Customer Reviews

Awesome God: A Tribute To Rich Mullins

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For a tribute album to be good art on its own, it should consist of artists pretending other songs are their own...living and breathing the lyric through their own sensibilities. It should NOT be a carbon-copy of the original artist down to the arrangement, way it's sung, style, etc...otherwise, why not just listen to the original? (Perhaps Reed Arvin, longtime producer for Rich, and producer of this comp says it best: "This recording is not about Rich Mullins; it's about his songs.") Unfortunately, it appears that was lost in the making of this CD.

Michael W. Smith began promisingly, by stripping back "Awesome God" to its piano base and keeping it spare. But he missteps by swelling it to the anthemic "big choir" sound that Mullins has already used. The song would be better served by keeping it "small" musically, and letting the lyrics be the "big" part of the song...

These types of things occur again and again throughout the CD...fairly unimaginative arrangements hewing way too close to Rich's to be interesting. In large part, most of this fails because of the artist's fear or inability to reinterpret Rich's material.

Most successful is Kevin Max, who takes a song I considered one of Mullins' weaker efforts ("Save Me" from his major label debut...) and COMPLETELY reinvents it sonically as a multilayered Bono-esque diatribe against superficiality. It gave me new appreciation for the song.

Gary Chapman recrafts "Elijah" as a country tune and invests passion into his vocals. (And for the reviewer who mentioned the 'rambling' story by Chapman in the liners...it's him saying in a nutshell that the opinions of God, not other frail human beings, are what counts...and that Rich lived his life in a way that showed Gary he understood that...I found his words touching.)

Other nice touches are Carolyn Arends' phrasing on one of Rich's best songs "Jacob and 2 Women"...lending extra weight to the portions told from the women's point of view...I love how this song pastes together the majesty and the mystery in God's Word. Also good are Billy Sprague's arrangement on "A Place to Stand" providing a view of a man beaten down and choosing to hope in spite of it and Ashley Cleveland's "I See You" depicting Moses as resigned to a tough calling leading the Jews to the promised land. But these moments are too few to call this a quality tribute. Sorry, Rich...maybe someone else will do this better.

This was my 'official' introduction to Rich Mullins. Though I had been in love with the tune 'Awesome God' since discovering the chorus in a songbook and singing it in worship with youth at a Christian work camp several summers ago. 'Hold Me Jesus' really spoke to my heart as well. The entire collection is an incredible tribute to an awesome artist who never let the spotlight be shone on him alone, but gave the credit to GOD. Listening to this CD gets my heart and mind in the right place to do his work and will when I need to. "Awesome God" is a worthy addition to anyone's music library, it is simply beautiful music.

This CD came as a result of the death of one of Christian music's best artists, Rich Mullins. His friends put this together as a tribute. Each artist picked a song that had ministered to them, then covered it, incorporating their own personal touches along the way.

Some of the covers are wonderful. The piano arrangement that starts the CD is a wonderful intro to "Awesome God." Carolyn Arrends does a great job on "Jacob and 2 Women," and Chris Rice is the perfect fit for "Calling Out Your Name." Even Jars of Clay and Caedmon's Call, two bands I'm not a fan of, do a good job on their songs. However, Kevin Max and Ashley Cleveland changed their songs two much. Rich Mullins was not a rock singer, and trying to make his songs sound rock ruins them.

Rich Mullins' fans will enjoy seeing how some of the top CCM artists envisioned these songs. Even with the couple missteps mentioned above, it's the next best thing to having a new album from Rich himself.

I had high expectations about this album ever since I heard of it's release. So when I finally purchased the long-awaited CD-I was taken back quite a bit. Awesome God: Tribute to Rich Mullins was not what I expected. Smitty's version of "Awesome God" will send chills up your spine and this version includes a beautiful piano ballad at the beginning. As the album continues, the artists offer a very appropriate and well-done version of the song they picked. Notables include Chris Rice's "Calling Out Your Name" and Kevin Max's "Save Me". Amazingly, 3 songs appear from Rich's very first CD(Billy Sprague &Gary Chapman&Kevin Max). With the exception of Amy Grant's "Hold Me Jesus", each track reminds you who the author of these remarkable songs was!

