September/October 2005
Amusing "DualDisc"
A New Album from Chris Rice
Ebb+Flo/INO Records
www.chrisrice.com
Reviewed by Silas Tomkyn
And you thought you knew Chris Rice.
From the opening strains of Amusing, it is very clear that this is not exactly the same guy that wrote all those songs for Rocketown Records for the last 8 years. Similar to the rebirth that Out Of The Grey experienced when they arrived at Rocketown from Sparrow, Chris feels the freedom to write about "all of life under the gaze of God", as Charlie Peacock would say.
Prelude begins the disc with an appearance from Duane Eddy, known as the guy who wrote The Theme From Rawhide, made popular to me in the classic Blues Brothers scene ("we play both kinds of music - Country AND Western").
The standout tunes on the CD are Love Like Crazy, When Did You Fall, Tick Tock and Amusing. Love Like Crazy will appeal to fans of Steven Curtis Chapman, while Tick Tock speaks of the urgency to be deliberate in how we live life:
"They say life is but a vapor
Just a blip on the radar screen.
Not the dates on your tombstone
But the dash in between."
There is clearly a renewed passion that fuels the eleven songs on Amusing, and this is a CD you'll find running through your head long after you remove your headphones.
The DVD side of the dual disc allows you to take a drive with Chris as he shares insight into the making of Amusing, and also studio and live footage. Well worth the effort to find the DualDisc edition!
Hear more sample tracks or get the CD at Blessings.com
Opinions and views are solely those of the writer and do not necessarily represent the opinions of MDM4M.