About This Write-Off
In an interesting twist of events, my co-host and I conceived of the same idea for a write-off independently of each other. Even stranger was the fact that we both came up with the same name for it! Fortunately, an astute reader pointed this out to me before I went ahead with my own plans, and I was able to join forces with LatteChick for the “Word to Your Mother Write-Off”. The concept is simple - we wanted people to review products that had something to do with their mothers, or a prominent maternal figure in their lives, or whatever. We wanted to honor the women who gave birth to and/or raised us in observance of Mother’s Day. (See http://www.geocities.com/willwork4latte/writeoff for a list of participants.) This write-off is also being held to raise awareness for The June Foundation for Prenatal Maternal Health, an organization dedicated to understanding and preventing medical complications that affect many women during pregnancy. Check them out at http://www.junefoundation.org/.

My entry in this write-off is dedicated to my mother, who raised me pretty much single-handedly and instilled in me both a strong faith and a relentless desire to question things. These two aspects of who I am have worked in tension with each other to make me the thinking Christian that I am today. It’s an honor to have a parent who can go beyond the old standard “Do as I say, not as I do” and “Children should be seen and not heard”, who has come to see me as a friend as I’ve become an adult, who’s always encouraged my curiosity about why I should believe the things I believe. If not for that, I certainly would have fallen away from the faith in college.

My mother is also the person responsible for my very first exposure to contemporary music. Being that I was a somewhat anti-social kid, it took me longer to get into modern music than most of my peers, so a lot of the music I grew up with consisted of the contemporary praise and worship tapes my mom would play in the car. Being transplanted from a stuffy, traditional church to a much more modern church while I was in junior high showed me that worshiping God didn’t have to be boring. Though my tastes have obviously diversified since those early days, branching out into edgier Christian music and a fair amount of “secular” music that fits in lyrically with my worldview, my tastes still intersect with my mom’s on a lot of the mellower stuff. Every now and then, I come across a CD that I think she’s just got to hear. This is definitely the case with the gift I’ll be giving her for Mother’s Day this year.

On with the Album Review…
Some time last year, three well-respected women in Christian music came together to record an album of Irish-inflected “modern hymns”. This vocal trio, comprised of Margaret Becker, Máire Brennan, and Joanne Hogg, brought their distinctive voices (and also a taste bit of their songwriting skills) to a project originally conceived by Keith Getty. The result is a mostly mellow, reverent, somewhat liturgical collection of songs entitled In Christ Alone.

This album had its roots in a few friendships that were formed years ago. Margaret Becker , former “rock queen” of the CCM world and the only American of the trio, first traveled to Ireland back in the mid-90’s, and she was profoundly impacted by the trip (it inspired a great song called “Irish Sea” on her 1998 album Falling Forward). While she was there, she met Joanne Hogg, lead singer of the Celtic/progressive rock band Iona (and now a mom herself - congratulations, Jo!), and something clicked between the two of them. I’m not sure how the two were connected to Keith Getty, who composed all of the music and seems to be the main creative force behind this album, but I do know that another voice was wanted to round out the trio. So they called in Máire Brennan, lead singer of the band Clannad and a respected solo artist in her own right. She had worked with Joanne in the past, coaching her in Gaelic for the Iona’s Journey into the Morn album and even lending her soft, matriarchal voice to a few tracks. It seemed like a successful enough combination of artists/vocalists.

When I first listened to In Christ Alone, my reaction was twofold. I was more or less ambivalent to it, but I knew mom would love it. Praise music is most of what she listens to, and she has a very deep respect for the hymns she grew up with, or anything of that style. She also has a soft spot for Celtic-influenced music - I think the only “secular” album she owns is the Titanic soundtrack. While it should be pointed out that all of the songs on In Christ Alone are original works, they sound like a happy medium between contemporary praise choruses and time-tested hymns, and a few of them do borrow lyrically from older hymns. It’s the kind of music that pays homage to where the church has been and where the church is going all at once. That’s something that both my mom and I can connect with.

On the technical side, there are a number of things I would change about In Christ Alone. The production leaves a bit to be desired. While I certainly wouldn’t expect a project like this to have a major label “Nashville” sound, the sound is a bit thin in places. Some decidedly Celtic instrumentation graces most of the tracks, but unlike Margaret’s solo work or your typical Iona album, instruments don’t really come into the spotlight here. It’s kind of a shame, given that both Margaret and Jo are accomplished guitar players. The style of the album likely fits best with Máire’s solo work, with which I admit to being the least familiar. Excluding a few upbeat tunes, it’s pretty mellow stuff.