I was impressed by the artists who got a chance to put their own spin and their hearts into the songs that have in some way touched their lives. Instead of simply putting different voices to Rich's music, the songs allow listeners to hear the way the artists were moved by them. To feel them the way they felt them. Michael W. Smith's interpretation of Awesome God is nothing short of stunning. Truly worthy of a tribute. Amy Grant and Ashley Cleveland, both owners of incredible voices, do great justice to their covers: "Hold Me Jesus" (Amy), "I See You" (Ashley). My personal favorite is Chris Rice's cover of "Calling Out Your Name". His voice and feeling are reminiscent of Rich's style, and remind us of God's splendor as seen through the eyes of a complex, yet simple man. A moon spilling laughter; a single hawk bursting into flight; a horizon in flames; thunder in the sky. We are again urged to run wild with the hope that this thirst will not last long. That this soon will drown in the song not sung in vain."

When I first listened to this album a few months ago, I really did not know what to say about it, so I chose to not make any comment. Then I forgot about it for a while. However, I must say after letting it play in my car for the past few weeks, that I would not want to be without it. There is something about Rich Mullin's lyrics that profoundly impact me when I need them most. I am most affected when I hear Chris Rice sing "Calling Out Your Name" and Gary Chapman singing "Elijah." Jars of Clay's rendition of "If I Stand" is simply wonderful as well. I guess I was not prepared to hear other artists singing Rich's songs--it was too soon. Now, though, I would much rather see more artists making one of Rich's songs their own, keeping the message alive and bringing the ministry to generations to follow, rather than seeing Rich's label reshuffling his songs into more "Best of" albums. Please don't do to Rich what has been done to Keith Green and his music. It would be a real shame to have the songs of these artists confined to being sung only by the voices of the past, and posthumous "Best of" albums seem to do just that.

This is a great CD. I was first introduced to Rich Mullins' music when I listened to the WOW 1999 cd. I went to look for a webpage about him, all I was able to determine was that he'd died in a car crash. I got onto Amazon to see what recordings he had and I found this album. I bought in a store instead of off of Amazon, cause I don't have a credit card or checking account. I really like this album, I have found numerous other songs by Rich throughout the internet and these aren't nessecarily his style but they are a tribute to him. He wasn't perfect and neither was his music but he made many impressions on people. Smitty's rendition of Awesome God is great with a piano solo at the beginning. Chris Rice's version of Calling Out Your Name is another good one, he even sounds like Rich at times. Ellijah is a great song, you wonder if he had a premonition or something, "And when I go out, I'm going out like Ellijah with the world to fuel my chariot of fire" or i think those are they lyrics, i should check but i am to lazy, those words could almost be interpreted as a prophecy of his death in a car crash, think about it. If I Stand by Jars Of Clay, it is one of my favorites from this cd, replacing Rich's piano with a guitar it sounds great. Caedmon's Call's version of Step By Step is great too, it brings this sort of image into your mind, as you hear all those people singing it, of thousands being won over to Christ. Basically, this is a great album adn I'm glad they did this instead of releasing thousands of "Best of" or "Greatest Hits" records. They made his songs their own as i'm sure he would have wanted them to.

I looked at the other reviews and see that Rich Mullins fans are disappointed. This posthumous collection was my introduction to Rich Mullins and now I am a fan. I will be listening to his work, recorded by him.

Musically this is straightfoward and easy to grasp. Spiritually, for this Christian, almost every song hits the bulls eye.

This album truly illustrates the durability and brilliance of Rich Mullins' songs, and how the spirit that inspires the message inherent within these songs is universal and alive.

The established artists have taken up and adopted the songs and really made it their own. Comparatively, even though some of the renditions sound more "polished" than Rich's originals, it still carries with it a sense of awe, reflection and yearning for the presence of God.

As a fan who has heard the originals, I heard the songs afresh and slowly appreciated these "new" intepretations in a new way. And I stand in wonder and realised more how God really breathed through this man called Rich Mullins, and now this message is being carried in a new way by others.

Good album. If you are a fan, you will realise how much you miss his songs. If you are new to the world of Rich Mullins, consider this an introduction to a man whose voice and words, He has used as a channel of blessing to others.

I am a huge Rich Mullins fan and was excited when this album was finally released, but I was disappointed when I first heard it. However, there are a couple of really good tracks -- especially if you are a Caedmon's Call, Jars, or Smitty fan. Each rendition of their favorite Rich song is excellent. Even though I had hoped for more, if you are an admirer of Rich Mullins, "Awesome God" is worth your money. -- Chris