Prayers of a Raggamuffin

Description

Prayers of a Raggamuffin is the final album featuring the American combo A Ragamuffin Band, released on Myrrh Records in 1999, a division of Word. Also manufactured and distributed by Epic Records, a division of Sony Music. The album was recorded at The White House Studio and Emerald Studios in Nashville and Dark Horse Recording in Franklin, Tennessee, and as well at Ragamuffin Recorders, with band member Rick Elias producing. Mixed at Sound Stage Studios in Nashville and at Sound Kitchen in Franklin, Tennessee.

A Ragamuffin Band (a name derived from Brennan Manning’s 1990 book The Ragamuffin Gospel) was a musical group founded by singer/songwriter Rich Mullins when he gathered friends from other bands to back him on his 1993-album, A Liturgy, A Legacy, & A Ragamuffin Band. The band – featuring guitarists Jimmy Abegg of Vector fame and singer/songwriter Rick Elias, as well as a rhythm section consisting of bassist Mark Robertson of This Train and drummer Aaron Smith, formerly of The 77s – continued to record and tour with Mullins, and even carried on for a few years after Mullins’ death in 1997. Prayers of a Raggamuffin is the fourth and final album featuring A Ragamuffin Band, and their only album that was not part of a project by Rich Mullins.

Following their acclaimed performance on the second half of The Jesus Record, Rich Mullins’ former backing unit, A Ragamuffin Band, had a tough task ahead of them – a year of touring together convinced the group’s members to carry on without their former leader and carve out an identity of their own. Given Mullins’ immense talent as a songwriter and performer, that’s no small feat, but it’s one they pull off with Prayers of a Ragamuffin. The band confidently expands its sweet, polished folk-rock sound (Toad the Wet Sprocket might be the closest secular equivalent) to include grand spiritual anthems nearly worthy of U2, lushly orchestrated pop, and Springsteen-ish heartland rock & roll. The overall concept of the album is centered around prayer and its ability to lay the soul bare in all its flawed beauty, but the music itself is just as important in the album’s cohesiveness – it isn’t only the tight instrumental work that makes A Ragamuffin Band feel like a rock-solid unit, but also the fact that each member contributes material. No one songwriting voice dominates, which gives the album a healthy variety and yet strengthens the impression that the band is of a similar mindset in the end. It may not be quite as poignant as The Jesus Record, but Prayers of a Ragamuffin is an impressive achievement in its own right. [Steve Huey, AMG]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/prayers-of-a-ragamuffin/1167660326)

CD tracklist:

01. Make Me an Instrument – 5:42
02. Nothing You Don’t Know – 4:43
03. Brother Sun, Sister Moon – 3:49
04. Faith, Hope, Love – 5:03
05. Help Thou My Unbelief – 5:41
06. My Heart Already Knows – 5:16
07. Bouncing Off the Ceiling – 4:08
08. God Grant Me Tears – 5:02
09. Shout – 2:40
10. We’ll Be Together Again – 11:07

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

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The Soul 2 Soul radio special for A Ragamuffin Band’s Prayers of a Ragamuffin album.

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CREDITS. Produced by Rick Elias. Executive Producer: Jim Chaffee. Engineered by Doug DeLong assisted by Kevin Robertson. Mixing by David Schober. Orchestration by Tom Howard. Conducted by Tom Howard and Jim Chaffee. Horn Arrangements by Jim Hoke. Photography by Jimmy Abegg, Jim Chaffee, and Ben Person. Songs written by Jimmy Abegg, Mark Robertson, Aaron Smith, Rick Elias, Rich Mullins

Musicians: Tom Howard (Piano), Phil Madeira (Organ), Neal Rosengarden (Trumpet), Jim Hoke (Penny Whistle, Saxophone), Rick Elias (Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals), Jimmy Abegg (Guitar, Vocals), Mark Robertson (Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals), Aaron Smith (Drums, Percussion), Eric Darken (Percussion). Background Vocals : Rick and Linda Elias, Jimmy Abegg, Mark Robertson, Aaron Smith.