it's a good thing I like to dance
I wrote a couple of posts on persecution about a year ago (see below) and I came across
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by David Calhoun — PROFESSOR OF CHURCH HISTORY at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis.
Is Persecution the Cure?
More on Persecution (not “Moron Persecution”)
Luke Brindley – Luke Brindley (Released January 2007)
Luke Brindley is a busy man. In addition to being a touring and recording artist with a new album release, Brindley owns Jammin’ Java, a 200-seat club with his brother Daniel, with whom he also performs as “Brindley Brothers”. And the brothers just released an album last year.
This is an album for Bruce Cockburn fans that wish Bruce would occasionally step down off his soapbox. There are no bold political opinions here, but there are word pictures every bit as evocative. The musicianship is on par, the melodies as catchy, and the production just as crisp.
Brindley employs instrumentation as diverse as horns and pedal steel – sometimes in the same song (“Darkness Done”).
The cover of Dylan’s “Love Minus Zero/No Limit” is most beautiful for its simplicity. As much of a Dylan fan as I am, I sometimes appreciate covers of his songs more than Dylan’s own versions. And this is one case where I like the cover a whole lot better. Brindley’s deft finger picking contrasts with Dylan’s rough estimations; Brindley’s soothing voice delivers these “ode to love” lyrics with the warmth they deserve.
“Dervish” is an instrumental that easily competes with anything Cockburn or Steve Bell have written.
Brindley Brothers – Filled With Fire
This is a different animal than Luke’s solo releases. Bristling with American rock energy, the opening track “Rise Above” surpasses anything the Wallflowers accomplished on their latest. And as Rolling Stone put it: “Fans of Wilco and Gin Blossoms will swoon.”
But the range of styles is not limited to Wallflowers-esque melodic roots-rock. “Rise Above” segues into the bouncing rhythm of “Man on Fire” which gives way to the subdued “Everybody Wants”.
These lighter songs are much like Luke’s solo work, so my favorites are the rockers. I had the advantage of previewing this album a few months prior to release and a number of the songs have already become family favorites.
“Up All Night” is another rocker and my other favorite. These Brindley Brothers albums are a treat for me because I became a Luke Brindley fan through his earlier work which was far more acoustic and folky. On the Brothers albums he is remade as a frontman, no doubt due to the influence of younger brother Daniel. Or maybe the frontman has been hiding in the shadows all along.
I’ve had this story collaboration project going on my site from time to time. You can join in. Its just a fun game where you can write a bit of fiction and plot the course of the future. Ooooooo, the power.
I wrote part 1 and it goes like this:
and then Part 2 was sent in by the ever-mysterious parttimescribe@hotmail.com:
It was a system that worked fairly well.
He patted down his tired brown hat and re-adjusted a few stray straws sticking out of his sleeve. His thoughts made him hesitate again; a big “what if” made his pale legs refuse to move.
What if it wasn’t true?
What if it was farther than he had been told?
Would his old body hold up?
Again he reasoned and wrestled with his mind. It was playing tricks with him, causing him to doubt, to stumble. He mentally forced himself to begin. One step in front of the other.
The sun had started making its journey upward, gleaming and streaking its rays across the field. It’s warm and yellow heat gave him a renewed strength and he picked up the pace. He could see the black pavement ahead, somehow marking the real start of his long journey. Carefully he climbed over the old wooden fence, waved a final goodbye to the field and looked straight ahead with a now unwavering purpose.
His destination was just beyond the river and the two mossy green hills. If he could make it to the river by sundown he’d be doing okay, then the valley through the hills, and then finally the city. Knowing this he walked a little faster, almost a skip in his step now…
Part 3 from barryball_2000@yahoo.com:
Before long he realized it was further to the river than he had thought. His legs were getting tired because this was much more walking than he was used to and the dust from the road was making him feel tired and dirty. These were not sensations he was used to back in the corn field. That field had rich, dark dirt; not this infernal dust. And even though he was on his feet all day in the field he was able to lean on his post, he even sometimes would nod off to sleep.
Just as he was thinking about stopping for a rest a dusty brown pickup truck came rattling down the road in the opposite direction. As it got closer it slowed down and came to a stop a few yards in front of the scarecrow.
The scarecrow stopped walking. He looked at the truck but with the sun behind the truck he was unable to make out who or what was in it. He thought this seemed odd and threatening but as the dust settled he decided to press ahead rather than show that he could be intimidated. In fact, he decided, it might not be trouble at all. He put a smile on his face and thought of a friendly greeting to use as he started to pass the truck.
Now it’s your turn. Send in Part 4. I’ll put the entries up for a vote and the winner will win a CD.
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