Well, 2008 is the thirteen year anniversary of Carolyn's debut album, I Can Hear You (Reunion Records, 1995). In a spirit of fun and celebration, I would like to take a poll. If you were to look over Carolyn's complete catalogue of music (including her Christmas album, her downloads, and contributions to collaborative efforts) and choose the definitive thirteen songs for the first thirteen years, what would you choose, and why? I humbly offer my own suggestions as follows (in no particular order):
"I Can Hear You" -- A fun song with a great beat; a crowd-pleaser with a strong message; Carolyn needs to contribute the sunglasses and white pants-suit from the video to the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame -- sweet!
"Do We Dare" -- The best song ever written in any genre
"One-Syllable Words" -- You cannot let the marvelous coinciding of Chesterton's Orthodoxy's centennial and Carolyn's triskaidekial (sorry to mix Latin and Greek) pass by without including this gem.
"What Love Looks Like" -- Leave it to Carolyn to write one of the best songs about the life of Jesus without mentioning Him once by name
"Now in Flesh Appearing" -- A Christmas song that works just as well "in the middle of July;" plus, she rhymes "Kazakhstan," which is an historic first for Christmas season songwriting
"Travelers (The Airport Song)" -- Funny and lively with a poignant touch; will resonate with any person who has ever experienced the convenience of modern air travel
"Everybody Wants Everything" -- Possibly the coolest song Carolyn's ever recorded
"The Wasteland" -- Desolate and haunting, but ultimately redemptive; a masterpiece of minimalism; also, one of the few songs where you cannot hear a smile in her voice
"Not a Tame Lion" -- Great elaboration of Lewis's observation that Aslan is not "tame, but He is good;" has one of the greatest endings of all of Carolyn's songs
"Love is So Blind" -- This cover of Mark Heard's song is exquisite
"The Resurrection Song" (not sure of the title; I've only heard the song once) -- I can hardly wait until this one is recorded; I cried when I heard it, not that that is news.
"Everything Changes at Christmas" -- Happy and wonderful Christmas song; we must have played it 5,236,831 times in the two weeks leading up to Christmas this year
"We've Been Waiting For You" -- I think it has been scientifically proven that no parent can hear this song without blubbering; just watch the Kleenex come out the next time you're at a concert
Where am I right? Where am I wrong? What's my most outrageous omission (I think I can guess)?
3 comments:
What about "Reaching"? I think that might be tops on my list.
This is a highly subjective, terribly partial, rather unfair and, ultimately, incomplete compilation, of course.
I love "Reaching" as well. Maybe it'll be on my tettarkaidekial list!
That was tough, cause I love all of her stuff, but here is what I came up with-in no particular order:
What Love Looks Like
Be God's
Great Cloud of Witnesses
In Between
Go with God
You take my soul by storm
There you are
No trespassing
I Believe
Do not be afraid
Travelers (the airport song)
In good hands
Who you are
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