Description
Everything Matters is the sixth album by the American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Pierce Pettis, released on Compass Records in June 1998. The album was produced by Gordon Kennedy.
Pierce Pettis is an engaging vocalist and an excellent guitarist, but he’s primarily one of the pre-eminent songwriters of our time. Any disc of his is an event, and this one is no exception. His fifth album and second for Compass, Everything Matters is a series of self-portraits capturing the passion, longing, faith, release, compassion and humanity that is Pierce Pettis. He wraps his baritone voice lovingly around clever phrases and rich, everyday language which results in a fine disc by an artist of exceptional ability. [Sigmund Finman, AMG]
It may surprise many readers to learn that Pierce Pettis’ talent were first exposed to the Christian marketplace nearly 10 years ago on the obscure Myrrh Records sampler called Twelve New Faces. Rather than pursue Christian market opportunities, Pettis opted to take his faith-based, poetic excursions to the general market and signed with High Street/Windham Hill Records, signaling his emergence as one of the most intelligent and literate songwriters in contemporary folk music. But Pettis’ connection to Christian music has remained intact through his association with the late Mark Heard (whose «Tip of My Tongue» Pettis cover here) and Grammy Award-winning («Change The World» recorded by Eric Clapton) songwriter Gordon Kennedy, who is at the production helm for ‘Everything Matters’, Pettis’ sophomore album for Compass.
Kennedy gives Pettis a very spare canvas for his confessional songs – percussion (but no drum kit or cymbals), mostly acoustic guitars, few keyboards or other flourishes. But that production device simply enhances the naked honesty of Pettis’ outstanding lyrics. The after effects of a painful break up are palpable in one of the disc’s best songs, «Just Like Jim Brown». Pettis uses the retirement of the football great at his central metaphor: “Jim knew something fools don’t know/ He knew when it was time to go.” Yet, as evidenced by «Love Will Always Find Its Way» (which immediately follows «Jim Brown») and «Words Said in the Dark», Pettis remains confident in the institution of matrimony. And, as always, Pettis has encouraging words for those of us who struggle daily with matters of faith.
‘Everything Matters’ is a poignant reminder that God is the Lord of not only the significant events of our lives, but the Lord of the smallest detail as well. [Bruce A. Brown, CCM, September 1998]
Pierce Pettis has timed his return to Greenbelt to coincide with the release of his fifth album. Continuing a precedent set on his last two offerings, he again kicks off with a Mark Heard song. A blistering version of «Tip Of My Tongue» is the ideal overture to introduce 10 of the best songs that Pierce has ever written. All manner of life is here, from a daughter’s growing up in «My Little Girl» through the young love of «Neutral Ground» to the heartbreak of «Just Like Jim Brown». Gordon Kennedy’s Spartan production leaves much to the imagination and perfectly complements Pettis’s open ended lyrics where so much is said between the lines. However, there is no ambiguity about the statement of faith in «God Believes In You» and his portrayal of St Paul in «Kingdom Come». One can but marvel with his word play with line like “It was just too true to be good”. Garth Brooks had the wisdom to include a Pettis song on this latest album and it can only be a matter of time before someone like Mary Chapin Carpenter does the same. Don’t wait that long to discover for yourself Alabama’s best kept secret. [Chris Tozer, Cross Rhythms, August 1998]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/everything-matters/32307726)
CD tracklist:
01. Tip of My Tongue – 4:04
02. Neutral Ground – 2:55
03. Just Like Jim Brown – She Is History – 5:29
04. Love Will Always Find Its Way – 3:35
05. God Believes in You – 2:24
06. My Little Girl – 3:03
07. My Heart Goes Out – 4:05
08. Comet – 3:30
09. Kingdom Come – 3:49
10. Hole in My Heart – 3:35
11. Words Said in the Dark – 3:01
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