Friday, August 02, 2013

IT'S A BIG WORLD OUT THERE!!!


The songwriters on Mylon and Broken Heart’s 1989 release BIG WORLD (Star Song Records) include: Mylon Le Fevre, Scott Allen, Trent Argante, Kenny Bentley, Ed Carswell, Joe Hardy, Jerome Olds, and Oliver Wells.  The album was produced by Joe Hardy and Mylon Le Fevre and has what I deem to be a very cool front cover!

The title track ‘Big World’ is a splendid album opener.  It is a heavy electric guitar driven rock song that encourages believers to press on in their faith: “You’re tempted to give in/But I know that you can win/So keep lookin’ at the goal/Cause God is in control/Look and see, He’s made the world for you/So stand up and fight and He will see you through (Big World!)/There’s a big world out there/It’s waiting just for you and you and you and you/Let them all see Jesus/In everything you do/(Look out, Big World!).”  ‘Love Comes Down’ is a melodic pop song that encourages us to be receptive to the spiritual help only God can offer us: “When you finally reach for help/You can move ahead and leave the past behind/If you are willing/He is able/To let the power of His Word renew your mind/So don’t run when Love comes down/You can’t hide when you’ve been found/You gotta face Love/When Love comes down.”

‘Falling in Love’ is a terrific upbeat rocker.  This song makes it clear that God is willing to free us from what holds us back from Him: “On my knees I found You/Waiting there for me/You held the missing peace/When I was still bound/You freely turned the key/Securing my release/Love was calling/Right out of the blue/You took my fear of falling/When I fell in love with You.”  ‘Face to Face’ is a pretty song that finds the group longing for Christ: “Deep in my heart a fire burns/Cause I just can’t wait for Your return/And when You call, I’ll finally be free from me/I’m holding on until the day/That I am going to see...My Lord.”

‘Jesus, It’s You’ is a moving ballad that speaks of being sold out to Christ: “I look over Jordan and I see eternity/A great cloud of witnesses calling out, encouraging me/To press on for the prize/To lay this world aside in all I do/Lord keep my eyes on You/There is no room in my heart/You have consumed every part/Everything else I must refuse/There’s no room in my heart/For anything but You.”  ‘Turn the Tables on Me’ has a similar message as Petra’s ‘Jekyll and Hyde’, and picks up the pace musically: “My heart belongs to Jesus/But it’s trapped inside of me/Trying to live for Him/But the world won’t let me be/I know my spirit’s willing/But my flesh is not as strong/I want to do what’s right/Oh, but sometimes I’m so wrong.”

‘Remember the Future’ has a party rock sound.  It is a good song for believers to listen to when discouraged: “Remember the future/Cause what He says will be/Remember the future/What it means to you and me/Remember the future/Cause it will never fade away/Remember the future/It just might be today.”  ‘Let Love Conquer’ has a Michael Jackson vibe to it.  The chorus contains some basic, but too often ignored, advice for us: “Don’t put down your brother/Let Love conquer/Please don’t hurt each other/Let Love conquer.”

‘The Distance’ points to Christ as mankind’s ultimate Hope: “Big, big world/Racing for the top/People chasing treasure/And they’re losing what they’ve got/I know I can help them Lord-if you just help me/I know if they’ll listen to You-You will set them free.”  ‘Movin’ On’ is a touching ballad with a conversational feel to it: “I opened up my heart/As Your Spirit moved inside/You wanted all of me/I gave in willingly/But before too long/The feelings were all gone/I had to walk by faith/And faith alone/So I’ll just keep movin’ on/I can’t stay here too long/Cause the road I’m on is leading to Your throne/I’ll just keep movin’ on/Cause I know before too long/You will come and take me home.”

BIG WORLD was certainly an album that encouraged me in my faith in my teenage years.  It still holds up as a great Christian rock record with touches of pop thrown in.  I’m rating it 87%.  The vocals are great!  I had the pleasure of going to see this tour live in Brantford, Ontario with my church youth group at an arena.  Man was it loud! Our ears were ringing!  For more info visit www.mylon.org.