Dryvetyme Onlyne

Mike Farris
Salvation In Lights
INO Records; 2007
Rating: 6.8

If there’s one unequivocal stream running throughout the stories in both the Old and New Testaments, it’s that God is very interested in redeeming Creation. From the beginning with Adam & Eve, moving onward with Noah, Moses, the Judges, David, and the Prophets, and then concluding with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and the fantastic conversion of Saul to Paul, we’re faced with the same stark, yet beautiful reality. Over and over again, it seems that God wants to see humanity restored to the nature that God originally intended back in the Garden. Not everyone succeeds in these stories – Saul, David’s original mentor, crashed miserably; several kings of Israel & Judah chose not to listen to the Prophets’ calls to repentance, instead earning ugly deaths and eventual captivities in far-off empires; and there was that Judas Iscariot guy – not the ending you want for someone who actually followed Jesus around for 3 or so years. Nevertheless, while readers can glean as much from stories from failure as they can from tales where everyone wins, everyone loves a great redemption story.

And with the release of his sophomore solo album, Salvation In Lights, Mike Farris employs his rich, soulful voice to sing of his salvation and the exuberant joy he now has because of his newfound faith. Backed by a deep and throaty gospel choir and a talented blues outfit, this former frontman of the Memphis-based southern rock band Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies pulls out all of the stops as he rips and snorts his way through some classic southern-fried hymnody. From the strong call-and-response vocals of the opening track/lead single “Sit Down Servant” and black gospel standard “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” to the rootsy “Can’t No Grave Hold My Body Down” and horn-laden closer “I’m Gonna Get There,” this album rocks, rolls, swoons, and sways like few albums in recent Christian music history.

The record has already been receiving praise from the CCM industry as well as recent reviews in publications such as Paste, Harp, and No Depression – hardly underground music fare. The only real knock on the album is that there are times when it seems that Farris delves a bit too deeply into cliché and borrows a bit too heavily and derivatively in creating the robust rock-gospel milieu that defines Salvation In Lights. But it’s also hard to fault a guy with such a great voice when he may have broken the mold on what a redemption record should sound like. Moreover, instead of weakening his sound upon arriving at sobriety and faith (as many often do), Farris sings with a passion and purpose not often found in the hallowed grounds of CCM radio playlists. This could be a record that creates a whole lotta shakin’ in Nashville, TN – and I’m interested to see is that might actually happen.