Illumination

Description

Illumination is the sole album by the American rock band RadioHalo featuring Kemper Crabb of ArkAngel fame, released on Urgent Records in 1992, distributed by The Benson Company. The album was recorded by Brian Tankersley and Kemper Crabb with Crabb, Tankersley, and Paul Mills producing. Mixed by Crabb. Art Direction and illustrations by Randy Rogers.

Radiohalo was to some extent the rebirth of ArkAngel. The album is a feast of rock and progressive music, delightfully catchy and with a message that is clearly Christian but less preachy and more testimonial.

This album marks the return to the Christian marketplace of Kemper Crabb, whose band ArkAngel was a groundbreaker in Christian rock, and whose worship project ‘The Vigil‘, is counted as a classic by fans and critics alike. As Radiohalo, Crabb, wife Bekah and longtime partner David Marshall have grown away from the Pink Floyd/Yes overtones of ArkAngel, a move that may surprise and disappoint some older fans. Classical rock influences still surface in songs like «Persistence of Vision» and the title track – mostly in the arrangements and harmonic structures of the vocals. But for the most part, the sound of Radiohalo is of an urban/dance nature, occasionally evoking the world-beat explorations of Peter Gabriel and David Byrne. Lyrically, Crabb tends toward the thought-provoking rather than the evangelical, with tunes like «Tribes» and «The Gates of Dawn»; his no-holds-barred «Sea of Blood» has become an anthem for the pro-life rescue movement. [Bruce A. Brown, CCM, July 1992]

CD tracklist:

01. Straw Man – 5:44
02. The Gates Of The Dawn – 4:36
03. Illumination – 7:10
04. Heat Of The Night – 5:41
05. One Blood – 4:29
06. Persistence Of Vision – 6:20
07. Sea Of Blood – 4:38
08. Don’t Pass Me – 5:52
09. Distance Laughter – 4:47
10. Tribes – 3:15
11. Look Back In Wonder – 5:10
12. Weapons – 4:51

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by Urgent Records.