Description
World of Sand is the third album by the Canadian rock band Servant, independently released on Rooftop Records in 1982. (To retain greater control, the community formed its own label named Rooftop Records, with a distribution deal with Benson.) Also released in the UK by Marshalls, distributed by Pilgrim Records. The album was recorded and mixed by Jonathan David Brown at Whitefield Studios in Santa Ana, California; with Jim Palosaari (of Lonesome Stone fame) and the band co-producing, with help from Brown.
Keyboards now fully integrated, Servant’s sound began to respond to the synth power pop of that era (“Wall of Love”, “New Revolution”, and “Treeplanter Stomp”). World of Sand was originally a custom release with 8 songs on the main LP and came with a bonus 7-inch single featuring two additional songs, “Cog In The Wheel” and an instrumental track entitled “Treeplanter Stomp”. (Much of the money that supported the commune and allowed them to eat came from the community’s forestry crews – the treeplanters – who sacrificed their backs and hours of work for the good of the whole. “Treeplanter Stomp” is Servant’s only instrumental, and an homage to them.) Also including a cover of “Come Jesus Come”, first featured on the rock musical Lonesome Stone staged at London’s Rainbow Theatre in 1973. Doug Pinnick of King’s X fame is also featured among the album’s songwriters.
Trivia note: Servant has some origins in 1973 from Lonesome Stone, a Christian rock musical touring Europe billed as a multi-media production of the Jesus generation portrayed in music, film and drama to rival the likes of the musical Godspell. Servant’s first song to hit the Top 40 CCM charts, “Come Jesus Come”, was first recorded in 1973 on the Lonesome Stone LP. Lonesome Stone was an outreach of Jesus People Europe, which came out of Jesus People Milwaukee, the latter formed the basis of what eventually became Jesus People USA in Chicago (the home of Resurrection Band). After Jesus People Europe disbanded, Palosaari and others formed the Highway Missionary Society a year later, based in British Columbia, Canada, with Servant the primary outreach of the Society, based on the West Coast of North America. In 1984 they were renamed The Servant Community in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Material possesions turn to dust, and even human life itself can quickly pass away. Following Jesus is all that matters. That’s the basic message of Servant’s third release, World of Sand (Rooftop RT-1003).
But not being of this world doesn’t mean you can’t use “wordly” rock music in Servant’s Gospel. With the help of engineering pros Thom Roy and Jonathan David Brown, the band unleashes 10 polished tunes with a decidedly new wave feel. Gone are the few rough recording edges their last two albums suffered.
Still in full force are Servant’s hard-hitting lyrics that boil in the face of luke-warm Christianity. For instance, vocalist Sandie Brock gives her blessing to “cushy” Christian living with all the feigned innocence of the Go-Go’s in the album’s first number, «Two Masters». And Bob Hardy cracks the whip at believers-in-word-only in the album’s catchiest song, «Cheap Talk».
Side Two holds a mini-musical called «Sudden Death», which recounts the accidental death of three members of the band’s fellowship community in Oregon. Though the song is well-executed and the lyrics poetic, it doesn’t bear repeated or casual listening. It would probably work better as a dramatic piece in concept or in a stricter concept album. The band’s defense of rock music, «Jungle Music», also tends to wear thin with repeated listening.
«Come Jesus Come» completes the mini-musical and ends the album. The song is a fitting ballad resurrected from the early ’70s Jesus rock musical, Lonesome Stone.
