Hello Old Friends – Andrew Peterson featuring Andy Gullahorn & Ben Shive
You Did Not Have A Home – Kevin Max featuring Mitch McVicker
Both Feet On The Ground – Ashley Cleveland
Heaven Is Waiting – Brothers McClurg
Sparrow Watcher – Amy Grant, Cindy Morgan & Andrew Greer featuring Tommy Sims
If I Stand – Steve Cudworth
I See You – Audrey Assad
Sometimes By Step – Ian Zumback featuring Ron Block
Hold Me Jesus – Sara Groves featuring Bonnie Keen & Andrew Greer
Whitewater – Rich Mullins
Here In America – Jason Gray featuring Kipper Gray & Jimmy Abegg
My Deliverer – Mitch McVicker
Calling Out Your Name – Andrew Osenga & Taylor Leonhardt
Bound To Come Some Trouble – Stephen McWhirter & Jason Clayborn
Hard To Get – David Mullins featuring Jonathan Mullins
Whitewater – Carolyn Arends
We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are – Derek Webb
Holy Pretenders – Rich Mullins
What to say about Rich Mullins, one of the pioneers of CCM? Alongside Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, Amy Grant, Keith Green, and Larry Norman; Rich and his music, sometimes unwavering, sometimes uncompromising, sometimes shocking, sometimes offensive, but always faithful to the scriptures and faithful to Jesus, has formed the bedrock of CCM music. Everyone who is a believer should know “Awesome God” (I mean, if they don’t, then are they really a fan of CCM music?), while “Creed” is as popular as they come, with Third Day making this song ‘famous’. Other staple Rich Mullins’ songs that have formed many sentimental and nostalgic memories in my head, are powerful and compelling songs like “If I Stand”, “The Joy Of Jesus”, “Sing Your Praise To The Lord”, “I See You”, “Hold Me Jesus”, “Sometimes By Step”, “We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are”, and “My Deliverer”. Rich is a legend in his own right, and we will be blogging about him within the next few months. And so…. it stands to reason that Bellsburg (The Songs Of Rich Mullins) (a collaboration project filled with reimagining’s of Rich’s music recorded by artists who were personally impacted by his music) should be awesome, stellar, profound, brilliant and every other positive adjective you could ever think of, don’t you reckon? A passion project by all involved, Rich’s legacy, like Keith Green’s, is paramount and not even in question. His willingness to ask the tough questions and to create songs without ‘resolution in a quick and easy 3 minutes’, may throw some of us- but as we wrestle with the big questions of life, faith, God, the afterlife, and everything else in between, Rich’s music is here with us as a friend to travel alongside us on the journey- no matter where it may lead.
If you’re thinking that Bellsburg (The Songs Of Rich Mullins) is a traditional album, full of full-band re-recordings of Rich’s greatest hits gone by (like how Bebo Norman re-recorded “Sometimes By Step”, Third Day reimagined “Creed”- with and without Brandon Heath, and Rebecca St. James covering “Hold Me Jesus”), then you’d be mistaken… just like I was. I thought that this album would be like the tribute album in 2014 inspired by the Ragamuffin movie. I guessed I missed the memo. Because this album isn’t like that at all- and is much more ‘acoustic’ and stripped down. It’s like a B-side roll of some lost tapes that all of these artists have found from the archives- and though it’s somewhat hard to be engaged with this project on an objective level; the Rich Mullins fan in me loves this album for the nostalgia and the sentimentality.
As these songs are well known within the sphere of CCM, and with these renditions being objectively compelling yet equally disjointed and jarring; Bellsburg (The Songs Of Rich Mullins) is an interesting case of being either one- immersed in the album because you love Rich, or two- staying clear away from the album because you love Rich as well. Both options, dare I say, are equally as valid. You may not connect with these renditions (as I haven’t connected overall either!) because of the sparse instrumentation and the lullaby arrangements or even the omission of “Awesome God” and “Creed”. Or you might not connect with these songs due to the presence of Audrey Assad and Derek Webb on the album (both who have deconstructed their faith, and who don’t believe in Jesus anymore!). Or you may love this album as it’s carrying on the legacy or Rich and honouring him that way. But whatever way you look at Bellsburg (The Songs Of Rich Mullins); one thing is for certain. That Rich’s legacy is beyond discussion, and that if you remove the preconceptions of what a Rich Mullins album (or tribute album in this case) sounds like, then I’d say you would find something worthwhile while listening to Bellsburg (The Songs Of Rich Mullins). Like the tribute album in 2014, this album is a great introduction to Rich’s music for those who may not have heard nor appreciated it before (like myself), or if you want to hear your favourite Rich Mullins songs reinvented and re-imagined by signed and indie artists, as they give their spin and take. Cover albums are tricky in the sense that you may hear a batch of bad re-recordings, but thankfully these 18 tracks (or 16 tracks, as two are songs by Rich that have been resurrected from the archives!) remind us of the timelessness of Rich’s music and how Rich’s songs stretch beyond years and beyond generations. Worth a listen, regardless of whether you love Rich or not, or whether you know his music or not; Bellsburg (The Songs Of Rich Mullins) is sure to be on my playlist for the foreseeable future. And as I end this review with some quotes about the heartbeat of the album, as well as the New York Times article about Rich in full (as it’s an article for subscribers which was linked via Jesus Freak Hideout, which may be unable to be accessed in the future; let us remember the iconic nature of Rich, as well as his unwavering faith and his zeal for the gospel. I will write more in depth about Rich in my blog later on; but if you want to hear what a Rich Mullins album sounds like, then Bellsburg (The Songs Of Rich Mullins) is the album for you!