Customer Reviews

The Way / Can It Be? (2 Albums on 1 Cd)

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

 

 

This CD re-issue of The Way's 2 seminal albums is a must-have for fans of early Jesus Rock, fans of The Eagles who would like faith-based music, or any fan of Jesus Music who want a band that can play their instruments well and has songwriting skills. What many early Jesus Music artists & bands lacked was songwriting skill - that's not the case here. These guys truly had the ability to write catchy songs that stick with you. I am constantly hearing "Closer to God", "Son Come Out", "Do You Feel the Change", "Bearded Young Man", "Can It Be?", and "New Song" stuck in my head. I'd say these guys are one of the top Jesus Rock artists of the mid 70's, perhaps only a notch below Love Song or Larry Norman in terms of songwriting, talent-level, and quality. Recommended if you like Love Song, Joshua (not the Joshua Periah version), Harvest, Larry Norman, The Eagles, early Randy Stonehill, early Barry McGuire, or rural rock in general.

I was never into the whole contemporary Christian rock music scene. Too much was and is an excuse for lame copy-cat bands of no distinction to grab ahold of a ready made market .Substituting a few words in order for a rock song to be acceptable as Christian id like the country bands who sing rock with a hick accent in order to be deemed country.
A friend tipped me off to the music of the Way in 1975. A short time later they came to town to perform a free concert. So many people showed up it had to be switched to an outdoors show. I was in awe of their talent and their honest presentation of their faith. I had only enough money to buy a copy of "Can it be?" that night but soon found myself scouring music stores for more. None of their contemporaries came close to the writing and musicianship of these 5. I found their other LP, a self titled piece that came closer to CSN/America or the early Eagles and enjoyed it almost as much as "Can it Be?" It is difficult to be as dazzling on acoustics as it is on electric guitars. The trade-off of riffs ala Allman Bros. and drive of the rhythm section never distract from their message, and their message is never preachy or a soft sell lacking conviction.
I only managed to find one other recording of these guys and that was on a Maranatha! compilation titled "Maranatha Four" It has get another great song that almost bridges the two LP's.
My records are almost worn out. I made numerous copies on cassette and even put up with pops and crackles when I burned them to CD. I can't say enough good about the band and it's music. I am ecstatic to find a chance to own their music on a legit CD. I hope where ever these guys ended up in life they still have their joy. They have brought so much pleasure to so many, along with the reality of the Gospel message. If any of you read this ......thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Jesus Music and Jesus People were very real. What we believe(d) is so real, so wonderful it needs(ed) to be shared. The stagnant churchs that evolved into religous, feel good clubs all seem to have rock bands and put on a good show, but that is all it is. Churchs have made it easy to express a belief without commitment. The members smile, thinking they have fire insurance. I think most modern Christians will be in attendance at their church the Sunday after Christ comes back.

Excellent remastering of two great albums of the 70's Jesus Music produced by Maranatha Music.

The Way / The Way & Can it be (all of one and most of another on CD): The Way was one of the best groups of the "Jesus Movement" and their albums came out of the excellent "Maranatha! Music" producers. The first album rates Five Stars. The 8 songs from the second album rates a solid Four Stars. This CD rates Five Stars.

This CD can be obtained directly from Dana Angle (a member of The Way) at a much more reasonable price.

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Update: I am very glad to see that Amazon is now offering this great CD (as of Jan 2012) at such a good price ($20). Well done Amazon!

Well, I am sure glad I purchased this CD when the price was more down to earth. I remember reading that Jesus kicked out the money changers from His fathers' house and now look! This CD should be brought back and offered at a reasonable price again. Better yet, it should be GIVEN away! But we all gotta eat, right? Demand creates higher value? What's the cost of a mansion in Heaven, complete with a fire proof floor, these days? The music on this disc is uplifting and played really well. Time to bring it down to earth again and believe that Jesus gave love away....for free. " +++ "

Recalling back to when I had these recordings in vinyl, they were great early Christian contemporary albums. A preferable option to purchase might be at cmxmusic.com, that's where I'm considering. The amount being charged here through amazon amounts to just pure greed.