Sacrifice

Description

Sacrifice is the third and final album by the American alternative pop-rock band 4•4•1, released on Broken Records in 1988, a Brainstorm Artists International imprint manufactured and distributed by Word. The album was recorded by Gene Eugene of Adam Again fame, Dave Hackbarth, and band member Glenn Holland at Neverland Studios in Los Alamitos, California; with Eugene producing. Mixed by Eugene and Holland. All songs written and arranged by John McNamara and Glenn Holland, with additional arrangement ideas by Eugene.

The original configuration of 4-4-1 actually played their last concert at Knott’s Berry Farm on May 1, 1987. Though John McNamara and Glenn Holland, the band’s songwriters, continued writing. At the same time, Ojo Taylor (Undercover) and Gene Eugene (Adam Again) were reviving Maranatha! Music’s alternative label Broken Records and with it, production company Brainstorm Artists International. Subsequently, the duo came to agreement with Broken for a third 4-4-1 album, with the other two members’ blessing to use the name of the band. Sacrifice was a departure, with a more introspective and moody feel (largely based on the duo’s strange experiences in the world of Christian music).

‘Mourning Into Dancing‘, on the now-defunct Blue Collar label, broke 441 into the national consciousness, following the success of a self-titled indie release and before disappearing from the scene soon after performing at Cornerstone ’86. Stripped back to a duo, vocalist John McNamara and bass/keyboard player Glenn Holland (no longer literally four four one), create a more than credible presence with ‘Sacrifice’. It’s a startlingly personal reflection on the meaning of relationships and the impact of faith in real situations in music that fulfills all the promise of this band’s early gestures.

Assimilating both Crowded House and Simple Minds influences, ‘Sacrifice’ finds 441 redirecting early dance rhythms and an electric guitar focus toward a more soothing ambiance and acoustic feel. The folk song for the latter ’80s feel dominates «Don’t Make Me Cry» and «Push (These Walls Down)», with «Beautiful Places» sounds like an outtake from Talking Head’s ‘Little Creatures’ songbook and «What Am I to Do?» owing a small debt to Crowded House’s Neil Finn. The up-tempo rock and new music cuts («Judas Kisses», «Standing on the Edge», «Death of Innocence» and the title track) walk a delicate balance between the bombast of Simple Minds and the pop angularity of The Fixx, yet creating their own niche through strong arrangements and McNamara’s new found emotional range and depth.

A new vulnerability as well adds up with the steps made musically to ‘Sacrifice’ bring both artistically and commercially satisfying. «Pray for Rain», the album’s best cut, grapples (as does all great art) with the difference between the way it is and the way we wish that it could be. In response to a failed relationship, 441 hopes as we all do; “Each time I see we are not the same/ Between you and me, there’s nothing left to say/ I want to do the right thing/ No, no, can’t tell you what I’m thinking/ Let’s pray for rain, a reign of love/ Let’s hope that love could be enough.”

Through the dissoultion of their record company and the departure of two of their members, Holland and McNamara have worked through the difficulties and disappointments to produce a strong and healing work. Produced by Gene Eugene at Neverland (where he recorded Adam Again’s ‘Ten Songs‘ and The Choir made ‘Chase the Kangaroo‘), ‘Sacrifice’ is another in a growing list of albums from real musicians about real faith in the real world. [Brian Quincy Newcomb, CCM, November 1988]

> Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/album/2FYbA7u82kCNjMxgMEK5C7)

CD tracklist:

01. Judas Kisses – 4:48
02. Oh No – 4:33
03. Push (These Walls Down) – 3:59
04. Sacrifice – 3:58
05. Beautiful Places – 3:10
06. This Is Love – 3:16
07. Death Of Innocence – 4:31
08. Pray For Rain – 4:50
09. Don’t Make Me Cry- 3:40
10. What Am I To Do? – 3:20
11. Standing On The Edge – 4:44
12. Push (Reprise) – 1:39

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

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