Customer Reviews

Light Maneuvers

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

 

 

This album was the next-to-last effort by Servant, and contains more solid songs than their others, a more unified theme.

Being, of course, focused on the Light, it has a very light sound, much less heavy than Servant's last album, "Swimming in a Human Ocean" but with a more mature sound than "Caught in the Act of Loving Him."

The top songs are "We Are the Light," "One at Heart," "Courage to Burn," and "Zero Minus One." My sole regret, the only reason not to give this album 5 stars, is that "Wardance" is on this album. Granted, Servant was a fairly hippie, anti-war band. But the sound and sense doesn't really square with the rest of the album. Maybe "World of Sand," which is a far more confrontational album.

Perhaps the best example of pre-85 non-heavy-metal Christian Rock (outside of Petra, of course). After 85 was an explosion of artists, with another wave in 92 that completely altered the landscape, all older, non-CD-era bands now forgotten.

Let me admit the biases first: Servant was our band, by that, I mean part of our commune, managed by my dad, and all the people in it close friends of mine. So I am going to be pretty supportive.

Servant was cutting edge- the first Christian band with an extensive light show, the first to use lasers, and the band that gave Petra their start. They were often honored with the insult of being "too preachy", for they called the Church to return to the ways of Christ, and they didn't allow any amount of persecution stand in the way of that calling. In this album, Servant left it's folk rock days most seen in it's first album, Shallow Water, and entered more of a mix of rock and new wave.

But why do I like the tunes on this album? A lot of what made Servant what it was comes through in this album. A lot of what the HMS commune was is also present here. The Jesus Movement never produced a tome like the Westminster Confession; for us, our theology was expressed in our music. Even today, when I contemplate an ethical action, I consult the Bible, and the music I grew up with. So the willingness to be martyred comes through strongly in "Courage to Burn". Our reason for being here at all in "We are the Light". And perhaps the best song on the album, "Wardance", reads like prophesy for the future wars in Iraq. Servant didn't pull it's punches. "Wardance, it's a sin."- Christ calls us to peace, and instead those who claim his name turn to war. This is an album calling the Church to remember who we are.

Shallow Water

Rockin' Revival

World of Sand + 2

In the 80's I was as avid concert goer but hadn't even heard of "Christian" rock. When someone asked me to see Servant and the tickets were only $4 (truly servants for that price) the group blew me away and I got all their stuff I could and despite the many style changes the quality and honesty of the music never wavered. Light Maneuvers was an excellent example. Other than Wardance I liked every song. I haven't heard this album for 16 years but their powerful words stay with me from "We Are The Light" about doing our part in the great commission the "Poolside Logic" about the urge to ignore the needy and bask in our stuff. Its sad that Christian music is one of the few art forms that has forgotten most of its pioneers for their music and lyrics stand up to the test of time.

I found the tape of this album in my dad's collection and fell in love with it. I turned the cassette into mp3s, but they're not the best quality. It's really unfortunate that there seems to be no way to get this music for a reasonable price (given that I don't own a record player).

What strikes me most about this album is the message in their songs -- they are so clear and meaningful. And on top of that, the music itself is unlike anything else I've heard.

Anyway, i really want more, but i'm unwilling to shell out 50$/album.

Servant signed with Myrrh records and got some bigger money behind this project, but the "warmth" is ebbing out as they reach for the lyrical goals that seem just out of reach.

"Zero Minus One" and "One At Heart" are two dreary, go-nowhere tracks that bring the album to a dead stop. With no real centerpiece or theme, the album sounds great, but is really a series of tracks and with the 80s gloss that money brought, this could be almost any 80s band.

Almost -- "Born In The Fire" "Courage To Burn" "Poolside Logic" and "Neighborhood" are four of the best written/performed tracks by Servant. Social responsibility (regardless of your spiritual bent) are proclaimed loudly and boldly without any "preachyness" so the message IS the media.

A fine effort all around but there is that "coldness" factor about the production that many of us feared would overtake this once "warm" band, and our fears were well founded when their next and final album, the cold and mournful SWIMMING IN A HUMAN OCEAN was released.

I got this album on vinyl not long after it came out. While the earlier "Caught in the Act of Loving Him" had been rather uneven, this is lyrically powerful in a way which is still very contemporary as well as prophetic. The very 80's music is still very catchy, though I confess imagining a number of the songs with cruchier guitar riffs in place of the keyboard lines. There are so many great songs on this, but "Courage to Burn" is still the one I can't listen to without tears.

Servant and the innocence of early Christian rock are long past. Those were the days in which it was no big deal to bring a cassette recorder to a concert and record it, and lots of people would pitch in after shows and help tear down the sets. Servant disbanded long ago, but their legacy doubtless remains in the lives of thousands who were influenced by their recorded music and shows -- especially great albums like this one.

Wow, I remember buying this Album in '84 when I was in high school. It's hard to believe almost 25 years have gone by. This band/album are part of the whole genre of music by Amy Grant, Keith Green, Petra, Farrel and Farrel, Rez etc that defined my formative years in CCM.

This is a terrific album of the generation. I must have listened to "Courage to Burn" hundreds of times by now. Great hooks, great production, great lyrics.

Although CCM seemed to loose its way in the 90's, it is experiencing a revival in the church based stuff like Hillsong United & Planet Shakers.