Michael Card - The Life: A Complete Anthology of Songs

AS a fellow believer and musician, I find the other review appalling!! If one cannot listen to the trilogy and hear the artistry and the lyrical genius Michael -pardon the pun-brings to the table-one has a problem. His fresh look at the life of Christ-is refreshing!! I wonder why the author of the other review has to steel himself to listen to such conscise and masterful lyrics that delve into the mystery of Christ's birth, death and resurrection. Michael is a folk singer -and though he may not be the greatest singer or musician, he is a notch above the rest of the Christian Singer songwriters simply for his heartfelt and wonderful wedding of lyrics and melody. How can onel listen to "Joseph's Song and not be moved? How can one listen to "The Promise" and not be amazed at how well Michael delivers his theology and takes our breath away with his poetry? who cannot listen to "Why" and not be moved to tears? who can listen to "What Will It Take" without examining his own soul? THIS MAN IS AN ARTIST-HE PAINTS VIVID PICTURES WITH LYRICS AND MELODY-AND LIKE A VAMPIRE HUNTER DRIVES THE POINTS TO OUR HEARTS AND MINDS. THIS IS NOT CCM PAP EAR CANDY-THIS IS ARTISTIC MUSIC WITH A VISION OF HELPING US APPRECIATE CHRIST AND HIS DEATH FOR OUR SINS. Michaels's music is challenging and engaging at the same time. ONe cannot walk away from this project without thinking new thoughts about their faith and the object of it. attempting to tell the story of Christ in music is a daunting task-and while I do not care for all of the music-the message is solid and the lyrics will sometimes cause your jaw to drop as michael delivers an old point in a new way. Such as in the song "God's Own Fool" when he sing"And so we folow God's own fool.for only the foolish can tell. Believe the unbelievable, and come be a fool as well." Find the cds and revel in them. The music collection covers Christmas and Easter as well.

Though I have owned this two-disc triology for many years, I must confess to embarking on the project of listening through and reviewing it with some reluctance. (The album is called a 'trilogy' because it republishes three previously released albums.) It's not that I have any issues with Michael Card's intentions or modus operandi. On the contrary, I've known and appreciated his music for ages. It's just that there's a *lot* of music here and Card's earnest but otherwise undistinguished tenor, largely unaccompanied by other voices, had me all set me up for a marathon experience. The kind where you're happy when it's over and you ramble on about the 'great experience' after you've forgotten the pain. But THE LIFE deserves more than that. It's a herculean effort to tell the Jesus story with due attention to how the gospels and the apostle Paul interpret it, including its precursors in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. As the labors of an evangelist, even a pastor, Card's work deserves our admiration. As a musical achievement, it flies at a lower plane. But not very low. A lot of acoustic guitar and solo voice spin out songs like the ones that the Jesus people sang in the 70s before others of us joined in at church youth groups and adolescent summer camps. Through it all, Card's emphasis fall upon the humanity, even the personality, of 'the Nazarene', as the second track on the second cd is titled: 'For the fact of his humanity Was there for all to see For he was unlike any other man And yet so much like me' What one must take for Card's own discovery of the Nazarene still shines through the processed product that is performed and recorded music. The same can be said on literary grounds of the New Testament materials. If Card's precedents go back that far, he also sings in the tradition of the medieval Passion Plays, an art form that has been fairly singled out for its anti-Semitic spin on Jesus' murder. There is no hint of such malice in Card's work, but one can imagine a 14th-century audience nodding along with the occasional smile of recognition as Card lingers over some detail of Jesus' life, death, or resurrection. In the end, it is an endearing and uplifting project, like going to a Christmas Eve service and remembering what's important. I think I'll listen to it once a year.