Big Tent Revival formed in 1991 and released their
self-titled debut in 1995. OPEN ALL NITE
(1996, ForeFront) was their second album out of seven if you include their
Greatest Hits project in 2002. OPEN ALL
NITE was produced by John Hampton and the late Dana Key, and executive produced
by Patrick Scholes. On the album, Big
Tent Revival is: Steve Wiggins (acoustic and rhythm guitars, lead vocals,
background vocals), Randy Williams (lead guitars and background vocals), Rick
Heil (bass guitar, background vocals), and Spence Smith (drums,
percussion). In the liner notes, one
finds these words: “It has been a difficult and blessed year. Once again we praise God, our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ! He has made the lowest
valleys into summits of victory”.
First up is ‘Mend Me’, a rock song that acknowledges the
need for Divine intervention in one’s life: “All the places that I’ve
been/Still I can’t escape this life of sin/What I want to do I don’t do/And
what I do I don’t want to do/I am broken, mend me/Over backwards, bending/For
the love You’re sending.../You made the universe/And You can mend me”. ‘Here With Me’ is a melodic song that extols
God for His faithfulness: “You said You’d always love me and You would never
leave/Sure as the sky above me/I believe (3X)/In mountains high and valleys
low/Desert land and driving snow/Like a river to the sea/You are always here
with me”.
‘Famine or Feast’ reminds us to always rely on Jesus,
whatever our circumstances: “Things have happened lately, the car is in the
shop/Riding on the cross-town, almost at the stop/Staring out the window into
the night outside/I have to tell you honest now/I sat right there and
cried/Famine or feast, I’m on my knees/Searching for the answers for things I
can’t see/Times of jubilation waiting for release/Time we all pray to the
Lord/Famine or feast”. ‘The Best Thing’
is a beautiful adult contemporary ballad of spiritual invitation: “One thing’s
for certain, I have been taught/The key to heaven, it just can’t be
bought/Cause the standard is perfection and we are all short of it/In came
Jesus and He was above it/The best thing in life is definitely free/The best
thing in life is good for you and me/Jesus on the cross paid the penalty/And
offers back to us life eternally”.
‘Long Time Comin’’ is a bouncy pop song of testimony:
“Looking back on my life, now it’s clear to me/How You led me to this place so
dear to me/Even though it seemed all of the sudden/It’s been a long time
comin’/You’ve brought me this far/Who’s to say You won’t carry me through the
rest of my days?” The lyrics to the
chorus of ‘Thing Called Jesus’ aren’t exactly creative: “This is more to me
than just some story/This is more to me than just some songs that I sing/I lay
it on the line time after time after time after time/They can’t stop this thing
(3X)/Called Jesus”.
‘Personal Judgement Day’ is a great bluesy rock number about
the eternal destiny of our souls: “The Bible talks about a book of names, souls
rescued from the flame/So brother tell me, when it all is through/Do you know
Jesus and does He know you?/Don’t have to listen to a word I say/Don’t have to
bow your head and pray/But you’re only a breath away from your personal
judgement day!” ‘Letting Go’ is a song
of confession: “I am a man who hides his feelings/But I don’t think I can keep
from revealing/All the things inside of me that are out of control/So, Lord I’m
letting go”.
‘You Are’ addresses atheists: “They try and tell me/You
don’t exist/They are mistaken/I must insist/Cause You brought me through the
shadow of death.../You are in my day time, You are in my night/You are
everything I need/My Lord and my delight”.
The song has a cool underlying groove to it. ‘If Loving God Was A Crime’ was one of the
best CCM songs to come out of the 1990’s.
Witness these words: “If loving God was a crime/I’d be an outlaw/I would
join the fight/They could not shut me down/I would stand tall for what I know
is right/Would you stand with me for the world to see when all is on the
line?/Would you be ashamed of Jesus’ Name if loving God was a crime?” Closing things off is a hidden track, ‘My
Guitar’.
Steve Wiggins, who wrote all of the songs here, has a great
voice for the adult Southern rock song on this project. The accordion and B-3 organ are nice added
touches on this album. Prominent lyrical
themes are: God’s love for and faithfulness to us, our personal level of
dedication to Christ, and spiritual invitation.
I had the privilege back in the day of seeing Big Tent Revival open for
DeGarmo and Key, and later Dana Key when he was a solo artist. Fans of Tom Cochrane, Third Day, and Kenny
Marks should acquire OPEN ALL NITE, which I’m rating 98%. Steve Wiggins is now Contemporary Worship
Pastor at Bellevue Baptist in Tennessee.
For more info visit: www.bellevue.org
or look up the band members of Big Tent Revival on Facebook.