Margaret is the obvious foreigner on this project, but her husky, New York-bred voice is still a welcome feature. It adds a little depth to the lighter qualities shared by Jo and Máire. Obviously her pop/rock influence doesn’t really come into play here - but then, Margaret’s quite capable of adapting to several different styles as evidenced by the Along the Road album which she recorded almost a decade ago with Susan Ashton and Christine Denté, or the more recent Heaven and Earth worship album. Fans of that one will probably connect with this one as well. Those who have enjoyed Máire’s solo work will probably like this as well. As for fans of Iona - well, if you love Joanne’s voice, you’ll find this to be pleasant enough, but I’ll admit it can be hard to hear her without the complex song structures, strong percussion, adventurous guitar solos, and so forth that her band is capable of. Much of this material is more akin to her solo album, Looking into Light, which was also a collection of hymns.

Like I said, a little too “safe” for my tastes. But mom’s gonna love it.

Your Hand O God Has Guided
The album jumps right into a moderate 6/8 rhythm without so much as an intro, and some soft vocals from the three ladies swirl around in the background. While this record is a collaborative record, it’s similar to the past albums Margaret has collaborated on in that one of the three ladies takes the lead on each track. The first slot belongs to Joanne, though all three of them sing during the chorus. The song is very much a call to worship, almost an ecumenical statement that we have “one church, one faith, one Lord of life”. Fans of Iona will be thrilled to know that Troy Donockley handles the pipes and whistles on this album, and former drummer Terl Bryant handles the percussion, though both are a bit more sedate than they would be on an Iona album. The percussion in particular seems a bit weak and methodical for Terl, which sort of hinders an otherwise strong anthem. I can hear a few electronic effects here and there which also seem a bit out of place. But it’s still a good start.
Our fathers knew Your goodness
And we Your works record
And each of these bear witness
One church, one faith, one Lord

With the Early Morning
A light but colorful bit of Celtic instrumentation breaks in after the end of the last track, with a fiddle taking the lead. It rather surprised me at first when that bit transitioned into a poppy dance beat. Maybe “dance” isn’t quite the right word - because the beat is rather light and lacking any noticeable bass, but something about it doesn’t seem to fit. Indeed, nearly everything about this track seems to be a bit out of place. Máire Brennan handles the lead vocal (she wrote the lyrics for this one), and it’s weird to hear her cram her words into a faster verse than what I assume she would usually do on her own. Even when the other women join in on the chorus, the harmony is lacking a distinctive force, and nearly everything about this track seems rather anemic. It seems like it would have worked better as a slow song, actually. An acoustic guitar and possibly even a mandolin break in during the bridge, but instead of delivering a confident instrumental, they kind of flail around without really going anywhere. It’s a shame - this could have been a great track. Now that I think of it, the music sounds like something the Corrs would come up with.
Forever we will sing and we will praise Him
His kingdom now will reach from shore to shore

Jesus Draw Me Ever Nearer
The album slows down at this point for its first mellow song - Margaret takes center stage here against a mostly atmospheric background. Thankfully, her vocal presence is strong, and she slowly sings about her journey of faith, it’s easy to think that the words were written at least a century ago, instead of being composed by Margaret last year. She’s good at this! The result is a slow but solid piece that resembles Iona’s rendition of “When I Survey”, or even “Poor in Paradise” from Margaret’s last solo album. I could see this one working well in a contemporary but low-key worship service.
May this journey bring a blessing
May I rise on wings of faith
And at the end of my heart‘s testing
With Your likeness let me wake

Hear All Creation
The album’s most upbeat offering features Margaret once again singing lead, with a celebrative musical backdrop that also prominently features the fiddle. The percussion is still light, but it actually adds to the more “earthy” feel of the song. The lyrics touch on one of my favorite Biblical images - the rocks crying out to God in praise even when we are silent. The theme fits well with the music in this case. I will say that the three ladies do sound a little “cutesy” when they’re singing together during the chorus, but that’s forgivable. It’s an upbeat, catchy, joyful song, so we can forgive the perkiness.
So with everything we are, and everything we have
We pour out our offerings
And if ever we should fail
The rocks will rise up
And crown Him the King of kings

My Hope
Joanne takes the reigns again for this slow, piano-driven ballad. It does sort of hurt the flow of the album to have gone from fast to slow to fast to slow again within the last few tracks - it generally works better on praise and worship record to flow more gradually from fast to slow. Nonetheless, Joanne’s voice has always been well suited for these delicate, reverent numbers, and this one would have fit well on her solo album. The song focuses on the analogy of faith being a long race to run, and God being a sustaining hope even when that race gets tiring and those on the sidelines are mocking us. Musically, it doesn’t stand out that much, but lyrically it’s a gem, even if it’s a little more straight-laced that what I’m used to hearing from Joanne.
My hope sustains me as I strive
And strain towards the goal
Though still I stumble into sin
His death paid for it all

