Description
One by One Live! is the sole album by the Compassion All Star Band, a group of American CCM artists put together for a concert promoting Compassion International, released on Sparrow Records in 1989, in co-operation with StarSong Records.
Perhaps it has been a few years since Live Aid, We Are The World, and Band Aid captured the world’s attention. Pop music’s conscience changes as fast as fashion in its fad dominated commerce. As we speak, it is now directing its energy at saving the rain forests and stopping the fur industry. The general public probably remembered the world’s starvation problem about as long as it took MTV to switch from one three minute video to another.
This record release jerked my thoughts away from the petty non-issues that the gatekeepers in the news industry were trying to shove down my throat such as: flag burning, horseshoes at the White House, and Zsa Zsa Gabor’s fate. In this avalanche of images, I ask myself, where does any reality fit in?
Reality is a young boy or girl living in a Third World country, probably not very far from the United States, starving to death and homeless. Perceived reality is whatever appears on our TV boxes at home, and if it can’t be seen, we assume it doesn’t exist. In this mad scramble to fit in as many pictures as this 25 inch screen can hold, somehow the crisis of starvation has been squeezed out of our collective reality. Somewhere deep inside, we know that starvation is not the kind of problem that just goes away on its own.
Compassion International, which actually pre-dates all of the media hoopla created by the feed-the-hungry records, hasn’t forgotten the easily forgotten. Executive producer Devlin Donaldson has gathered together like minded musicians such as: Randy Stonehill, Margaret Becker, Phil Keaggy, Rick Cua, and Joe English, to keep the fire of compassion burning. Although this live record’s intentions outshine its musical output, there is still much here to recommend it.
Musical highlights include a rowdy rendition of Stonehill’s «Ain’t Got No», a cover of Robbie Robertson’s «Christmas Must Be Tonight» and another cover of blue’s legend Robert Johnsor’s «Crossroads». By far, the most touching moment comes with an acoustic, live in the studio recording of Stonehill’s «Who Will Save The Children», with its haunting refrain of “if it isn’t you, then tell me who will save the children?”
The record is also a fine showcase for some mighty singing from Margaret Becker. The uninitiated might be lead to believe that her version here of «Sacred Fire» was the first time she’d ever done the song. She can be heard searching for new meanings in each phrase.
Much of the rest of the material on this disc can be heard, with better results, in their original studio versions. What comes through on this album may not be the slick professionalism many of these performers are known for, but instead, these artists come off with their big hearts showing. This, my friend, is priceless. [Dan MacIntosh, Harvest Rock Syndicate, No. 4, 1989 (Volume 4)]
The Compassion All Star Band are a group of well loved CCM musos of the likes of Phil Keaggy, Randy Stonehill, Margaret Becker and Joe English, joining together for a concert promoting sponsorship of Third World children (information leaflet also enclosed with tape) organised by Compassion International. The result is a live recording that oozes energy and vitality. Here is tightly played rock gospel with lyrics which are honest, real and human – touching on feelings of doubt, loss, confusion, on side one while side two couldn’t put the answer clearer (“…there’s only one way out…”). Margaret Becker, surely one of the best voices in contemporary music, sings out with a sense of urgency and sincerity, especially in «Sacred Fire». The only track I was unsure of was «Silent Night» as I didn’t see its relevance to the album as a whole. Perhaps the top cut is a blistering version of the old blues classic, «Crossroads» with some torrid guitar. The concert was cut off in its prime by a thunderstorm, so ends with an emotive spoken plea for “the cause”… perhaps a little too emotive but then again, it’s an emotional subject. The final track «Who Will Save The Children» (which was recorded in the studio) puts it far more poignantly and epitomises what the album is trying to say, “We are His hands, we are His voice… if it isn’t you then tell me who will save the children.” On the whole, an album with plenty of musical muscle that manages at the same time to say some important, challenging things. [Joy Homan, Cross Rhythms, May 1990]
CD tracklist:
01. Artist Intro – 0:11
02. Randy Stonehill – Defender – 3:06
03. Rick Cua – You Can’t Stand Too Tall – 4:07
04. Margaret Becker – Sacred Fire – 7:06
05. John Andrew Schreiner – Silent Night – 4:54
06. Randy Stonehill – Christmas Must Be Tonight – 3:58
07. Margaret Becker – Find Me – 3:31
08. Joe English – Yield To The Spirit – 4:18
09. Phil Keaggy and Randy Stonehill – Ain’t Got No – 3:35
10. Randy Stonehill – Crossroads – 6:12
11. Randy Stonehill Rap – 5:11
12. Randy Stonehill and Phil Keaggy – Who Will Save The Children – 5:04
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by Sparrow Records. Available at Bandcamp: https://philkeaggy.bandcamp.com/album/one-by-one-live
A full-page advertisement for the One By One live album by the Compassion All Star Band was featured in the January 1990 issue of CCM Magazine.
Compassion All-Star Band, Live at Cornerstone 1987. Available at Bandcamp: https://philkeaggy.bandcamp.com/album/compassion-all-star-band-live-c-stone-87
All Star Compassion Band – Eminence Front, Live at Cornerstone, Grayslake, IL, July 4, 1987.
The first version of the Compassion All-Star Band played at the Cornerstone Festival 1987 in the suburbs north of Chicago. It was Mark Hollingsworth and Henry Huang who came up with the idea of bringing together some top musicians within the CCM field who wanted to share their burden for children in poverty. So, with the help of Devlin Donaldson, they put together a strong line-up featuring Phil Madeira (vocals and keyboards), Randy Stonehill (vocals and guitar), Rick Cua (Fred Rivoli Cua, vocals and bass), Phil Keaggy (vocals and guitar), Glenn Kaiser (vocals and guitar), and Joe English (vocals and drums). The band didn’t want to do a bunch of their own songs, so they chose covers by artists that they admired that had a spiritual edge to them. Songs played were “October” (U2), “Eminence Front” (The Who), “We Can Work It Out” (The Beatles), “In the Presence of the Lord” (Blind Faith), “I Still Believe” (The Call), “Who Will Save the Children?” (Stonehill and Keaggy), “Help” (The Beatles), “Forever Young” (Bob Dylan), and an encore called “Walkin’ Chicago Blues” (jam featuring Darrell Mansfield who came on stage to blow some serious harmonica). Each guy shared about their concern for the world’s poor in between songs and encouraged those in attendance to sponsor a child thru Compassion International. A slightly different version of the group played at Creation and Atlantafest a year later, different songs as well. This time around the band was recorded and released as an album entitled One By One Live!.
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