Rock Power Praise, Vol. 1: The Hymns

Description

Rock Power Praise, Vol. I: The Hymns is a multi-artist compilation released on Pakaderm Records in 1990, manufactured and distributed by Word. The album was produced and arranged by John and Dino Elefante.

The second installment of this three-part series was released in 1991, entitled Rock Power Praise, Vol. II: Christmas Hymns, while the last installment was released in 1992, entitled Rock Power Praise, Vol. III: Traditional Gospel Hymns.

The latest offering from the ever-busy Elefante brothers is a collection of classic hymns with rocked-out arrangements. This release breaks a lot of new ground for Christian rock, a beginning that is sure to be a trend of meeting a great need of today’s generation: worship with the power and feeling of rock ‘n’ roll, the music of our culture.

Last year’s ‘Petra Praise’ attempted to give kids some rock music to worship with, but ended up with what sounds more like a Petra Youth Choir outing than a rock band doing praise music. The arrangements for ‘Rock Power Praise’ show a definite improvement in this direction, but still show an unwillingness in the aggressive music department. What this does is foster a little bit of staleness, robbing the hymns of the real passion both the songs and the genre demand.

The exceptions to this criticism are the blues-based rendition of «Amazing Grace», a song that’s hard to go wrong with; «Nothing but the Blood of Jesus», and «When We All Get to Heaven», which feature the power vocals of ex-Barren Cross vocalist Mike Lee; and «A Mighty Fortress is Our God», which displays the gutsy vocals of Sara Tennison. Vocalist Jamie Rowe puts in a “raspy-yet melodic” style, showing why he landed the empty vocal slot in Guardian. «We Need Jesus», an original Scott Springer worship song written by the Elefantes and Halo vocalist (who sings on this one) sounds like it would’ve fit right in with the ’70s Jesus Movement in America… kind of like the “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing” Coca-Cola commercial jingle.

Most rock ‘n’ rollers are probably gonna feel corny worshipping God to this music, but I’m not sure if worship music is supposed to be cool. The Father is looking for people who will worship Him “in Spirit and in Truth,” who probably don’t concern themselves with how cool they appear to be or not. Worship is very possible using the genre of rock and metal, as artists like Sacred Warrior, The Darrell Mansfield Band, and Stryper have proven with excellent, worshipful songs such as «Holy, Holy, Holy» and «He Has Overcome», and «Battle Hymn of the Republic». This album was a credible attempt at a difficult task, yet paves the way for future attempts. Therefore, musicians and visionaries: Don’t give up! [Doug Van Pelt, CCM, December 1990]

CD tracklist:

01. The Old Rugged Cross (Lead vocals by Gregg Lancer) – 4:48
02. He’ Got The Whole World In His Hands (Vocals by Jamie Rowe of Guardian and John Elefante) – 4:40
03. A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (Lead vocals by Sara Tennison) – 4:19
04. We Need Jesus (Lead vocals by Scott Springer of Halo) – 4:49
05. Holy, Holy, Holy (Lead vocals by Jamie Rowe of Guardian) – 4:00
06. Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus (Lead vocals by Mike Lee of Barren Cross) – 3:21
07. Amazing Grace (Lead vocals by Mike Hadley) – 4:02
08. Go, Tell It On A Mountain (Lead vocals by Russell Painter) – 4:27
09. When We All Get To Heaven (Lead vocals by Mike Lee of Barren Cross) – 3:38
10. I Have Decided (To Follow Jesus) (Lead vocals by Gregg Lancer) – 4:41

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

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