Description
The Lord’s Supper, sub-titled A Musical Celebration of Worship, is the third solo album by the American singer and songwriter John Michael Talbot of Mason Proffit fame, released on Birdwing Records in 1979, a division of Sparrow Records. Also distributed by MCA Records. The album was produced and engineered by Mark Clevenger at TRC Studios in Indianapolis, Indiana. Orchestra conducted by Greg Nelson with orchestral arrangements by David Britton. Music composed by John Michael Talbot with lyrics adapted from The Liturgy. (The Lord’s Supper was Talbot’s first album as a Catholic inspired by The Mass and established him as a bridge between Catholics and Evangelicals.)
The Lord’s Supper was included among CCM Magazine’s Top 10 MOR/Inspirational and Misc. Albums of 1979 – Talbot showed us another side of worship by setting inspiring new music to formal liturgy in a surprise hit that crossed all barriers. A moving, uplifting experience.
The Lord’s Supper was also named one of Campus Life‘s Top Records of 1979, included on a list featuring six albums released during the last year (published in the November 1979 issue of the magazine). – With simple, elegant strokes, John Michael Talbot has assembled a remarkable composition. By grafting a formal church liturgy several centuries old onto modern musical styles, Talbot and his crew have created a fresh-sounding work that moves with a stately grace. Thanks to the tireless effort of a small group of amateur singers (whose voices were overdubbed into infinity), the production takes on a spacious, airy sound – as if it were recorded in an empty cathedral. The result is an experience completely worshipful, yet contemporary.”
Sometime between The New Earth and The Lord’s Supper, John Michael Talbot clipped his hair, donned a robe and embraced Catholicism. In 1979 he emerged with an entirely different sound. The Lord’s Supper is a very rich moving meditative classical orchestral work, blending Talbot’s vocals and acoustic guitar with a full symphony and choir. The new style isn’t fully perfected yet – that would come later in the ’80s as Talbot became a leading figure in the Catholic music scene, and one of the very few to have popularity carry over into Protestant audiences as well. Boy, what a change from that shaggy long-haired gun-toting cowboy in Mason Proffit. [Ken Scott, The Archivist, 4th Edition]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-lords-supper/716425415)
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Prelude” – 2:37
A2. “We Shall Stand Forgiven” – 4:08
A3. “Glory To God” – 2:57
A4. “Creed I” – 1:36
A5. “Creed II” – 3:56
Side Two
B1. “Holy, Holy, Holy” – 2:22
B2. “Communion Song” – 4:25
B3. “The Lord’s Prayer” – 1:30
B4. “Lamb Of God” – 2:14
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and 12-inch vinyl LP.
