Rich Mullins always wanted the band of ragamuffins he'd drawn together to record an album in their own right and after the success of The Jesus Record, a large body of fans called for the same. The arrangements are busier and more layered than I'd expected -- it would be nice to hear these guys exploring rootsier territory--but with musicians of this caliber, you have to leave them room to surprise. At times the sheen is a little too bright, but then tracks like "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" draw things back to the simple clarity which marked Mullins's best work. Not quite the classic it could have been, but strong enough to establish the Ragamuffins in this new stage of their existence.
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Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2000Reviewed by Steve StockmanWhen in 1993 Rich Mullins, having read Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning, decided to put together a band, he looked for Ragamuffins. Manning's introduction to his book told us who he was thinking of as a ragamuffin: "The burdened, the wobbly and weak-kneed, the inconsistent, unsteady disciples, the poor, weak, sinful, the bent and the bruised, the earthen vessels who shuffle along on feet of…The Phantom Tollbooth 2000Reviewed by Trish PattersonPrior to Rich Mullins's death, I was told by one of the Ragamuffins that Mullins had encouraged the band to make a record on their own, and now they have done just that. It seems Mullins had a keen sense of his friends' talents, and he encouraged them to develop those talents to the fullest. He appears to have been a man who didn't feel threatened by the success of his friends but longed to share…Similar sounding releases
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