Brother's Keeper

by

Rich Mullins

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Rich Mullins did it again in recording this album. No other Christian songwriter has combined the sense of honesty and poignancy that Rich was able to provoke in his listeners. "Brother's Keeper" is yet another example of his imaginative and stirring songwriting, as well as his beautifully plain voice.

From the opening track to "Quoting Deuteronomy to the Devil", Rich sings songs about sins, our failings and hypocrisy, and the grace of God, so wonderfully done that one doesn't notice the opening of one's own heart as a result of the music. I highly recommend this album to anyone looking for good Christian music that is not fluffy, overproduced, or theologically bankrupt -- Rich was none of those things, and his music is missed badly these days.

I own all the Rich Mullins albums and always have one in my CD case. What I try to do is go through them one at a time, swapping them out in chronological order. "Brother's Keeper" doesn't last longer than a couple days.

Why? Not because of Rich's voice or lyrics -- both are his usual high caliber. It's the music -- the tone has shifted to a boring, half-asleep shuffle. Listen to the percussion on almost any track: it's so straightforward, laying down a basic downbeat, that I can't help but wonder if the drummer was bored (exceptions: "Cry the Name" and maybe "Promenade"). Contrast this with any of the tracks from "A Liturgy, Legacy..." and you'll hear it.

"Brother's Keeper" is also a shift in that it is heavily country-inflected; the Celtic and gospel sensibilities heavily present in Rich's music before this album are not readily in evidence. This is not necessarily a problem -- look at Mark Knopfler's very successful shift to a country sound -- the problem is that the country aura of this album sounds lazy and uninspired.

One has to wonder if the change in producers is the reason -- Reed Arvin has been replaced by Rick Elias, Mullins himself, and some others from the band. I have no information on the change; if you do, I'd love to hear it (send it to me). I do know that when I listen to the "Jesus Record", I only listen to the demos CD. Rich's natural rhythm comes through -- it pulses vibrantly on every song. When I listen to the interpretations by Rick Elias and the band (and produced by Rick Elias), I hear that same depressed beat and sluggish sound.

The one song I do like the music on is the Dylan-esque country/blues "Quoting Deuteronomy to the Devil". It's tongue-in-cheek lyrics is wonderfully set to backwoods blues; it's quite funky and a wonderful departure.

Hey, it's Rich Mullins singing his unique style of heartfelt devotional poetry -- and that's all good. The love and goodness of God are still wide open and faith is still a complex struggle of the heart and will. But I just don't find the music as compelling as the words, like I did before.