It was the "mean green season" at the St. Roe Motel, where hunters that craved the Northern woods jammed the logging trails and lodges for a 200 mile radius. It was a stressful time behind the motel office desk for Mark, a greasy introvert who never seemed to look visitors in the face. But all that changed the day that nun checked in. Her genuine smile did something to disarm all of his religious bias. So he was thrilled when she buzzed the front desk, asking for repair service on the air conditioner. He ran over like an auto racer in the pole position to room number 77. He quickly and politely replaced a fuse here and cleaned a filter there - giving him a sense of pride. He didn't feel the familiar sense of dumb and numb. As he was leaving, he looked her in the eye and right there decided to shake the tree of his belief. "Sister?" he asked. "Could I ask you a question about faith?" Her motion to the sofa chair said yes. "My life is empty and bare, and I ain't seen no love...I've been trippin' a long time. Does this God stuff offer any hope for a guy like me?" She opened her Bible and explained the "Roman Road to Salvation" to Mark, and then she read verses 3:23, 6:23, 5:8, and 10:9-10. Seeing the gray, dreamy look on his face, she read it again and again and again. "I understand the mystery," he blurted, as he began to dance around the room. "I was as blind as Mr. Magoo, but now I see. This Jesus king of ours has set me free!" That day Mark traded in his paper wings for a radioactive pair that let him fly with the angels. He still works through the mean green seasons, but now he has the quiet confidence that he can live the life, the love that lasts a lifetime.
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Michial FarmerIt usually takes me a few weeks to really get into a new 77s release, so I approach this review (and its deadline) with some trepidation. To add to my cautiousness, A Golden Field of Radioactive Crows is the band's first full-length album since 1995's disappointing Tom Tom Blues and, by all reports, is the poppiest, sunniest album they've ever done. This is a good thing, as I've always preferred…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Terry WandtkeThe new 77's album is out, and their fans rejoice. I can attest to that fact because I count myself and my friends among the highly selective but significant throng. And better than just being new material, A Golden Field of Radioactive Crows is really good stuff. With that said, I'll offer a little bit of context for this album and, hopefully, I won't be considered heretical when I explain why…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Steven S. BaldwinThe Seventy Sevens inspire nostalgia. An early incarnation of the band was gleefully creating the landscape of alternative Christian music's future while most of today's hip stars and their fanbase were banging Legos and slobbering on pacifiers. Few bands that were categorized as valid alternative/modern rock options in the Eighties survived into the Nineties, not to mention this 21st Century.…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Tony LaFianzaThe 77s' long-awaited return comes with a mix of old and new sounds. Easily-recognizable song styles from the first few 77s records take a leap forward to the digital age of 2001. The band combines well-produced multi-layering effects with the returning treasure of Mike Roe's ringing guitars beneath his emotionally energized vocals. As always, Roe's guitar playing is the shining center of the 77s…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Alex KlagesThe last major release from the 77s was the album Tom Tom Blues. While a good album, it seemed to be missing some of the range of some of frontman Michael Roe's solo work (since The Boat Ashore had the same lineup as TTB, it seemed to fill the other end of the spectrum of Roe's playing). This new album blends the hard edge of the bluesy Tom Tom Blues with the more complex and interesting song…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Scotty TeemsIt is a rare feat when a band can actually become better with the loss of their best musician. But when lead guitarist David Leonhardt left the 77's after 1994's Drowning With Land in Sight, it forced founder and frontman, Michael Roe to take over all guitar duties for the band. The result has been a shedding of the fat, a rebirth of a once-bulky guitar rock band, now a slim, trim power-trio more…Similar sounding releases
1998SemisonicFeeling Strangely Fine
1999Third DayTime
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1997Audio AdrenalineSome Kind Of Zombie
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2000Sister HazelFortressMore from The Seventy Sevens
1995Tom Tom Blues
20008ighty 8ight / When Numbers Get Serious
1990Sticks and Stones
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1992The Seventy Sevens
1999Seventy Sevens EP
