Sojourn is a is a community church released album. It's
an album designed for deep worship with the Lord. Their
stylistic influences range from the mountains of
Appalachia to the villages of Asia to Americana rock.
Mostly made up of songs inspired from the book of Psalms.
One of the interesting stories about this release, is
that it's dedicated to the memory of Aaron Marrs,
a Sojourn community member who was lost at sea in January
2005 when the fishing vessel he was working on capsized
off the coast of Alaska. Marrs had taken part in
earlier Sojourn releases. So it makes sense that this
release reflects the struggles of faith, pain, and doubt.
The disc starts of with the off kilter "My Rock and My
Redeemer." Penned by Rebecca Dennison
one of the many contributors. Rebecca has
painted an intimate portrait of her walk with God.
"When all I feel is broken, and weary to the bone, I've
given up the fight and find, I have no strength to carry
on, Let me run to you." Those lyrics are a perfect
example of what I was talking about. The next song one of
my favorites "Fifty Seven" written by Jeremy
Quillo, taken from Psalm 57. The
harmonies came out sounding great on the chorus. The
third track "Faithful" written by Mike
Cosper. It kind of has a
country blues feel to it. The vocals and guitar really
shine on this one. Alright lets skip ahead to "The
Christ Hymn." the words were taken from Colossians
1:15-20 (NIV). This track has an awesome middle eastern
vibe to it. I've caught myself getting lost on this one a
few times. The last one I want to highlight was also
written by Jeremy Quillo. "Then Sings My
Soul" the banjo is a really nice touch. I also really
liked Lorie King's harmonies on the chorus.
The chorus was adapted from "How Great Thou Art"
by Carl Boberg. That was a great idea cuz
the chorus is the real strength of the song.
It's really refreshing to hear a worship album the way
it's supposed to sound. It's a shame how much of a fade
worship albums have become. Most of them feel like they
have lost the goal. which is to bring praise to the Lord
and to be in his presence. Too many today feel like they
were driven by the goal of selling as many copies as
possible. This one doesn't feel that way at all.
Though not groundbreaking "These Things I Remember"
is a great release. Maybe this one will help the
genre from releasing more lucrative albums in the future.
And start over with the basics the heart felt basics.
While the songs on
"These Things I Remember"
are diverse, the Cd’s lyric and concept focus
ensures that the listener will enjoy the journey without
feeling disconnected by the different styles of music.
~
Anthony P. Hanna
Sojourn(homepage)
