Third Day released their self-titled debut in 1996. Their eighth studio album is WHEREVER YOU ARE
(2005, Essential Records). It debuted at
No 8 on the Billboard 200. It was
nominated for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album at the Grammy’s and also
nominated for a Dove Award. On this
album Third Day is: Tai Anderson (bass), David Carr (drums), Mark Lee
(guitars), Mac Powell (vocals), and Brad Avery (guitars). Avery would leave the band in 2008. Additional musicians used include Geof
Barkley, Scotty Wilbanks, and Eric Darken.
Half of the album was produced by Third Day and half was produced by
Brown Bannister who has worked with Amy Grant and Petra.
The opening song ‘Tunnel’ is one of six that Mac Powell
alone wrote the words to, while the whole band wrote the music. This rock track offers hope to the hopeless:
“You’ve got your disappointments and sorrows/You ought to share the weight of
that load with me/Then you will find that the light of tomorrow/Brings a new life
for your eyes to see/So remember what I’ve told you/There’s so much you’re
living for/There’s a light at the end of this tunnel (2X)/For you, for
you”. ‘Eagles’ is one of three songs
whose words were written by Brad Avery.
These words make it clear that God is a sure Source of strength and
place of refuge: “And I tremble with this heavy weight/And I’m buried
underneath my grief/I’ll run to You and not grow faint/And I’ll lay my burdens
at Your feet/I will soar on the wings of eagles/I will learn to fly high above
this world”.
‘Cry out to Jesus’ peaked at No 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot
Christian Songs chart. George Cocchini
(credited as Tone Chaperone) plays acoustic guitar. This one is a wonderful inspirational ballad:
“To everyone who’s lost someone they love/Long before it was their time/You
feel like the days you had were not enough/When you said goodbye/And to all of
the people with burdens and pains/Keeping you back from your life/You believe
that there’s nothing and there is no one/Who can make it right/There is hope
for the helpless/Rest for the weary/Love for the broken heart/There is grace
and forgiveness/Mercy and healing/He’ll meet you wherever you are/Cry out to
Jesus (2X)”. Musically ‘I can feel It’
is a moody rocker. It confirms that God
is alive and moving amongst His people: “I keep on searching for Your presence
in this place/I see Your hand at work/I feel Your touch of grace/Sometimes it
falls like rain upon this thirsty land/Sometimes You gently stir the heart of
every man/I can feel it/All around me.../I can feel it/I can feel Your
heartbeat”.
The words to ‘Keep on Shinin’’ were penned by Mark Lee. This one has a happy pop/rock vibe to
it. It encourages us to overcome our
fears and let Christ’s light shine through us: “It feels like forever since I
can remember/It seems like it’s always been this way/Keep the good news to
ourselves, like a secret we’ll never tell/I don’t know why we’ve been so
ashamed/But changes are in the air, sparks are starting everywhere/And oh, what
a sweet, sweet sound/With millions of voices singing new choruses/Leading the
way to higher ground/Keep on, keep on shinin’/Wherever you may be/Keep on, keep
on shinin’/For all the world to see”.
Next up is the reverent song ‘Communion’. The world would be a far better place if we
all prayed the following words: “I will remember everything, Lord/That You’ve
done for me/I won’t take for granted/The sacrifice that set me free/I hunger
and thirst for Your love/Come fill me today”.
‘Carry My Cross’ is a well orchestrated song of inner
turmoil and utter determination to obey Father God: “I’m praying in the garden/And I’m looking for a
miracle/I find the journey hard but/It’s the reason I was born/Can this cup be
passed on?/Lord, I pray Your will be done/In this world/So I’ll carry my
cross/And I’ll carry the shame/To the end of the road/Through the struggle and
pain/And I’ll do it for love/No, it won’t be in vain/Yes, I’ll carry my
cross/And I’ll carry the shame”. ‘How Do
You Know’ is a great rock song! It is
one of frustration and addresses someone who tries to tell another just what
they should do: “You’re thinking that you’ve got all the answers/You’ve got my
situation figured out/But you’re only seeing part of the picture/There’s so
much more that you don’t know about/And here you come to speak your mind/But
I’ll say one more time/How do you know, how do you know/What I’m supposed to be
doing?/Why do you go, why do you go on/Thinking you know my fate/So many times
I’ve lost my step/But never lost my way/How do you know (2X)/When I don’t know
myself?”
‘Mountain of God’ was written by Mac Powell and Brown
Bannister and includes the vocal stylings of Ashley Cleveland. They should have made it a duet, trading off
verses. This adult contemporary song
places great confidence and trust in God: “Even though the journey’s long/And I
know the road is hard/Well, the One who’s gone before me/He will help me carry
on/And after all that I’ve been through/Now I realize the truth/That I must go
through the valley/To stand upon the mountain of God”. This reached No 1 on the Billboard Hot
Christian Songs chart. ‘Love heals your
Heart’ is a song of great optimism: “When you think your life is shattered/And
there’s no way to be fixed again/Love heals your heart/At a time you least expected/You’re
alive like you have never been/Love heals your heart”.
‘The Sun is Shining’ speaks of God’s transforming power:
“Yesterday I lost/Everything I had and loved/Then I cried out for You, Lord/And
You came and picked me up/And the sorrow lasted through the night/But the joy
came with the morn.../I will lift my voice/No, I won’t be silent/For You heard
my cry/And You turned my mourning into dancing/And so forever I’ll sing”. ‘Rise Up’ is a modern anthem and a great
album closer! It includes this terrific
message we all need to hear: “In life or in death/Through joy or regret/And all
of the secret things you have done/No matter what comes, my friend/Nothing can
keep you from the love of God”.
In the CD booklet you will find the following words from the
band: “Wherever you are, whoever you are, whatever you’re going through, our
prayer is that this music would encourage you, bring you hope, and draw you
closer to the warm embrace of your Heavenly Father”. If I had to sum up the thesis of WHEREVER YOU
ARE, it would be that you will go through troubles but with God you can come
out on top of them. This is a splendid
batch of songs drawing mostly from the genres of rock and adult
contemporary. I’m rating it 88%. For more info visit: www.thirdday.com and www.providentpress.com.