band style, this is a decent collection of songs with some very artful lyrics. That they take musical risks is more commendable than putting that saccharine Nashville CCM production stamp on everything.