Description
Where Are The Heroes is the fifth studio album by the American singer and songwriter Dennis Agajanian, released on Sparrow Records in 1984. The album was produced by Terry Talbot. Featuring backing vocals by Julie Miller, Matthew Ward, Terry Talbot, and Agajanian. The title track, as well as “The Tongue Is A Fire”, were written by Steve Camp (originally recorded on his albums Fire and Ice and It’s a Dying World respectively).
Contemporary Christian music is a part of a huge musical world. Within this gospel genre are such forms as jazz, classical and country. However, many Christians think country belongs to the southern gospel camp, when in actuality that’s like calling rock and punk the same style (which they’re not).
Dennis Agajanian’s ‘Where Are the Heroes’ is modern Christian country music along the lines of Alabama, Ricky Scaggs, and Johnny Lee – southern all right, but minus the twang. Agajanian doesn’t sound like any of these. His deep, expressive voice is heavy on emotion and accent, but sometimes too heavy to hit a note straight on.
Musically, ‘Where Are the Heroes’ is delightful. Agajanian handles the often complicated, but always arresting, acoustic guitar parts with confidence and agility. Electric guitar riffs are stringy and sinewy, and absolute necessity for modern country. Koinonia‘s Abraham Laboriel handles the bass as if he’s been playing country all his life.
Agajanian and fellow songwriters have, in one way or another, woven the heroes’ theme into many of the individual compositions here. The title track, written by Steve Camp, bemoans the lack of heroes in contemporary society and contrasts it against Old Testament heroes both known and unknown. «Via Dolorosa», a cowboy ballad thick with visual imagery, sounds like the theme song of an old west film. Another hero song, Agajanian and producer Terry Talbot‘s «She’s a Servant (Single and Living Alone)», presents a musical portrait of a successful and fulfilled single woman, instead of an ode to the old maid.
The highlight of the album comes at the end of side one with a performance of Bach’s masterpiece, «Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring». Agajanian arranged the piece with a Spanish guitar flavor – a bit of salsa, but extremely palatable. As a matter of fact, the same could be said for the whole album package: it’s country spice. [Caroline Amedea, CCM, August 1984]
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “If You Say” – 2:37
A2. “Via Dolorosa” – 4:36
A3. “Where Are The Heroes” – 4:20
A4. “The Tongue Is A Fire” – 4:32
A5. “Jesu Joy Of Man’s Desiring” – 2:54
Side Two
B1. “She’s A Servant (Single And Living Alone)” – 2:55
B2. “Goodbye Old Man” – 3:32
B3. “Colleen’s Pirouette” – 2:48
B4. “I Will Never Leave You” – 3:36
B5. “All That I Am” – 2:52
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and 12-inch vinyl LP by Sparrow Records.
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