My Top 40 Albums - #33

#33
Seven Day Jesus - "Seven Day Jesus"

Year: 1998
Label: Forefront
Favorite songs: Who I Am, I Will Find You, Always Comes Around, Butterfly, Down With the Ship
Lyric sample: "You stay up all night long / And you wrestle with yourself / And it only leaves you tired / Then you see the mess you've made / Trying to trade the things you know / What you believe, for this control / It's too bad your will don't roll / Because you're standing in the way"

I gotta say, I missed the boat on this one back in 1998. I had heard "Always Comes Around" on a sampler (one of the best samplers ever, btw) and I liked it, but I wasn't sure I liked it enough to risk a whole CD from people I didn't know anything else about. So I just sort of forgot about them. It wasn't until two years ago when I started rooming with my current roommate Russell Shipp that I was reintroduced to this group that apparently only made two albums, and at that point I learned just why this disc is respected by Christian music fans. There are a few gems of 90's Christian rock that represent the best of what that period and genre had to offer; and make no mistake - this is one of them.

It's not so much that it's terribly unique. If you listen carefully, you might discern similarities to contemporaries like All Star United, Skypark, Smalltown Poets, Switchfoot, Third Day, Big Tent Revival, and more. What sets this disc apart is simply that it's so well done. For one thing, Brian McSweeney is a vocal powerhouse. The album spans a variety of territory and he shows that he is more than able to carry each style. He croons, whispers, belts, and even screams just a little, surprising for a pop-rock outing like this. It's all super. Probably more important, there is an exquisite sense of melody that runs through the disc. Seven Day Jesus is rarely if ever flashy. Everything they do is very grounded and well-integrated, but the chord progressions and melodies simply stand out as being way above average. You know those CD's that you pick up, and you like something about them, but you just don't ever listen to them. Why? Cause there's an elusive spark missing, and I think most of the time this speaks of poor songwriting and boring melodies. Seven Day Jesus has no gimmicks - just great writing and musicianship. It does help that, despite the definite 90's time frame, there is a bit of a retro feel to some of the songs. Like Skypark, they have a guitar tone that is not always used and it really works for them.

I'm always one to define great songs by great moments, and this is a disc full of moments. Perhaps my favorite few seconds on the disc is during the rocker "Who I Am." The energy builds into the bridge where the vocal elevates from a note into a raspy scream, and the music hits and cuts out for a second, leaving just the scream plowing through the vacant airspace and then resumes with equal zest for another chorus. It always leaves a smile on my face. Another is the bridge of "I Will Find You." Between musical pickup and the reciprocal lyrics which for some reason I find entertaining - "I'm not going to think about it / I'll forgive if you forget / Think about it, I'm not going to / We can get around this mess again" - the progression then fights with the sustained vocal note in a few seconds of magnificent tension, before breaking into harmony and a twangy guitar solo. These are perhaps the best but they are certainly not the only highlights. The "record album" beginning of "Down with the Ship," the mature rock sound of "Always Comes Around," the joyful pop passages of "Butterfly," it could go on and on.

This is a record that's easy on the ears and good for the soul.