Ulf Christiansson
The Lifestyle from Above
Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt
This solo album by Ulf Christiansson, like his previous one In My Dreams (circa 1982), is a departure from his work with the hard rockin' band Jerusalem. This collection sounds very clean and melodic, which showcases Ulf's great voice and features lots of guitar strumming (acoustic and electric) instead of power chording and searing solos. Because of the mellow-ness in sound, the message can gravitate to the forefront of each song, which is a good thing with these powerful lyrics. This isn't some teenager writing about how God can use Rock music and how cool it is to headbang for the Lord. No, this stuff shows lots of thought and study of the Word. A good example would include the song "Only Love Can Change Us", whose title explains the emphasis behind the chorus, but the verses contrast this by painting a picture of an unhappy man who walks on people and refuses God. "You're A Winner" is quite a motivating song, as its title would imply, with a very upbeat chorus. A rushing crescendo pushes the ending of "Your Clothes Are Whiter", making for very emotional worship: "The Bridegroom is coming/ The wedding will soon begin/ If you want to, you can come/ I know He's gonna come/ He is worthy, only He is worthy/ And she is getting ready for the King to come." "A Mighty Wave, A Might Wind" features some of the incredibly passionate delivery Ulf has been known for in concert. He sounds like a prophet crying out with a broken heart for his nation. Musically, this Pop album is extremely palatable, and could open up lots of new doors for this man, who many would never suspect pounded out such tunes as "Plunder Hell and Populate Heaven" and "Dancing On The Head Of The Serpent". I personally thought Ulf's first solo album was too dorky for my tastes, but this new material is actually quite good. A little Beatles-type keyboard background adds to the title cut's foundation, but the rest of this material is like what you'd hear on VH-1 or something.