In Christ Alone
The title track is the one definite winner on this album, in my opinion. Starting off with a semi-tribal sounding drum beat, the song builds confidently into a strong anthem of almost epic length. Margaret takes the lead once again (I have to say, she’s got the best tracks on the record), her voice keeping confidently in time with the 3/4 rhythm. The drums are more solid on this track, and a solid pipe refrain courtesy of Troy carries throughout the song to its end, almost reaching the seven-minute mark. The song is constructed like an old hymn, with four verses that progress from each other lyrically, rising high enough in the middle of each for Margaret to really belt the notes out and then settling back down to where they started. I think Mom’ll find this to be one of her favorites - I know it’s my favorite.
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand

Like the Starlight
Máire takes the mic again for another slow, piano-driven song. This one uses some fairly poetic analogies to describe God’s “song”. Perhaps there are a few rhymes in the song that seem a little contrived, but the analogies do present vivid pictures that try harder than your average praise song. Máire’s more fluid method of singing these lyrics doesn’t make the song as easy to sing along with as most of Margaret’s and Jo’s songs - it’s more like listening to a mother or grandmother singing a soft lullaby to her baby.
Like the willows that whisper in the breeze of the night
Like the sound of a baby sleeping softly at night
Like the wild sleepy sun slipping into the sea
Is Your song to me

O for a Closer Walk
This one was definitely adapted from an older hymn - though I’m not sure if it was specifically an Irish hymn. Joanne takes the lead here, with Máire contributing a verse in Gaelic (she had to get that in somewhere!), and a soft acoustic guitar provides the musical backdrop. It’s nice to hear the two ladies harmonizing again - brings back memories of a few older Iona songs. However, both the chorus to this song and the main lyrical idea are similar to “Jesus Draw Me Ever Nearer”, so sometimes those two songs get muddled together in my mind.
So shall my walk be close with God
With all the hopes made new
So purer light shall mark the road
Leading to the Lamb

This Fragile Vessel
Once again, Máire takes the spotlight (she’s rather prominent on the back half of the record) for a slow, reflective tune. This one is entirely backed by a soft orchestral movement, with the strings providing gentle flourishes to accentuate Máire’s “fragile” lyrics. The song is subtitled “Communion” on the record, and it’s obvious what part of the worship service it would fit into, as Máire sings about bread and wine. The song starts off with the analogy of humankind as a “vessel” - a cup for God to fill, but the analogy really isn’t taken anywhere later in the song. At over six minutes, I’ll admit I have a hard time sitting through this one, but once again, I’m sure Mom will enjoy it.
We can be worthy of His love, wisdom and mercy
Take this bread and wine as we share His cross and crown
Receive the grace sent down

Over Fields of Green
The album ends on a rather awkward note - the last thing I was expecting at this point was another upbeat song. This one’s more acoustic, with a definite Celtic vibe to it that fits with the song. The lyrics were Joanne’s sole contribution to the record in terms of songwriting, and I kind of wish there were more to it. The song blows by in two and a half minutes, and I feel like the instrumentation could have been livelier. It ends rather abruptly, which leaves the album feeling rather unresolved (though if you have one of those CD players that can instantly loop back around to the beginning, it makes for a great transition back into “Your Hand O God Has Guided”.)
So may the music of our song
Release a healing power
And with all God‘s angels, join our hearts
In Heaven‘s Song Above

This record was obviously made with a different audience in mind than the usual audience that these three ladies would draw, and as such, I might not be in the best position to measure it up. I tend to like my praise and worship music with a little more “kick” to it, and as far as Celtic-influenced stuff goes, I like for the instrumentation to be more prominent, to transport me to all sorts of lovely foreign landscapes. I’m used to Joanne’s voice being a part of that effect with Iona, so it’s hard to adjust to the more plaintive approach here. I’m used to Margaret’s lyrics being more introspective and personal, though I must say she adapts well to hymn-writing. Again, I can’t speak for Máire’s solo work, though what I have heard of it follows more of a traditional pattern of either reverent worship or storytelling.

Putting on a different hat and trying to size this album up as I think my Mom would react to it, though, it’s good stuff. She’s not picky about all the technical stuff that can sometimes bother me. Worship music is often what she listens to in order to unwind after a long day, and this will be perfect for that. It’s not a re-recording of the same old hymns or praise choruses we’ve all heard a million times. Plus she’s already familiar with two of the three voices and she’ll be thrilled to find out they all recorded something together. So I think this one will be a well-received gift on Mother’s Day.

(As for Joanne, well, I wish her well on the first Mother’s Day she’ll be spending with her new baby boy!)

Strongest Links: In Christ Alone, Hear All Creation, Jesus Draw Me Ever Nearer
Weakest Links: Over Fields of Green, This Fragile Vessel, With the Early Morning



Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Reading or Studying