Description
Pure and Simple is the third album by the American rock band Geoff Moore & The Distance, released on ForeFront Records in 1990, distributed in the US by The Benson Company. The album was recorded by Dave Hall, JB Baird, and Ron W. Griffin at Quad Studios and OmniSound Studios in Nashville, Tennessee; and was produced by Griffin with Geoff Moore. Mixed by JB and Griffin at Digital Recorders in Nashville.
There was a time when we were afraid of just what was going to happen to Mr. Moore. Despite the critical acclaim of his Sparrow release ‘Foundations‘, Moore did not find widespread popularity. Go figure… The listening audience can sometimes be fickle. It was undoubtedly the strongest release in his career… until now.
In his move to the ForeFront label, Moore and producer Ron Griffin have created a winner. ‘Pure & Simple’, Moore’s fourh album, is a collection of songs that he owns from start to finish with his gift of performance. While the contemporary Christian music scene was hailing the arival of a new breed of rock ‘n’ roll, Moore, with one of the business’ most proficient touring bands, was out there doing it. They say the delivery is everything and Moore delivers his brand of rock ‘n’ roll with sweat and grit – something to watch, but more special to hear. It doesn’t get any ‘realer’ than this. You can feel the energy. And when Moore shouts about passion, cries for commitment or whispers his memories, you believe him.
What gives ‘Pure & Simple’ its cohesive feel is undoubtly the players. The Distance never sounded stronger or bigger. Joined by newcomer Roscoe Meek and his screaming guitar (formerly of Eddie DeGarmo‘s band) and Gary Mullet – The Distance (Geof Barkley, keyboards; Greg Harrington, drums; Meek, guitar; Mullet, bass) trips through the album with style and substance and they sound like they’re having a fair bit of fun too. Phil Madeira and Steven Curtis Chapman join the writing honors – perfect matches for Moore’s expanding style – and Mike Eldred, Mike English, and Jimmy Lee (formerly of The Imperials) add to round off this talent-studded project.
Producer Ron Griffin, with Moore since the Benson days, maintains the style of earlier works. Still a rocker, Moore digs down deep to wow us with his style, but this project shows a subtle stretching. Always able to put a sweet spin on a ballad, Moore now cultivates them, whispers their truths. MIxing some new sounds of mandolin and saxophone, Moore is able to take some plain words and make them stories. «The Keeper», Moore’s recollection of his Grandma, co-written by Chapman, continues to share his rich memories. “A big black book/ In her small fragile hands/ The words she read/ I was too young to understand/ Between the Thees and Thous and the Verilies/ I watched my Grandma live out the truth in front of me…”
True, the album may be a bit softer than ‘Foundations’ but any concerns about this group’s ability to get down to business are laid to rest with Moore’s cover of the ’87 Alarm tune «Rescue Me». By the time this band of renegades run into the chorus, the song’s momentum takes over joyously – “Take me now I’m so tired/ Take me now/ This time forever… rescue me/ I believe you can rescue me.”
This album rocks in devotion to the Lord and with a love for the music that is so clearly missing in many of today’s releases. What makes this different? Passion – ‘Pure & Simple’. [Kathleen A. Ervin, CCM, December 1990]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/pure-and-simple/715848273)
CD tracklist:
01. Passionate Man – 5:25
02. Rescue Me – 3:49
03. Simple Heart – 4:56
04. Over Emotional – 4:37
05. The Everlasting – 3:25
06. One Brand Of Truth – 4:38
07. Peace – 3:37
08. Reckless Abandon – 5:11
09. Keeping My Eyes On Him – 4:16
10. The Keeper – 5:08
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by ForeFront Records.
A full-page advertisement for Geoff Moore & The Distance’s Pure and Simple was featured in the December 1990 issue of CCM Magazine.
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