When Wes King released his last album, The Robe, one analysis of the project stuck in my mind. The reviewer said it sounded like a movie soundtrack. To me, the project flowed through its stories and could easily have created the concept for a movie.
If we can accept that analogy and apply it to his latest, Common Creed, then King has changed the venue of the movie and taken it to seminary. By that, I mean that The Robe told many stories set in real life examples ("Second String" and "Move To The Moon") while every song on Common Creed takes a more direct Biblical approach and provides a discourse on the basics of the faith-focusing on grace and how much God loved us to send His Son for us.
King was at least co-writer on the entire project, drawing help from his wife (Fran), Phil Naish, Gordon Kennedy, and others. He also includes short introductions to each song in the liner notes. The players are from the "Nashville Studio Set:" Dann Huff on electric guitars, Jimmie Lee Sloas on bass, Scott Meeder and Chad Cromwell on drums, and Phil Naish on keyboards.
The musical setting for Common Creed is similar to The Robe. The emotive, heart-grabbing pseudo-orchestrated ballads are mixed into the acoustic guitar-laden pop/rock tracks. Some of the heavy emotional impact of songs like "John" and "The Robe" is lost along with the harshness of "I Believe" from The Robe. It seems that producer Phil Naish moved the extremes of this project more to the middle, making it flow together more easily. The ballads are still very much radio friendly and will appeal to the AC fans and the upbeat tunes will no doubt excite the CHR fans as well.
The title track sets the tone for the album in its bridge and chorus:
I Believe in God the Father In Jesus Christ His only Son I believe there's only one way to the Father By grace through faith alone Common struggle Common to the everyday man Common table The body and the blood Common Savior For God so loved the world What we need Is a common creed
The next song, "Life Is Precious," states that life is worth living because of what Jesus did. "The Love Of Christ" offers a soft and simple prayer that all can know how deep the love of Christ is for them. King then admits his astonishment to God of how amazing his mercy is in the song "Mercy" with a driving chorus that proclaims:
And it's Your mercy that amazes me Salvation shrouded in a mystery It's in spite of my humanity That Your mercy It amazes me
With a pleasing break from the "verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus" format "Fisher of Men" takes a realistic approach to following Christ as it states:
It's winning And losing And trying It's considering the cost ...It's laying down your nets It's laying down your life To take up the cross And follow the Fisher of Men
My personal favorite is "Lazarus," which offers the analogy of Jesus calling us out of our "tomb of shame" just as He called Lazarus to rise from the dead. "Hold On" encourages us to remember that our "hope lies in the One who gave us His Son," while "Salt of the Earth" reminds the listener how much God cares for us, since "Angels rejoiced at your birth 'cause you are the salt of the earth." "He Is The One" is a slow rock-groove that states that Jesus was the Messiah that Moses and Abraham were waiting for. The closer, "Do You Tremble," a ballad with more than a casual similarity to "John" from The Robe, offers a sentimental question of whether we tremble at the Word of God:
Have you counted the stars in the heavens Have you walked the circumference of the earth Have you measured the boundaries of the universe Do you tremble at the Word of God
Personally, I really enjoy Common Creed. It is a little more polished and refined than The Robe, which is okay with me. The lyrical focus on Christian basics is welcome and appreciated.
Similar sounding releases
1996David RobertsonSomeone Who Cares
1996Cheri KeaggyMy Faith Will Stay
1993Wayne WatsonA Beautiful Place
1996Two or MoreLife In The Diamond Lane
1995Neale and WebbAt the Cross
1994Out of the GreyDiamond Days
