Description
First Love, sub-titled 31 Songs Recorded Live: The Music of Contemporary Christian Music Pioneers, is a multi-artist double disc project featuring various Jesus Music artists from the 1970s, released on NewPort in 1999, distributed by Diamante Music Group. Also released by Kingsway Music in the UK. The album project was produced by Dan Collins.
30 years ago, across America a bunch of hippies and folkies and young people dropped out of the “alternative” culture of the day, turned on to Jesus and began making music to reach their peers. There were no Christian record labels interested in this pop and rock music, there was just an underground movement inspired by the Holy Spirit. Out of that revival grew the CCM scene which has in recent years been hijacked by the big money marketing of non-Christian big boys who’ve, in places, hi-jacked the move of God for profit. (Excuse me a second while I get off my soapbox.) For one weekend, many of those pioneers gathered for a retreat to chat, remember the move of God that inspired them and play their songs for each other. Captured on this double CD are intimate performances of Christian music classics from the likes of Keith Green (obviously not there in person! They’ve unearthed an undiscovered song), 2nd Chapter Of Acts, Love Song, Barry McGuire, Andrae Crouch, Matthew Ward and Randy Matthews. For me the two highlights are Randy Stonehill’s pair of songs (including the classic and impossible to get on CD «King Of Hearts») and Chuck Girard‘s timeless «Sometimes Alleluia». For some of us of a certain age, this is pure nostalgia looking back to a time when everything was so much simpler, and there’s even a naivety about this material, when viewed from the sophistication of 21st century approaches. However, if you’re interested in the history of CCM or you were there first time around, this is a pleasant listening experience. Shame Larry Norman couldn’t make it to the party! [Mike Rimmer, Cross Rhythms, February 2000]
What’s New In Video, CCM, January 1999
First Love, Vol. 1 & 2
Various
NewPortI must admit I sat down to watch First Love with a great deal of skepticism. As a lover of old Jesus music the last thing I wanted to see was a bunch of old-timers sitting around reminiscing about the good old days on a couch in the mountains.
And yes, these are a bunch of old-timers. And with few exceptions, this is living room documentary fare, with only enough old footage to barely provide context, let alone capture the ambiance of the time. An homage to Keith Green is the one exception. This, combined with the video’s total reliance on live performances from the 1997 reunion weekend, results in an at times tepid product meant to remind rather than revisit.
But appearances are deceiving. These two volumes, at times hokey, still manage in both performance and interview to convey some sense of the passion, innocence, excitement and genuine spiritual expectancy of those early days of Christian music. There’s Terry Clark telling of his dramatic conversion into faith and hope. Andraé Crouch talks about his father laying hands on him as a child and asking God to teach his boy to play the piano – without help of lessons. The guys in Love Song talk about the organic, gracious pace of their growth into discipleship. John Fischer discusses the remarkable number of kids who were open, listening and responding to the bare-bones Good News that artists brought through popular song.
Watching, something like a yearning stirred in me, reminding me of those first, early days sitting around our hi-fi, listening to those first few Jesus records. There, alone in my living room, I remembered how much I hoped for Christian music, and my life in Christ, back then. And right there and then I wished both my music and my life could go back and rediscover a bit of our first love. [Dwight Ozard, CCM, January 1999]
2CD tracklist:
Disc One
1-01. Love Song – Welcome Back – 4:49
1-02. Love Song – Two Hands – 3:45
1-03. Barry McGuire – Happy Road – 2:47
1-04. Barry McGuire – Seeds Of Love – 3:41
1-05. Jamie Owens-Collins – The Victor – 3:28
1-06. Jamie Owens-Collins – Seasons Of The Soul – 4:39
1-07. 2nd Chapter Of Acts – Easter Song – 2:21
1-08. 2nd Chapter Of Acts – Which Way The Wind Blows – 3:50
1-09. Terry Clark – Let’s Have A Good Time – 3:59
1-10. Terry Clark – Jesus Mighty Fortress – 3:56
1-11. Chuck Girard – Sometimes Alleluia – 4:50
1-12. Annie Herring – My Redeemer – 3:24
1-13. Keith Green – There Is A Redeemer / O Lord, You’re Beautiful Medley – 4:49
1-14. Keith Green – Born Again – 2:51
Disc Two
2-01. Randy Stonehill – King Of Hearts – 4:03
2-02. Randy Stonehill – Abandon Your Heart – 4:58
2-03. Darrell Mansfield – Million Dollar Feeling – 4:08
2-04. Darrell Mansfield – Stand By Me – 6:02
2-05. John Fischer – All Day Song – 3:58
2-06. John Fischer – Jesus Loves Even Me – 3:00
2-07. Randy Matthews – Didn’t He – 5:41
2-08. Randy Matthews – Ti Chapé – 4:22
2-09. Matthew Ward – To The King – 4:01
2-10. Paul Clark – Abide – 3:13
2-11. Paul Clark – Where Did I Fall Down? – 4:06
2-12. Honeytree – Clean Before My Lord – 3:32
2-13. Honeytree – Pioneer – 4:24
2-14. Andrae Crouch – I Don’t Know Why (Jesus Loved Me) – 4:25
2-15. Andrae Crouch – I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes – 4:46
2-16. Andrae Crouch – Bless His Holy Name – 4:39
Note: The tribute to Keith Green includes Keith singing a never-before released song from a recently discovered tape. DVD/CDs available at explorationfilms.com: https://www.explorationfilms.com/FIRST_LOVE_historic_gathering_of_Jesus_Music_pioneers_2_DVDs_2_CDs.php
PART 1: The late ’60s and early ’70s were a time of tremendous upheaval in American culture as the hippie generation abandoned the values of their parents, turned to drugs and away from materialism, and went on a search for love and peace. For these young people, “the establishment” which included the church, seemed irrelevant. At times it felt like the very fabric of our nation might tear apart. Producer and new-host, Steve Reiter, presents Part 1 of the audio special created for this film and then sits down with the director & producer of this film Exploration Films founder, Steve Greisen to talk about how this project came about and some of the challenges in its production.
PART 2: We conclude our feature of First Love: A Historic Gathering of Jesus Music Pioneers with part 2 of the audio special created for the film, then Steve Reiter chatted with the co-producer of this film and veteran music producer, Dan Collins to talk about how this project came about and some of the challenges in its production.
Short Trailer
One of the tracks included on Randy Stonehill’s 2002-album Edge of the World, is “We Were All So Young”, a “remember when” song about the Jesus Music explosion of the 1970s. The track is a nostalgic singalong featuring a vocal lineup consisting of fellow CCM veteran musicians Phil Keaggy, Larry Norman, Russ Taff, Noel Paul Stookey (of Peter, Paul & Mary fame), Barry McGuire, Annie Herring (of 2nd Chapters of Acts) and five members of Love Song (Chuck Girard, Tommy Coomes, Bob Wall, Jay Truax, and Fred Field). In addition, the track features Phil Madeira of the Phil Keaggy Band on electric sitar (who also adds his instrumental touch on various other tracks).
Also see Alex MacDougall, Bill Batstone, and Bob Bennett’s 2011 effort, Jesus Music Again, as well as Sonrise Music’s 3-disc Rock Revival Series
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