Friday, July 17, 2015

AGE TO AGE



AGE TO AGE (1982, Myrrh) was Amy Grant’s sixth album.  It was the first Christian music album by a solo artist to be certified gold, in 1983, and the first ever platinum Christian music album, in 1985.  It was No 1 on Billboard’s Christian albums chart for 85 weeks!  It also won a Dove Award for Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year.  Brown Bannister produced it, with Michael Blanton and Dan Harrell serving as executive producers.
 
‘In A Little While’ reached No 5 on Christian radio.  It is a gentle adult contemporary song of encouragement for those going through hard times: “You know me very well/And I bet you wrote me just to tell me/In a little while we’ll be with the Father/Can’t you see Him smile?/In a little while we’ll be home forever/In a while/We’re just here to learn to love Him/We’ll be home in just a little while.../Well, I can almost see the top of the hill/And I believe it’s worth it all”.  ‘I Have Decided’ is a fantastic country rock song written by Michael Card.  It includes these words of one who is focused spiritually: “I have decided/I’m gonna live like a believer, turn my back on the deceiver/I’m gonna live what I believe/I have decided/Being good is just a fable, I just can’t cause I’m not able/I’m gonna leave it to the Lord”.
 
‘I Love A Lonely Day’ is a light pop song penned by Gary Chapman and Michael W. Smith.  It reminds us absence makes the heart grow fonder: “Solitude can be so dear/Loneliness is not so blue when it puts my mind on you/I love a lonely day/It makes me think of you/All alone, I can easily find your love/I love a lonely day, it chases me to you/It clears my heart/Lets my very best part shine through/It’s you”.  ‘Don’t Run Away’ is a light rock number that invites an individual to surrender to God: “Listen, there’s no need to waiver/Long ago the Savior died for you, so/Don’t run away/You’re headed nowhere/Keep up the pace/You’re gonna go there/You’ll feel alone/Who do you know there?/Please turn back now/Don’t run away/He wants your heart now/Hear what I say/And play it smart now/Wise up today/And give Him all of your love”.
 
Steve Millikan and Rod Robinson wrote the fun, playful jazz song ‘Fat Baby’.  It tells the story of a Christian who isn’t maturing spiritually: “He’s been baptized, sanctified, redeemed by the blood/But His daily devotions are stuck in the mud/He knows the books of the Bible and John 3:16/He’s got the biggest King James you’ve ever seen/I’ve always wondered if He’ll grow up someday/He’s momma’s boy and he likes it that way/If you happen to see him/Tell him I said/He’ll never grow/If he never gets fed”.  Richard Mullins wrote ‘Sing Your Praise to the Lord’.  It is a true Contemporary Christian Music masterpiece that features a piano intro based on J. S. Bach’s ‘Fugue No 2 in C Minor’.  The song was a No 1 hit for Amy on Christian radio.  These lyrics extol Jesus Christ: “Let the Name of the Lord be praised both for now and evermore/Praise Him, oh you servants give your/Praise to the Lord/Come on everybody/Stand up and sing one more ‘Hallelujah!’/Give your praise to the Lord/I can never tell you/Just how much good that it’s gonna do you”.
 
‘El Shaddai’ would come to be known as an inspirational classic.  Michael Card and John Thompson wrote it.  It hit No 2 on Christian radio and won ‘Song of the Year’ at 1983’s Dove Awards.  The song testifies to God’s goodness to humanity throughout the ages: “Through Your love and through the ram/You saved the son of Abraham/Through the power of Your hand/Turned the sea into dry land/To the outcast on her knees/You were the God who really sees/And by Your might/You set Your children free/El-Shaddai, El-Shaddai (God Almighty, God Almighty)/El-Elyon na Adonai (God in the highest, Oh Lord)/Age to age You’re still the same/By the power of the Name”.  Kathy Troccoli and Amy wrote ‘Raining on the Inside’.  It includes these honest words of vulnerability: “When friends who care can’t be there to ease away my pain/And peace of mind, it’s hard to find, like sunlight in the rain/God sees my heart, the deepest part/Inside this lonely me/And reachin’ in/His love begins to heal the heart in me.../Your cries of love break through and I fall in love with You once more”.
 
‘Got to Let it Go’ is a duet with a male vocalist, possibly Gary.  It reminds us that Christ and not self should be in complete charge of us: “Lord, here’s my heart/I’ve been keepin’ it from You/And I’ve got to let it go/Holdin’ on just brings me worry/Got to let it go/Come and take it from me, hurry/Got to let it go/Got to let it go/Got to give up all of my control”.  ‘Arms of Love’ is a calming ballad written by Gary Chapman, Michael W. Smith, and Amy.  It shows God to be a sure Refuge: “I have found a place where I can hide/It’s safe inside/Your arms of love/Like a child who’s held throughout a storm/You keep me warm/In Your arms of love”.
 
AGE TO AGE is a great Christian pop album.  To me, it is one of the best CCM albums of all time, with several memorable and moving songs on it.  There is a fine mix of upbeat and slower tracks.  AGE TO AGE proved that Christian music could be relevant and meaningful to youth and young adults.  Themes of hope, God’s love for us, and our love for Him, prevail.  Background vocalists used include: Diana DeWitt, Gary Pigg, and Pam Mark Hall.  I’m rating this record 93%.  For more info visit: www.amygrant.com.