But wait! Deep inside the album jacket is a seven-inch bonus record. The additional songs give wildman guitarist Bruce Wright a few extra minutes to display his fine ability. And because the songs aren’t preachy (one’s an instrumental), it gives the album owner a chance at some evangelism. [Tom Stribling, CCM, October 1982]
World of Sand, Retroactive Records re-issue, 2006
If you’re a fan of ’80s rock, this is definitely one to check out! Originally released in 1982 on vinyl (hey kids remember vinyl?), this release marked the moment that Servant embraced synthesisers to widen out their sound. They also embraced a few new wave influences to change from the blues-based rock of their first two releases. The band occupied a similar platform to Petra and Rez Band creating rock music that ministered and along the way they hit the same snags of people making judgments about their style of rock. On «Jungle Music» they hit back at their critics with this comical song that sends up the ideas of those who think rock music is .ahem. “of the devil”. Elsewhere they’re not afraid to critique name-it-and-claim-it wealth heresies on new wavey «Two Masters» which features a great squeaky vocal from Sandie Brock. «Cheap Talk» is another satirical song encouraging the listener to walk the talk. Most moving track on this CD reissue is «Sudden Death» which tells the story of three members of the band’s church community who died in a horrendous car wreck. 25 years after it was released, these songs still feel relevant and it made me wonder why on today’s scene there aren’t more bands like Servant who used their music to say something spiritually challenging? [Mike Rimmer, Cross Rhythms, March 2007]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/world-of-sand/1767662631)
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Two Masters” – 5:20
A2. “New Revolution” – 2:25
A3. “Long Hard Fight” – 3:32
A4. “Jungle Music” – 6:00
Side Two
B1. “Wall Of Love” – 3:39
B2. “Cheap Talk” – 3:08
B3. “Sudden Death” – 8:10
B4. “Come Jesus Come” – 3:34
7-inch vinyl single:
Side A. “Cog In The Wheel” – 4:41
Side B. “Treeplanter Stomp” – 2:52
Note: Original 1982 custom release with 8 songs on main LP (featuring blue labels, catalogue number RT 1000) with bonus 7-inch vinyl single featuring two extra songs, “Cog In The Wheel” and “Treeplanter Stomp”. Re-issued on both cassette and 12-inch vinyl LP (featuring labels with new design, catalogue number RT01003) by Rootop Records in 1983, distributed by The Benson Company. (The cassette re-issue features all 10 tracks, while the 9-track LP re-issue includes “Cog In The Wheel” as the last track on side one, but is missing “Treeplanter Stomp” altogether. Marshalls’ LP Edition as well features the same tracklist.) Re-issued on CD by Retroactive Records in 2006 featuring all 10 tracks.
The original 1982 8-track LP edition with bonus 7-inch vinyl single, both featuring blue labels. (Actually also released with white labels, featuring the same design.)
A full-page advertisement for Servant’s independently released third album World of Sand was featured in the October 1982 issue of CCM Magazine.
Fun note: The album track entitled “Jungle Music” – co-written by Bruce Wright, Owen Brock, Matthew Spransy, and Jim Palosaari – features a spoken dialogue between Stanley and Livingston (played by Jim Palosaari and Bruce Wright, respectively) at the end of the song, which includes numerous references to Christian rock artists and album titles of the day:
S: Dr. Livingston I presume!
L: Why Stanly Ole chap, did you bring those rock and roll tapes that I requested?
S: Yes I did Doctor, I brought some Resurrection Band.
L: Capitol! I was Awaiting Your Reply.
S: However, I lost the Daniel Amos in the river. It was a pity.
L: How Alarming.
S: But I did manage to get some DeGarmo & Key This Time Thru.
L: Splendid! This Ain’t Hollywood you know. You can’t get any descent rock and roll out here. It’s a beastly jungle. I say, how’s your old colleague Barnabas?
S: Oh, you know Barnabas. Never Say Die type that. I left him in Egypt studying Petra glyphs.
L: Jolly good. Jolly good.
S: I say, do you fancy Fireworks?
L: Why they’re strictly forbidden. It Shatters the Darkness. One shot and the animals go quite crackers. The rockets red glare and all that.
S: Steady on. Steady on old boy. I think what you need is a little bit of Sweet Comfort.
L: Bless you Stanley! Why, I drink it all the time. Hold on Tight. You get the
glasses and I’ll be Breaking the Ice!
S: No, no, Doctor. You’ve got it all wrong. Oh well. Now then, I also brought you some Servant.
L: Oh what a stroke of luck! Why two of my servants ran away last week. Larry and Normanly. They ran into the Shallow Water and the crocks got them. Poor blighters. Well, I suppose they’re In Another Land now?
Servant, Live at Rainbow Music Hall in Denver, Colorado (soundboard) 3-20-1982
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