For the Sake of the Call

Description

For the Sake of the Call is the fourth album by the American singer and songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman, released on Sparrow Records in December 1990. The album was recorded by Ronnie Brookshire at various studios in Nashville, Tennessee – Nightingale Studio, OmniSound Studios, Digital Recorders, Hummingbird Studio, Treasure Isle Recorders, and The Mastering Lab – with Phil Naish producing. Mixed by Jeff Balding at Digital Recorders, assisted by John Hurley.

For the Sake of the Call won the 1992 Grammy Award for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album and the Gospel Music Association’s Dove Award as Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year and was RIAA-certified as Gold on December 6, 1994.

One of the great joys of being a Christian music journalist is being introduced to artists whose music you may not normally sample. I have to confess, when I saw Steven Curtis Chapman nominated for 10 Dove Awards last spring (and walk away with five). I did raise my eyebrows and go “Hmmm…” So I jumped at the chance to review Chapman’s latest recording, to see what this guy was all about. For my homework, I scanned the first three discs, and heard an accomplished songwriter and musician searching for his particular niche. After viewing his ‘Front Row’ concert video. It appeared that Chapman settled on a solid pop approach, with folk/country overtones. For the most part, those styles dominate ‘For the Sake of the Call”.

Chapman says he has been spending the past 10 months immersing himself in classic Christian writings, such as ‘The Cost of Discipleship’ by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and ‘In His Steps’ by Charles Sheldon. The influence of those spiritual mentors is evident in his new project. The title track opens the album, and finds Chapman agumenting his band with choral backing. The anthemic tune teeters on the edge of being overblown, but doesn’t go over the line. Happily, the acoustic-oriented «What Kind of Joy» gets him back on track. «Busy Man» follows with a gentle warning not to be so caught up on the treadmill of life that we miss the chance to actually live it. «Lost in the Shadow» contains one of Chapman’s best lyrics (“I want to get lost in the shadow of the cross”) as well as great vocal. «Higher Ways» also tells a terrific story (“And if my eyes grow dim with tears of pain/ This hope I have will not be washed away”), but again, Steven has to fight a slightly overdone arrangements.

Other outstanding tracks include the delightful «You Know Better», with a swinging tongue-in-cheek arrangement, the lovely «When You Are a Soldier», which reminds us that we are equipped by the Lord with the armament to face any foe and «No Better Place», a song of assurance for pilgrims on the road to heaven.

‘For the Sake of the Call’ is surely Steven’s best album to date, though I hope next time he’ll trust the instincts that formed the arrangements on the all-acoustic ‘Front Row’ video, and take the same stripped-down approach for his studio recording. Chapman is a superior songwriter, musician and vocalist. His tunes don’t have to be “gussied up” to touch your heart. [Bruce A. Brown, CCM, January 1991]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/for-the-sake-of-the-call/724508930)

CD tracklist:

01. For The Sake Of The Call – 5:29
02. What Kind Of Joy – 4:34
03. Busy Man – 4:25
04. Lost In The Shadow – 4:58
05. Higher Ways – 4:17
06. Blind Lead The Blind – 4:00
07. You Know Better – 3:40
08. When You Are A Soldier – 3:32
09. No Better Place – 3:47
10. Show Yourselves To Be – 4:26
11. For The Sake Of The Call (Reprise) – 1:17

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

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